California missions spotlight: Witness the historic ruins at Salinas Valley’s Mission Soledad
Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, Soledad
13th mission
1791
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This tiny mission in the Salinas Valley seems almost as isolated as it once was. Neighbored by farmland, vineyards and the Salinas River, it lies about three miles south of the town of Soledad. The population of neophytes (as the padres called baptized converts and laborers) peaked in 1805 at 688; by the late 1830s the number had dropped to less than 100. The mission chapel, a 1954 reconstruction, receives about 1,000 visitors a month. Mass is celebrated once a month (plus Easter and Christmas). Behind the mission church, you can see ruins of the old mission complex. Also on site: an olive grove that was replanted using mission-era techniques.
Nearby: Downtown Soledad (population 25,849) is about three miles north of the mission. But the biggest nearby attraction (especially in cooler seasons) is a new national park, Pinnacles, which was promoted from national monument status early last year. The park’s west entrance is 14.3 miles northeast of the mission on California State Route 146. Hiking, rock formations, talus caves and wildflowers are big draws. Also keep an eye out for California condors.
Info: 36641 Fort Romie Road, Soledad; (831) 678-2586, www.missionsoledad.com. Driving distance from Los Angeles City Hall: 284 miles northwest.
From the archives:
In 1957, The Times reported at Soledad on the myth that tiles were formed by allowing clay to dry on Native Americans’ legs.
In 1987, The Times printed a lengthy essay by author Richard Rodriguez that included a stop at the Soledad mission.
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