The California Welcome Center, Salinas is located in the Salinas City Regional Heritage Center.  This historic freight depot, built in 1873 by the Southern Pacific Company, tells the story of early California on the Central Coast.

Located at 1 Station Place, Salinas; call 831-757-8687 for more information.

Soledad Welcome Center

The compact building is wall-to-wall highlights of local attractions in the heart of the Salinas Valley plus information brochures on things to do.

Located at 502 Front Street, Soledad; call  831-204-7208 for information.

Jellyfish

What’s it like to live in a fishbowl? Find out.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

The Giant Dipper is not a new-found constellation.

National Steinbeck Center - Salinas, CA

Take a step into the pages of Nobel Prize winning author John Steinbeck’s classic stories.

Wine Tasting

Raise a glass.

Appetizers

Food for Thought

Indulge your palate.

Monarch butterflies

A sanctuary for migrating Monarchs.

Pinnacles State Park

Towering peaks dominate the sky.

Big Basin

Ancient Coastal Redwoods take a stand.

Soledad Mission courtyard

A place where solitude flourishes.

San Juan Bautista Mission

A place of peaceful serenity.

San Juan Bautista Mission at night

A place to pause and reflect.

Salinas Valley sunsets

Follow in the footsteps of our most famous author, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck.

Salinas Valley fields

Vegetable crops, wine grapes and flowers all thrive in the fertile soil and mild climate of the Central Coast

Pinnacles National Park

Colliding tectonic plates. That’s the backstory of Pinnacles National Park.

Soul of Steinbeck Country - Salinas, CA

Salinas

The Soul of Steinbeck Country

An essence reflected for eternity on the pages of his books.

The Soul of California - Monterey, CA

Monterey

The Soul of California

It all began here, the birthplace of California.

The Soul of Surfing - Santa Cruz, CA

Santa Cruz

The Soul of Surfing

At one with a breaking wave, a solitary figure at the top of the crest taps into the spirit of the surf.