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. Be sure to plan your vacations and road trips to include some of these great attractions!

• California Museums Free Admission Days List
• Smithsonian Free Museum Day

BY TYPE:

• Air & Flight Museums
• Car Museums
• Kids Museums
• Lighthouses & Light Stations
• Missions
• Oil Museums
• Sports Museums
• Surfing Museums
• Train Museums
• Zoos

ALAMEDA COUNTY

• Alameda Museums
• Alameda - Meyer House
• Alameda - Pacific Pinball Museum
• 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
• Redondo Beach Historical Museum
• 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 - Historical Society & Museum
• Torrance - Western Museum of Flight
• Whittier Museum
• Wilmington - Drum Barracks Civil War Museum

MARIPOSA COUNTY

• Mariposa - Mineral & Mining Museum

MERCED COUNTY

• Merced County Courthouse

MONTEREY COUNTY

• Salinas - Museum of Medical History
• Salinas - Steinbeck House Museum
• Salinas - National Steinbeck Center

ORANGE COUNTY

• Garden Grove - Stanley Ranch Museum
• Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum
• Huntington Beach Newland House Museum
• Newport Beach - Newport Sports Museum
• Brea - Olinda Oil Museum and Trail

RIVERSIDE COUNTY

• Banning - Malki Museum
• Hemet - Western Science 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 MATEO COUNTY

• Burlingame - Pez Museum

SAN DIEGO COUNTY

• Carlsbad - Museum of Making Music
• San Diego Balboa Park Museums

SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY

• San Francisco - De Young Museum  

SAN MATEO COUNTY

• Burlingame - Pez Museum

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY

• Santa Ynez Historical Museum Parks-Janeway Carriage House

TRINITY COUNTY

• Weaverville Joss House

VENTURA COUNTY

• Oxnard - Mullin Automotive Museum
• Santa Paula - California Oil Museum 
• Ventura - Museum of Ventura County

YOLO COUNTY

• Heidrick Ag History