There are over 1,000 California museums featuring art, rare sculptures  from antiquities such as those featured at The Getty Villa, and museums dedicated to a variety of unique subjects. Pez candy dispensers, neon signage, fans, oil, trains, gold, gems, and even life's oddities are topics that have museums dedicated to them.  Sometimes museums reflect local interests and culture. There are farming museums in California's Central Valley, logging museums in forested areas, surfing museums at California's beaches, and dozens of museums just for kids. Some of the best places to explore begin when you're  traveling on the road in journeys to see California.

BY TYPE:

California Museums Free Admission Days List

California Oil Museums

ALAMEDA COUNTY

• Alameda Museums
• Alameda - Meyer House
• Alameda - USS Hornet

BUTTE COUNTY

•  Chico - National YoYo Museum

CALAVERAS COUNTY

• Angels Camp - Angels Camp Museum

HUMBOLDT COUNTY

• Eureka - Blue Ox Mill
• Samoa - Samoa Cookhouse Logging Museum

KERN COUNTY

• Bakersfield - Kern Country Museum Oil Exhibit
• Taft - Western Kern Oil Museum 

LOS ANGELES COUNTY

• Arcadia - Gilb History Museum
• Carson - International Printing Museum
• Long Beach - Rancho Los Alamitos
• Los Angeles -  Autry National Center
• Los Angeles - Flight Path Learning Center Museum
• Los Angeles - The Getty
• Los Angeles - Andres Pico Adobe
• Los Angeles County Museums
• Los Angeles Museums List
• Los Angeles - Travel Town Transportation Museum
• Los Angeles - Wells Fargo Museum
• Pasadena - Pasadena Museums
• Pasadena - Gamble House
• San Marino - Huntington Library,  Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
• San Pedro - Los Angeles Maritime Museum
• San Pedro - Fort MacArthur Museum
• Santa Fe Springs - Hathaway Oil Museum and Ranch
• Torrance - Western Museum of Flight
• Wilmington - Drum Barracks Civil War Museum

MARIPOSA COUNTY

• Mariposa - Mineral & Mining Museum

MERCED COUNTY

• Merced County Courthouse

MONTEREY COUNTY

• Salinas - Seinbeck House Museum
• Salinas - National Steinbeck Center

ORANGE COUNTY

• Newport Beach - Newport Sports Museum
• Brea - Olinda Oil Museum and Trail in

RIVERSIDE COUNTY

• Banning - Malki Museum

SACRAMENTO COUNTY

• Sacramento - California Automobile Museum 
• Sacramento - Sutter's Fort Museum 

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY

• Redlands Historical Glass Museum

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY

• Nipomo Dana Adobe
• San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum

SAN DIEGO COUNTY

• San Diego Balboa Park Museums

SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY

• San Francisco - De Young Museum  

SAN MATEO COUNTY

• Burlingame - Pez Museum

ANTA BARBARA COUNTY

• Santa Ynez Historical Museum Parks-Janeway Carriage House

VENTURA COUNTY

• Santa Paula - California Oil Museum 
• Ventura - Museum of Ventura County

YOLO COUNTY

• Heidrick Ag History