santa ynez valley historical museum and janeway-parks carriage house

This is the perfect antidote to all that sugar and fake Europe in Solvang. The town is a little gem with its board and batten false fronts. The museum is a delight with a saddle and tack collection, indian baskets, and the amazing carriage collection.You can easily spend an hour taking in the details and history of the carriages.And, this town doesn't get the hordes of tourists that Solvang, just down the road, gets.Furthermore, don't judge this book by it's cover, it's big inside!

To see how travel and trade used to happen in the valley was a nice touch to our trip. All kinds of stage couches posh upscale coaches to mail carrier coaches to prisoner transport coaches to coaches that carried the dead to their final resting place. It always amazing to me to go back in time to see how we used to do things. There was a display of an old house and you could see all the appliances in the kitchen used to make Everything from scratch you travel to the living room and see the spin wheel from ladies making their families clothes from scratch. Nowadays folks can't do anything without physical or technological help. Only $4 donation to walk the museum.

The demure facade of the SYV Museum and Parks-Janeway Carriage House hides an astonishing collection of mudwagons, carriages, stagecoaches, surrys, and other wheeled wonders, including an early attempt at an auto crafted by the local smith. the various "Valley" rooms offer a fascinating glimpse into the history of this cowboy Shangri-La, even the old one-room jail is there. Well worth the voluntary donation, great for the whole family. Self-guided.

Being that I'm a fan of visiting museums, I knew I wanted to visit the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum and Janeway-Parks Carriage House, but I did not realize just how much I was going to enjoy it. From the outside, the museum looks nice, and, when you enter, it gets even better. The docent who greeted us was very pleasant and gracious and set the tone nicely for our visit. The exhibits were inviting and of excellent quality. I also loved the courtyard area, and the numerous opportunities for photo ops that they created in the courtyard. We had our picture in front of a replica of a bank and a stagecoach. After enjoying the courtyard, we made our way to the carriage portion of the museum, and it was amazing. As soon as we entered the big room where numerous carriages were displayed, I took a breath. I had no idea how interesting it would be to leisurely stroll around looking at the various colors and designs of the carriages. I'm by no means a carriage connoisseur, but I really got into this portion of the museum. It was something I hadn't seen before, and it was done exceptionally well. I would most heartily recommend a visit to the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum and Janeway Parks Carriage House. This place is a gem! Although somewhat unassuming from the outside, inside there is a wealth of information presented through engaging displays. My husband and I went on a Thursday, and, at that time of day, we were the only visitors, so we had the place to ourselves, which was also kind of neat. I don't recall the exact days they are closed, but I believe they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so it'd be good to check out their website to confirm their open hours. But, by all means, check this place out. You'll be glad you did.

I love history so this museum was right up my alley. There are numerous displays that represent the ranching background of the valley with good explanations about the saddles and ranching tools. There are displays of the history of each of the local communities, with explanations and artifacts. The railroad display was particularly informative. If you went to Santa Ynez for the wine, there is history of all things wine making. The carriage museum had a stunning display of stagecoaches and well restored carriages of all types. The museum captures all aspects of the valley's history from the days of the early land grants, to present day wineries.

From the street this place looks too small to hold much of interest but it is surprisingly good. They have a large, well restored and maintained collection of carriages and stagecoaches as their chief claim to fame. They also do a good job of telling the history of the valley with pictures and artifacts. While we were there they also had a beautiful special exhibit of kimonos that was an especially nice surprise. Give yourself a break from wine tasting and visit. It takes about an hour or so to tour and is an inexpensive diversion for people of most ages - very young kids might get bored quickly.

Surrounded by beautiful gardens, this is a lovely little local museum is also home to one of the largest collections of carriages and coaches in the U.S., along with a beautiful collection of saddles, tack and vaquero and western historical items. The carriage collection is astonishing and wonderful. This museum is often missed by visitors to the Santa Ynez Valley and that's too bad. It should be in everyone's must-visit list.

I always like to know how the area I'm visting came to be and this little musuem does that. Impressive collection of carriages and old equipment

We've been to many county museums but we were surprised at the carriage collection. They are beautifully restored and include a popcorn wagon, pie wagon, stage coaches, and a Model T school bus (the only motorized one here).I'm not usually fascinated by western items, but the saddles were wonderful. The hand-tooling and silver alone made this museum worth a visit.

Surprisingly interesting. Excellent display about local history, the history of stagecoach travel in Santa Barbara county as well as local railraod history

The museum is a "Must" for horse carriage lovers. It truly reflects the good old days of the West. They also have many exhibits of life in the Santa Ynez Valley in the early years of its founding.

Don't let the small exterior of the building that houses the museum fool you, there are other buildings in the back and lots to see. There is lots of local history as well as all kinds of western paraphernalia on display. Especially interesting are all the different stagecoaches clustered in a huge shed at the back of the museum. We were lucky to have a guided tour by one of the locals who has lived there all her life and was so knowlegeable about the local history.They charge a very small fee for entrance into the museum. If you are interested in old western history then this is not to be missed.

We stopped on the way home at the museum and it was really well done. Informative, many stage coach, carriages, western apparatus. Small fee to enter.

This museum doesn't look like much in the front, but it is a great place to see local history! They have a huge building in the back with a large collection of stagecoaches - fun to see! Our tour guide was a natvie to the area who's family had been there for generations - very helpful and great to get a "real" live narrative.

Don't miss this wonderful museum with exhibits chronicling the early pioneer history of the area. Their stage and coach exhibit was the best and most extensive I have ever seen. They have the only Model T school bus on exhibit in the US. Admission is $4.