Rancho Los Cerritos

Very nice well preserved Ranch. Very peaceful and quiet grounds. A lot of history here with good exhibits.

I was looking for a place that was free & to explore during a Sunday afternoon. I came on yelp & this place came up in my search.

I signed up to visit from 1 to 2 PM on a Sunday. After entering the Visitor Center, I checked in with the hostess. I chose the self-guided tour.

I visited the California Native Garden & the Adobe house & both were beautiful. The path through the gardens to the adobe house was like a little maze.

Entrance is free with reservations.

This was a good experience & learning about the historical site.

I can't believe I hadn't heard of this historical site before, and the only reason I knew about it was because of my randomly scanning through Google Maps one day. Rancho Los Cerritos (RLC) caught my eye because it was smack dab in the middle of a golf course, and I thought at first, it was like a country club. Well, not too far off, at least distance wise, since it is adjacent to the Virginia Country Club. However, RLC is its own entity that is open to the public albeit limited hours.

RLC is located on the west side of Long Beach Blvd north of San Antonio. From San Antonio, simply go north on Virginia, and the historical site will be at the end. There is very limited parking by the site, and I think it's accessible parking only anyhow. However, there's a larger lot on the west side of Virginia that patrons and volunteers can park at. Besides those two lots, the only other lot nearby is for the Virginia Country Club, and I don't think you can park there unless you're a member.

When you arrive, you'll have to check in at the Visitor Center. You'll be asked to provide contact information unless you fill out an RSVP form online indicating the day and hour you'd like to visit. On that form, you can also specify if you'd like a house tour, a garden tour, or both. On my first visit, I chose both, but the form doesn't specify how long the tours take.

I signed up to visit from 4 to 5 PM on a Sunday, but I arrived a little earlier than that to find parking and my way around. After entering the Visitor Center, I checked in with the hostess, and there was a volunteer docent sitting behind her. The museum shop was next to them, but it's a really small shop. Don't expect anything like the Alamo Gift Shop in San Antonio (the city this time, not the street lol).

The hostess asked me if I'd be interested in a tour, and I told her I specified on the online form I was interested in either a garden or a house tour. Since I came about an hour before closing, I was told I couldn't do both tours, but Martin, the volunteer behind her, could give me a tour of the house.

At the time of my visit, there was a special event going on, which played really loud music that really didn't fit in with the vibe of a historical museum. Martin did what he could to show me around the adobe house and tell me more about each individual room. He had been volunteering with RLC for about 15 years, so he had an abundance of knowledge to share! Unfortunately, his knowledge base didn't encompass the garden tours, but his wife, Joyce, could give one. However, when Martin tried to call her, she didn't pick up, so he suggested I visit the California Native Garden and see if I could catch up to her somehow.

After strolling through the native garden, which wasn't much acreage, I heard Joyce call me and ask if I'd like a garden tour, to which I responded affirmatively. Another visitor was with her, and I tagged along with them. She went through the various gardens around the site and talked about literally each plant there! In the time it took me to walk 5 seconds, she'd take just as many minutes to talk about the plants that I would pass by.

During the tour, that other visitor mentioned Rancho Los Alamitos to me, and I made it a point to stop by to see how that one compared to Rancho Los Cerritos.

With just a few minutes to go before the 5 PM closing time, Joyce was courteous enough to take me through the gardens all around the adobe house. It felt like a maze! Once the hour hand hit the 5, we had to make our way out of there, but I did get to thank Martin again for the house tour earlier.

It was such a pleasure meeting both Martin and Joyce!

I went a couple more times after that, both on Thursdays, and I had the pleasure of meeting another volunteer, Tom. Tom was great as well! He led me on a tour around the gardens the first time I met him. I was impressed at his wealth of knowledge of all the plants at the gardens despite the lack of signage. Some signs would have been more than helpful as I learned when I went the following Thursday.

After checking in, the hostess offered me a laminated handout of a self-guided tour, which took me around the site and even gave directions along the way! However, I stumbled upon the parlor of the adobe house, which I mentioned to Tom, and he said the parlor was no longer open. He and another volunteer/staffer confirmed that the self-guided tour handout was actually out of date. Hopefully, they can update the self-guided tour soon so I can give it another go! Navigating the gardens was a challenge because I couldn't tell which green door the handout was referring to. There were multiple green doors! That was just one example, and with multiple paths around the gardens, it was tough to tell which section of the garden each paragraph was referring to.

Overall, a must visit! The only reason I dropped the 5th star is because the special events can be disruptive to your experience at this fine historical site.

Totally a hidden gem, with history and gardens. Be sure to take a docent led tour as there's a lot you won't fully appreciate on your own. Allow an hour or so for your visit, it will be well worth it.

The man the the myth, the soft spoken but very knowledgeable Martin was our tour guide for the impromptu visit! Came upon this place after lunch and wanting to enjoy a nice walk outdoor and found this place on google maps.

Driving up to this place, I thought it was part of the country club and I had accidentally navigated to the wrong location. But if you continue to the end, turn left to the parking and walk to the right is the Ranchos Los Cerritos historic location.

Martin was such a great tour guide that lead us through the historic site and gave us a background of the location dating back to the 1800s during Spanish rule through to US ownership and onward. It was thought provoking to think that leather was the main export product of the past and steak was the byproduct in the past because refrigeration wasn't a thing. Could you believe that a prized steak and bbq ribs was merely a byproduct of leather production to be burned if not consumed in a timely manner. Just an overall fascinating site that took us through the ages of the location from a ranch to a lived in two story adobe home.

Would definitely recommend visiting and picking up a passport booklet so you can learn about other historic sites located in socal to learn more about the history of this land we call home!

Jacqueline made my experience here awesome. I've lived in Long Beach for a while and had heard about this place and finally made it a point to visit. It's beautiful and a great peace of Long Beach history. Perfect place to have a party or event and parking is free! Big thanks to volunteer Jacqueline, a volunteer who gave my group and me a VIP experience!

Looking for a place to explore and free?
Come here!
Our plan was to go CSULB Japanese Garden but required reservation and we're not prepared for a last minute spot.

Rancho Los Cerritos is perfect to spent our afternoon after lunch. Traveling back in time to 1800s.

Love historical site.

I cannot believe I just discovered this place after living in OC most of my life. I don't know what it's like during other seasons but spring is absolutely gorgeous here. The gardens are so well groomed and the flowers are all in bloom. They have picnic tables for you to rest and have a quick snack. The actual adobe is so well maintained. It's fascinating to get a glimpse of life in the past. Restrooms are at the entrance. The grounds aren't THAT big but you should wear comfortable shoes. Entrance is free with reservations. They do take walk ins but they might limit if it's crowded. They do close fir private events so make sure you check the website. And lastly they do take donations. Please bring some cash and support.

I took my mom who loves flowers and gardens and she really enjoyed herself. It's now on our list of things to do in OC. I would love to come back on my own and take a tour to learn about the property and the history of SoCal. Can't wait to be back;)

I stopped in this weekend to just unwind and walk the grounds as I made some decisions and was so glad I chose this place to do so. I was unable to do the inside tour but a really sweet docent pointed out many points about the house and I was able to look into many of the rooms which really allows you to get a sense of former ranch life in California. Next to the entrance of the home is a cluster of orchard trees and in the middle of those is a winding pathway that leads to the back of the house. It was prettier than I was expecting and in the middle of it all is a giant Moretown Fig tree; just like the famous one in Santa Barbara. All around the tree are winding tree covered pathways and places to sit. In one corner is an old water tower that really shows the age of the place; it's beautiful in a rustic and worn way. On top of it all it is free.

I know they host venues so I would encourage anyone interested in a good location to inquire but i can only truly recommend the experience I had. I was raised here in SoCal so love local history so anyone who would say the same would love this place or anyone looking to see anything beautiful. I see it as a botanical garden in a sort of way although understand why it would not be classified as such.

This beautiful space is perfect for weddings and events. There are docents on site to give you an informative tour or you can wander on your own. It's free entrance and parking. There is a beautiful flower garden, a native plant garden, an exotic fruit garden, a building where you could see how the ranch was operated back in the day. It's a perfect outing for friends and family when they are in town. The place was small enough to leisurely walk for about an hour.