Jack London State Historic Park

Jack London was one of the best paid and most famous writers in America when he settled on the slopes of Sonoma Mountain in 1905. Born in San Francisco in 1876 and raised on the Oakland waterfront, he had already written The Call of the Wild and The Sea-Wolf. In Glen Ellen he bought a run-down ranch, then another and another, until he owned about 1,400 acres he called Beauty Ranch. He farmed it with new methods, built a stone mansion that burned before he could move in and died there in November 1916, at age 40.

Today the ranch is Jack London State Historic Park. It is one of the most rewarding historic sites in the Bay Area and an easy add-on to a day in Sonoma wine country. This guide covers the drive from Palo Alto, park hours and fees, the museum, the Wolf House ruins, Beauty Ranch, the free weekend tours and where to eat in Glen Ellen. If you want the Oakland side of London's life, our Oakland guide covers Jack London Square and the waterfront saloon where he studied as a teenager.

Getting there and drive time

The park is at 2400 London Ranch Road in Glen Ellen, about 20 minutes north of Sonoma. From Palo Alto it is roughly 85 to 90 miles and usually takes 1.75 to 2 hours.

Through San Francisco

Take Interstate 280 north into San Francisco, cross the Golden Gate Bridge and continue north on US 101. The park's directions page then gives this route: east on Highway 37, north on Highway 121, north on Highway 116, right on Arnold Drive and left on London Ranch Road, which climbs through vineyards to the park. The Golden Gate toll is collected southbound on the way home: $10.25 with FasTrak from July 1, 2026. Our guide to getting here from the North Bay explains how to pay by plate.

Through the East Bay

The other way is to cross the Dumbarton or San Mateo Bridge, head north on Interstate 880 and Interstate 80 to Vallejo, then west on Highway 37 toward Sonoma. You pay the westbound bridge toll on the way home: $8.50 in 2026 and $9.00 with FasTrak from January 1, 2027. Check live traffic before you choose, because either route can be faster on a given day.

Weekend traffic heading into wine country builds by late morning and Sunday afternoons are slow coming home. Leave Palo Alto by 8 a.m. There is no practical transit, so you need a car or a tour. You can compare rental cars from SFO or SJC.

Hours, fees and rules

A nonprofit, Jack London Park Partners, runs the park in partnership with California State Parks. Here is what the state park page and the partner site list for late 2026:

The museum closes early, at 3 p.m., on Monday, November 2, 2026, for a reception. The park accepts state park passes such as the California Explorer and Golden Poppy annual passes.

• Dogs: allowed only in the historic zone and developed areas. They are not allowed on trails, dirt roads, backcountry areas, in historic buildings or in the historic gardens.
• Accessibility: a golf cart service runs on weekends from noon to 4 p.m. for visitors who need help getting around. The museum's first floor has a wheelchair lift and the cottage is wheelchair accessible.
• Time: the park recommends allowing about three hours.

House of Happy Walls Museum

After Jack died, his widow Charmian London built the House of Happy Walls with Jack's stepsister Eliza Shepard. Architect Harry P. Merritt designed it in fieldstone with Spanish tile roofs, echoing the Wolf House on a much smaller scale. Charmian lived there from 1935 until 1952 and left instructions that it become a museum to the two of them. The park's museum page describes newly redesigned exhibits on their travels, writing and adventures. On weekends, volunteers play Charmian's 1901 Steinway grand piano.

Start here. The museum has maps, a bookshop and the trailhead for the Wolf House and the grave.

The Wolf House ruins

London's friend George Sterling nicknamed him The Wolf, so the stone mansion he began in 1911 became the Wolf House. San Francisco architect Albert L. Farr designed it in the Arts and Crafts style, with heavy masonry to survive earthquakes. The plans called for about 15,000 square feet, 26 rooms and nine fireplaces, a two-story living room and a 19 by 40 foot library for Jack.

The house was nearly finished when fire broke out late on the night of August 22, 1913. By morning only the stone walls stood. Arson was suspected at the time. In 1995 a team of forensic investigators concluded the likely cause was spontaneous combustion of rags soaked in linseed oil left by workmen. Charmian later wrote that the loss killed something in Jack. You can read the full story on the park's Wolf House page.

The ruins are a walk of roughly half a mile from the museum on a wide trail through oaks and redwoods. Massive stone walls still rise above the foundation. Viewing areas let you look into the shell from outside.

Jack London's grave

Along the way, a short spur leads to a quiet knoll where two pioneer children, David and Lilly Greenlaw, were buried. Jack told Charmian he wanted to rest there. After his death in November 1916, his ashes were placed under a large volcanic boulder on the knoll.

Beauty Ranch and the cottage

The upper parking lot leads to the working heart of the ranch. London bought his first parcel, the 130-acre Hill Ranch, in June 1905 for $7,000 and kept adding land. By 1913 he owned about 1,400 acres and by 1916 employed nearly 50 people. He tried terracing, cover crops and manure to rebuild worn-out soil, ideas well ahead of their time.

• The cottage: a wood-framed house from the 1860s that London bought in 1911 with the old Kohler and Frohling winery buildings. After the Wolf House burned he enlarged it to about 3,000 square feet. Here he wrote his 1,000 words each morning while Charmian edited and typed. It was restored and reopened with the stone dining room in 2006.
• Ranch buildings: stone barns, silos, winery ruins and the round Pig Palace, London's design for a sanitary piggery.
• The lake: a 4-acre lake behind a stone dam, finished in 1914, where the Londons swam and hosted friends. It has since filled in and is now more of a wetland.

The state park page lists more than 26 miles of trails across the park, while the partner site gives 29 miles across a larger acreage. Longer trails climb Sonoma Mountain through redwoods and oak grassland, with views over the Valley of the Moon. Our hiking guide covers trails closer to Palo Alto.

Free weekend docent tours

Volunteer docents lead two free tours on weekends, with no reservation needed:

• Wolf House and grave site: London's life and work, plus the plants and animals along the trail.
• Beauty Ranch: London as writer, socialist and farmer, with a focus on his farming methods.

Tours can change or be canceled in bad weather. The park's tour page asks visitors to call (707) 938-5216 or check at the entry kiosk to confirm the day's schedule.

Where to eat and what to pair

Glen Ellen is a small village at the bottom of London Ranch Road with a few restaurants, a market and tasting rooms along Arnold Drive. Glen Ellen Star at 13648 Arnold Drive serves dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and until 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, according to its website, which takes online reservations 20 days out. For lunch, pack a picnic for the tables in the ranch or head to Sonoma Plaza, 20 minutes south.

The park pairs naturally with wine tasting in Sonoma Valley. See our Napa and Sonoma guide for how to plan tastings, or continue 45 minutes north to Healdsburg. If you want someone else to drive, you can browse Sonoma wine country tours.

When to go

• Spring: green hills, wildflowers and full creeks. The best season for the longer trails.
• Summer: hot afternoons, often in the 90s. Visit the ruins and the cottage in the morning.
• Fall: harvest in the surrounding vineyards and warm, clear days. Weekends get busy.
• Winter: quiet, with muddy trails after rain. 2026 marked 150 years since London's birth. The park has run anniversary events through the year.

To make it a weekend, you can compare hotels in Sonoma Valley. Stay in Sonoma or Glen Ellen and you can reach the park when it opens.

Frequently asked questions