Rancho Guajome Adobe County Park

Rancho Guajome Adobe County Park is a 112 acre park located near Vista California. The main attraction here is the historic Adobe building, but the park also offers a handful of hiking and bicycling paths through the surrounding wetland open space.

The area was originally a 2,219 acre Mexican land grant that was gifted to Cave Johnson Couts, an Army lieutenant from Tennessee who was sent out to California and ended up marrying Ysidora Bandini. The land grant was a wedding present from her brother-in-law, Abel Stearns.

Construction of the authentic Adobe hacienda began in the 1850s and took over three years to complete. Cave and Ysidora used their large property as a social and cultural center and were well known for their gracious hospitality. The Adobe later became the headquarters for the couple’s ranching operations.

The Rancho Guajome Adobe was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1970. Today the 22 room, 7,000-square-foot Adobe can be visited by anyone. Self guided tours are allowed Wednesdays through Sundays, 9:30am-4pm. Guided tours are also available at specific times. The exterior of the Adobe as well as several other buildings including an attractive small chapel and some work sheds can be viewed anytime the park is open, which is daily sunrise to sunset.