A Bookworm’s Guide to the National Steinbeck Center
Any fan of John Steinbeck’s classic novels needs to make a pilgrimage to the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, California.
Born and raised in Salinas, Steinbeck had a bit of a love-hate relationship with his hometown during his lifetime. Nowadays, it’s all love. Salinas has fully embraced its literary heritage, paying tribute to its famous hometown author by naming just about everything after him, including his former high school. But more significantly, they’ve opened a massive museum to celebrate his life and works.
My day trip from San Francisco to tour Steinbeck Country was absolutely delightful and one of my most memorable literary travel experiences to date (that’s not an insignificant claim, since literary travel is kind of my whole thing).
The Steinbeck Museum, or the National Steinbeck Center, is a can’t miss highlight of Steinbeck Country. It’s an immersive, interactive, and educational museum that brings the author’s works to life. You can’t help but have fun and learn something, whether you’re young or old, a seasoned Steinbeck fan or a curious potential reader.
Read on to see what you can expect from a visit to the Steinbeck Center and what I love about this remarkable literary museum. Plus, I’ll give you my personal tips to make the most out of your visit and how to combine it with a larger tour of Steinbeck sights in the area.
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Whenever possible, I recommend buying books at local bookshops or through Bookshop.org, because shopping there puts the profits right into the hands of indie bookstores all over the country.
What you’ll see at the Steinbeck Center
The National Steinbeck Center opened to the public in 1998 in the then-dying historic downtown of Salinas, California. Its goal is to preserve Steinbeck’s creative legacy and to “participate, inspire, educate, and understand one another.”
This is one of the largest literary museums in the world dedicated to a single writer — and it really is enormous! I absolutely love the National Steinbeck Center; it is such an effective and engaging museum that doesn’t only display artifacts from the author’s life; it brings his books to life and allows you to feel like you are stepping inside the stories.
Different sections of the museum are dedicated to different works of Steinbeck. You can step into Lennie and George’s nomadic life from Of Mice and Men (one of my top recommendations for easy classic novels to read). You can even put on some costume pieces and pretend to be an itinerant farmer.
In another section of the Steinbeck Center, you can walk down the main street of Cannery Row, peeking in at Lee Chong’s Grocery store and the other major sites and characters from Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday.
The Travels With Charley section of the National Steinbeck Center is one of my favorites here. I’ve not been quiet about the fact that Travels With Charley is one of my favorite lesser-read Steinbeck books. In it, he chronicles (with questionable factual accuracy but great storytelling regardless) his cross-country road trip with his poodle, Charley. It’s one of the last books he wrote before dying of heart disease in 1968.
The Steinbeck Center features an enormous map of the USA showing Steinbeck’s 10,000-mile cross-country route. You can visually trace his journey and enjoy quotes from the book associated with many of the stopping points.
Even more excitingly, there’s Steinbeck’s actual camper van, Rocinante, on display. You can’t walk inside, but you can take a peek in the front seat (you might just spot Charley there!) and look into the back of the vehicle through a plexiglass barrier. It’s a really cool feature and one of the highlights of the museum.
Throughout the museum, there are lots of ways to interact with the stories. Read the quotes on the walls, interact with the exhibits, play dress-up, and take photos with the well-placed, photo booth style props. You can even watch clips of movies based on Steinbeck’s novels, like The Grapes of Wrath.
This interactive nature of the Steinbeck Center makes it a great choice for bookish travelers of all ages, including children, who will find much to entertain here. They can even hop on top of the (statue) red pony from Steinbeck’s first successful novel.
When I — an avid Steinbeck fan — visited, I was with someone who’d never read one of his novels, but she thoroughly enjoyed the museum and left wanting to read some of his books. She purchased a few of them in the gift shop onsite.
Finally, don’t miss out on the 10-minute biographical video at the start or the end of your visit. It’s really well done and gives a peek into the life of John Steinbeck (though it’s a relatively cursory overview, such that these John Steinbeck facts I learned later were largely a surprise to me, even already being a fan!).
Related: If you enjoy stepping inside fictional worlds from the books you read, check out the Sherlock Holmes Museum in London and Heidiland in Switzerland.
Practical Tips to Plan Your Visit
Make the most out of a literary travel stop at the National Steinbeck Center and be prepared with this practical information from my visit there.
Timing
The National Steinbeck Center is open from Wednesday- Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm, closed on major holidays. As with all visitor attractions, confirm the hours on the official website before visiting! Periodic closures can definitely happen.
Steinbeck fans should plan for at least 2 hours to enjoy the museum (it really is huge! With so much to see!). Many people in their reviews also express a desire to spend more time here — even upwards of 3 hours!
Cost
As of the time of writing, in April 2024, the Steinbeck Center costs $15 for adults.
Seniors, military (including retirees and dependents), teachers, and local residents get a $2 discount on admission.
Children under 6 are free, and for ages 6-17, tickets are $7.
The Steinbeck Museum is also a Blue Star Museum, which means military members and families can enjoy free admission from Memorial Day to Labor Day each year!
There is no need or advantage to booking online in advance unless you just like to have everything prepaid and settled before traveling.
Group Tours
There are not typically guided tours offered at the Steinbeck Center, but groups of at least 10 can schedule one during their visit. If you want to book a guided group tour, you have to request a time online at least two weeks in advance.
Parking
There are several places to park for a small fee (a few dollars) in downtown Salinas and walk to the National Steinbeck Center. However, I recommend getting free street parking at the nearby John Steinbeck House and Restaurant and walking to the National Steinbeck Center from there.
Miscellaneous
Make sure to take a walk through Salinas’s Historic Downtown thoroughfare before or after your visit to the Steinbeck Museum. There are lots of cool shops, including antique shops and a lovely independent bookshop (they carry a large selection of Steinbeck books!).
Downtown Salinas also features an old timey movie theater and some cool eateries. It’s definitely worth spending a little time here in conjunction with your museum visit.
Getting to Salinas
It is so easy to get to Salinas and make it a part of your trip to San Francisco and/or to Monterey and Big Sur.
By car, Salinas is a beautiful 17-mile drive from Monterey along the iconic California Coast. From San Francisco, it’s a 100-mile drive that takes about 1.5-2 hours. The drive itself is not bad at all (when I visited, I opted to rent a car and make the trip south a day trip).
Check rental car prices ahead of your trip here:
By public transportation, it’s trickier but not impossible to visit Salinas and the Steinbeck Museum. The Center is an easy walk from the Amtrak Station and the Greyhound bus stop. Amtrak trains run multiple times a day from Emeryville (if you’re coming from San Francisco, take a bus to Emeryville then catch the train). Greyhound buses are less frequent, but worth looking into.
Related: Spending some time in San Francisco on your California Trip? Don’t miss out on the Beat Museum and other Beat sights or these amazing indie bookstores in San Francisco. Plus, read up on my recommended books set in San Francisco before your trip.
Other Nearby Steinbeck Sites
There’s a reason the Salinas area in California is known to some as Steinbeck Country. The author didn’t just live here; it served as his inspiration for many of the settings and characters in his books.
As such, any literary travel fan should plan to spend some time visiting the many Steinbeck sights in this part of California.
Here are some other Steinbeck sights you can easily combine with a visit to the Steinbeck Center.
John Steinbeck House & Restaurant
Enjoy a delicious, locally sourced lunch or an occasional afternoon tea in the very home where Steinbeck spent his entire childhood and some of his adulthood. Plus, time it right to take a tour of the house.
Hours at the Steinbeck House are very limited, so check out my guide to get all the information you need to catch it when it’s open and make the most of your visit.
The Steinbeck House is an easy walk from the Steinbeck Center.
Annual Steinbeck Street Fair and Festival
Each year, the National Steinbeck Center hosts a Steinbeck street festival on a Saturday in September (in 2024, the Steinbeck festival will take place on September 24th, 2024). The festival is free and geared toward people of all ages.
In previous years, the Steinbeck street fair has featured a vintage car show, live music, games, prizes, activity booths, and a big showing from local businesses and vendors.
John Steinbeck’s Grave
Although Steinbeck died in his home in New York City, his ashes were interred in his family plot in Salinas. Check out my post to read up on everything you need to know to visit the John Steinbeck grave during your visit to Salinas.
Cannery Row in Monterey
Cannery Row in Monterey is another can’t miss destination for fans of the author and one of the most famous sights in Steinbeck Country. It’s the real life road that inspired at least two of Steinbeck’s novels — Cannery Row and its sequel, Sweet Thursday. It’s also where Steinbeck spent a lot of time palling around with Ed Ricketts, the real life inspiration for Doc.
Finding Accommodations in Salinas
Salinas makes a great day trip, but if you’re looking to stay overnight, you have a few options. You can stay in Salinas, which is not a huge tourist destination, so your primary options are motels, a Holiday Inn Express, a Hampton Inn, or a Best Western.
You may want to choose another nearby town your home base so you can spend multiple days exploring the area. Monterey and Carmel-By-The-Sea are two popular nearby options to look into. These are seaside towns that afford incredible views and access to explore nearby Big Sur as well.
As you look for somewhere to stay, I recommend checking for lodging on Hotels.com. I almost always book my accommodations through Hotels.com, because you can earn rewards for every night you stay without having to choose only one hotel chain to be loyal to. You can even book locally owned apart hotels and bed and breakfasts.
If you’re looking for privately owned vacation rentals, I recommend checking VRBO. I’ve personally had much better experiences with their owners and rentals than I have with their primary competitor.
Travel Resources At-A-Glance
All of the following are links to sites and services I actually use to book and plan my travel or to purchase books or travel gear.
For flights: Skyscanner is my number one go-to resource for booking flights. I love using the “explore” function to find the cheapest places I can fly during a given time or using the fare calendar to identify the cheapest days to fly.
For hotels and lodgings: For hotels, hotels.com, and for vacation rentals, VRBO.com. I’ve had much better experiences with private rentals through this website than through other popular private vacation rental websites.
For car rentals: Kayak allows comparisons across a wide range of booking agencies and lists reviews of companies as well. I’ve found this to be the most user-friendly and efficient way to compare car rental prices.
For tours & excursions: Viator and Get Your Guide are my top choices for booking excursions and tour experiences in a new destination.
For travel gear: Amazon.com and REI for more outdoorsy items. Check out my travel gear recs here.
For booking trains & buses: I find the Omio app and website to be the most easily navigable for comparing options for public transportation, especially in Europe,
Best travel credit card: My favorite travel rewards credit card for European travel has been the Chase Sapphire Rewards card. Visa is accepted just about everywhere in Europe, and there are no foreign transaction fees on the card. Some of the travel benefits I love on the Chase Sapphire include free TSA pre-check or Global Entry (worth it every time), an annual $200 travel credit, an annual $200 hotel benefit, built-in rental car, and trip insurance, and points are worth 50% more when used to book travel. I travel around Europe a LOT, and I end up with many free flights and hotel stays from using my points on my Chase Sapphire.
For books: Bookshop.org often has prices as good as Amazon or sometimes better, but profits go to indie bookstores all over the country. Whenever possible, consider buying your books from this online indie bookshop resource.
Hopefully this information helps you plan an amazing trip around Steinbeck Country and specifically to the National Steinbeck Center. Let me know any questions you have in a comment or an email!
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