A two-mile walking trail encompasses both the State Historic Park where the mission is located and Downtown National Historic District. One highlight: The Plaza Hotel, built five years before the mission was founded, once housed Native American converts and laborers for the project and was recently restored.

The mission was badly damaged in the 1906 earthquake that famously decimated San Francisco. Turns out the notorious San Andreas Fault is responsible for the damage in both communities. Look for the historical marker on the mission’s grounds commemorating the Fault’s impact here and in other parts of California.