Visiting the Jack London State Historic Park

Not everything we did in Sonoma involved drinking wine, although most of it certainly did. Our visit to the Jack London State Historic Park was a spontaneous one, prompted by a recommendation from a fellow diner at the St. Francis food and wine pairing.
I wouldn’t call myself a big Jack London fan, though I did read Call of the Wild for school. Truth is, I avoid dog books and movies like the plague. (If asked why I watched Marley & Me alone on my 24th birthday, I’ll plead temporary insanity every time. So much sobbing and questioning the meaning of life that day.) To be fair, he wrote many non-dog stories and after this visit I’ve felt compelled to check out a few of his books.
It’s a quick and easy hike from the parking lot to Jack London’s grave and the house ruins, which were the main attractions for us. Hiking clothes and shoes were thankfully not necessary, although we did get a bit dusty from the walk.
We arrived late in the afternoon, so we had to make our explorations quick. There’s so much to do and see at the park, but we only made it to a few of the sites.
There are plenty of homages to London on the walk to his grave site, like this Valley of the Moon mural that I found rather charming.
We didn’t make it to Muir Woods during our trip, so I was glad I got to some good tree action in on this adventure.
I actually Periscoped both our visit to the grave and the house ruins, but since it was my first time doing so I didn’t get any viewers. Womp womp.
Because I was ‘scoping I didn’t get any photos of the grave, which was very modest, but Tom took several of the Wolf House ruins.

We were the only people there, so close to the park’s closing, and it kind of felt like being in True Detective’s Carcosa (only far less creepy).

The house must certainly have been magnificent for the short time it stood. I can only imagine how tragic it was for the Londons never to have been able to sleep in the dream home they built.
The cottage where Jack London actually resided is also open to visitors in the park, along with several other historic buildings.
Jack London State Historic Park is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., although some of the exhibits have shorter hours. Entrance fees apply per vehicle or walk-in entry.
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