Valley State Prison treats visitors professionally and usually employees are friendly. Employees…read moreand visitors must follow rules that sometimes seem unnecessary but for the sake of the people inside no one wants visitors bringing in drugs or other contraband. Before being processed for visiting there is a cash vending machine that allows visitors to buy $2 coins used to pay for photos while visiting. There is a cash vending machine for buying a $5 reusable plastic card that one can add money to for buying vending machine snacks/meals during the visit. There are several machines that take cash for adding money to the card. You must add to the card before going into visiting if you want to buy snacks. Your friend or loved one would appreciate having a choice for food items and that are not prison food. The snacks are expensive. Jeans, blue or immodest clothing, and hats are not allowed. You are limited to a few items such as a car key, photo coins, and a vending machine card. "Friends Outside" has clothing you can borrow if you wear the wrong thing. It is wise to check the prison's website for visitor requirements and what clothing is allowed. It is a lot of trouble to visit a prison but your loved one or friend will be grateful, and it is proven that people who can maintain family contact are more likely to be responsible citizens once they are released.

I am thankful for the guards and how they risk their lives everytime they work. Correctional…read moreofficers definitely give you respect and treat you good (for the most part) It's a sad day when you spend time in county jail and get treated so poorly that you wished you were in prison. I gave it a one because #SUCKS, especially the level 5's

Not a whole lot of info here on visiting, so let me share my experience. I came here last month to…read morevisit one of my good friends. First time ever visiting an inmate and resources online and website are very limited. Here's what you need to know after filling out forms and getting approval. There are two entrances to the prison depending on where the inmate is housed. My friend was housed in SATF, the entrance was through the back side of the prison. Now, things to know before making the trip here. There is not much in Corcoran, the town has a small handful of markets and gas stations. One mcdonalds and one taco bell, 4 motels. I tried booking a motel in Corcoran and for whatever reason, the room was not available the weekend I came down. Which in hindsight was a good thing. I had to stay at the budget inn on a Friday and the whole room smelled like ripe ass. All the other motels in the area were booked and the service people there sucked. They were all rude eastern indians. There is a town called Tulare that is about 20/30 minutes away. Worth it! I stayed at a Motel 6, the room was 15 bucks cheaper and was right next door to a very good diner. There was plenty of restaurants in the area and better hotels/motels. Now as far as visiting goes, unless you call the prison or book an appointment in advance online, visiting hours are from 12pm to 2:30 pm Sat and Sunday. It says 8am online but thats only avaiable if you make an appointment. Get there like an hour early, check with the front guard and make sure you are at the right entrance than wait on the side of the street, They open the gates exactly at noon and there will be a line of cars looking to visit their loved ones as well. Also note, there is more than one tower, make sure you are at the right tower. Sucks to wait for 40 mins and find out you are on the wrong tower, and have to leave, drive out to the next tower and wait again. The list of what not to wear is somewhat clear, no blue shirts or blue jeans. No green/olive color pants no camo color pants. Sweat pants, black jeans, gray jeans seem to be popular. Though it was not on the list, I was not allowed to go in with my Chuck taylors. Keep some flip flop in the cars in case and also have some extra shirts or pants in the car. Leave all your shit in the car, and lock your car. Most likely I doubt anybody would be that dumb to break into a car here but hide your shit and lock it up anyways. What you can bring, One car key and remote. Your ID and bring a ziplock bag with less than 50 dollars. Best to bring it in all 5 dollar bills. Jewelry is questionable, I've seen woman with ear rings, watches though it clearly says not to bring anything online. No wallet no phone nothing else. Change the money to coin dollars, you will need these to use the vending machines inside visiting. They have food, drinks and ice cream in visiting. Also buy some tokens, you will need these should you want to have your photo taken with the inmate. Staff is pretty friendly throughout and helpful, just follow the rules and it should be pretty smooth. Hope you have a good visit!

Last Sunday I called the facility office for a concern I got a message that I got rejected from…read morevisitation list, it was a scam.. please be very careful about this scam..

If I could give less than a star I would. The only nice people I have spoken to was a Sgt. Alvarez…read moreand a deputy, that's all. Sgt Sanchez is so unprofessional and sounds highly ignorant and uneducated. I spoke with her regarding my loved one and my concern about them not getting their basic rights and phone calls and toiletries and he hasn't been given any of that and she wasn't kind nor did she help the situation. I work in the field and the fact that they are so unprofessional and arrogant concerns me because those type of people should not work in that field. They do not clean their cells or units before placing another individual in there. Mental health staff even questioned the unsanitary conditions and the Sgt next to her seemed nervous and stated it would get cleaned and it never did. Our loved one had to sleep on the hard cold floor. I pray... that those people running those units and that facility NEVER have to face a situation in which they or their loved ones have to get treated bad. Also, I will be reaching out internal affairs.

Very helpful staff and always clean. The ladies at the…read morevisitor center always answered my questions and even helped me put money on my husbands account.

People allow me to interject this. The purpose of a bad facility is to stop repeat offenders. That…read moreis the bottom line.

Love the phone capabilities you can talk all day and yell to such a sweat deal…read moreSo many activities

Great little spot to listen to live music and have a glass of wine. They do have sodas for sale and…read morefree cold water. I don't drink alcoholic beverages so I will take our groups comments as a beverage review. The sangria was good and refreshing. The red Cabernet wine was full bodied, dark, not too dry. The servers were kind and attentive. We will be coming back better prepared and ready to listen to some good live music. Good times! Reminder: *Don't move the tables, don't bring any outside drinks. *Do bring your own charcuterie items, outside food, tables and chairs because seating is first come first serve.

Tasting room associates are very knowledgeable about the wines. They are very attentive. You have…read morethe option to sit outside or in the rooms. Live music on the weekends (early afternoon to late afternoon). Charcuterie boards feed 2 people. You are able to bring your own food. No outside drinks. Beautiful location.

Tip don't get arrested ok alright that's all I got for…read moreyou.......................................................................................

A nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live here. The officials that work here are…read moreprofessionals and a pleasure to work with. As for the other residents, they stay respectful and courtesy. I'm on call for any problems that might occur and look forward to my next appointment.

I just got a letter from a prisoner there. It's been a while now that the southsiders have been on…read morelockdown with no privileges at all store or phone calls. They are beiystabed in a way they can get a package evey3 months. If you have a loved one there send them some food please.

I came here to visit my father last year with my girlfriend. There is a difference between visiting…read moresomeone in county jail, and visiting someone at a state prison. First of all, you must get approved for visitation before even showing up. The inmate you're seeing will be able to send you a form that you must fill out, send back, get it approved and only then can you visit. You also get to visit for hours, and it's full contact, so good bye talking through glass and hello long hugs. The prison is in the middle of nowhere, obviously, with miles of desert around. We waited in a line to get in for a few hours because we didn't have an appointment. If you don't make one, you shouldn't worry because you will get in. It will just take a little longer. They have clothing restrictions. No jeans or colored pants. I went with khaki because it was safe way to make sure I get in. No jewelry, no see through shirts of any kind. We must of seen at least six people being sent back to put something in the car because it wasn't appropriate. Read up before coming and dress smart. They do have a little bungalow at the end of the parking lot that's kind of a "Customer service" area. Inside they have pamphlets about group meetings and even extra clothes you can borrow if you don't meet the requirements. The group of people we were waiting with were very nice, and a lot of them have been here before so they were happy to answer any questions we had. Once you get inside the first building, you have to register who you are, who you're seeing, and your relationship to the inmate. They have a counter where you can purchase a picture ticket. Yes, you can actually have your picture taken with the inmate, which I think is a great idea. Once you go through a metal detector you get to walk with a group of people to whatever cell house the inmate you're seeing is at. Once inside we had to wait a little while until my dad actually showed up. We spent three hours, talking, laughing, and reminiscing. I was happy to have my dad and girlfriend finally meet after years of talking about one another, to one another. Sadly the camera was broken so we weren't able to get our picture taken, and they don't give out refunds so be cautious. They have plenty of vending machines so you can buy lunch. The guards pretty much keep to themselves, and answer questions you may have happily. It was a small room with a small outdoor area that we were able to explore. No bathrooms, so go before you get in. Overall it was a pleasant experience. It sounds weird when you're talking about a prison, but you should know that though the place isn't a symbol of happiness, your time there can still be a happy one.

CO's/Staff are friendly & respectful. Processing time for visitation was swift & smooth.read more

We were there today for a visit with our loved one,we were helped and treated so nicely by…read moreeveryone,its very organized ,beautiful and our visit room was so nice,it was warm and a very healthy environment, we had fun and lots of good food and soda from the snack machines,we were helped by others in there and the ones who did the pictures were so nice and helpful. Thank you for a beautiful day!