Jack London State Historic Park has spent 2026 marking the 150th birthday of the writer, who was born January 12, 1876. Of the four park programs set for November, two center on Charmian Kittredge London. A third remembers London mostly for the model ranch he was building when he died. The fourth is the Turkey Waddle, the hike to the Ancient Redwood.
The park is at 2400 London Ranch Road in Glen Ellen, four minutes from Glen Ellen Village Market. For anyone in Glen Ellen, the rest of the year comes down to a handful of mornings and one Sunday afternoon on Beauty Ranch.
The Year Opened With the Traveler
In January the anniversary leaned on the adventurer. The park's 150th birthday page lists the opening events, now marked as past. On January 10 there was a roughly 3.5-mile hike to the Ancient Redwood. January 12 brought free admission and a 1 p.m. walk to the Wolf House, and a Spanish-language museum and cottage program followed on January 17. The Sonoma Index-Tribune previewed the year as a mix of guided hikes and tours, a writing contest and a quarterly speaker series.
Most of those speakers looked outward. Aleta George, Tarnel Abbott and Richard Rocco spoke between March and September, along with Japanese scholars Takaharu Mori, Nagako Muto and Kaoru Nishihara. Their talks covered London's maritime inspirations, his family legacy, his medicine kit and his ties to Japan. For the anniversary, the park also built an interactive map that follows London's travels around the world.
November Brings the Story Back to Charmian
The November calendar brings the story back to the ranch, and the person at the center of it is Charmian.
The first program is an Author's Afternoon on Sunday, November 15, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Marlo Faulkner will talk about Charmian Kittredge London, read from her novel The Second Mrs. London and sign books. The talk is on the second floor of the House of Happy Walls Museum. It is free, but seating is limited and reservations are required, and the $15 vehicle fee still applies. You can reserve on the event page.
Two weeks later, on Sunday, November 29, from 10 a.m. to noon, the park leads a walk called The Women of Beauty Ranch: Hands That Shaped the Vision. The route is about 1.5 miles round trip across Beauty Ranch and through the House of Happy Walls. It covers Charmian London, Eliza Shepard and the work women did to build the ranch's legacy. Admission is $15, and the park entry fee is waived. To park, turn right at the kiosk and use the ranch lot.
The House of Happy Walls, which hosts the first program and anchors the second, already gave Charmian a place this fall. From October 4 to November 6, the museum held a Legacy Ofrenda for Día de Muertos. It honored both Jack and Charmian and told the story of their partnership, their travels, their life at Beauty Ranch and their connection to the land.
On November 22, the Park Remembers a Farmer
Sunday, November 22, is the 110th anniversary of London's death. The memorial starts at 10:30 a.m. at the House of Happy Walls, the museum on the left after you enter the park. From there, the group walks half a mile to the gravesite. Volunteer park historian Lou Leal will lead the service, and songwriter and vocalist Jeff Falconer will sing an original song he wrote in London's memory.
The memorial event page credits London with fifty books and with work as an adventurer, reporter and war correspondent, and it closes its tribute this way:
"He was in the process of developing a model ranch, destined to be the finest in California, when he died. He would have wished farming to be his true legacy, far beyond writing."
The memorial is free, but the $15 vehicle fee applies. A golf cart will carry anyone who needs help on the walk. If it rains, the service moves to the museum's second floor, which can only be reached by stairs. The park takes accessibility questions at 707-938-5216.
The Orchard Is Already Producing
The farming legacy the park points to has a working example this year. The park's Fall 2026 Moonletter reports a harvest of about 500 pounds of prune plums and 1,500 pounds of pears, all donated. That brings the park partnership's total fresh-fruit donations to nearly 17,000 pounds. The orchard has been under restoration since 2015. Measured against eleven years of restoration, this fall's 2,000 pounds is a real share of the total.
The village helps pay for that work. On May 29, Glen Ellen Village Market held its fourth annual Dine and Donate dinner and raised a record $6,100 for Jack London Park Partners. According to the park's news page, that nonprofit funds and operates the park. The dinner drew 122 people.
Back to the Redwood After Thanksgiving
The year began with a hike to the Ancient Redwood, and the last big hike of November goes to the same tree. The Turkey Waddle runs on Friday, November 27, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Hikers meet in the ranch parking lot for a moderate round trip of about 3.5 miles through mixed evergreen forest. Admission is $15, and the park entry fee is waived. The park is also open on Thanksgiving Day itself for anyone who would rather walk off the meal a day early.
The year's last listed program, Invierno en los Museos, ties back to the January 17 Spanish-language event. It is set for Monday, December 21, and is described as an easy one-mile walk for all ages. Stops include a decorated House of Happy Walls and Jack and Charmian's cottage, with talk about London, Beauty Ranch and the region's Mexican history. Park entry is free, and the park asks visitors to register on the event page. The Spanish-language programming is growing. Jack London Park Partners received a Route to Parks grant of nearly $30,000 to expand its Rutas y Aventuras program with transportation help, supplies and three community days.
The Calendar and the Gate
| Date | Program | Start | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun., Nov. 15 | Author's Afternoon: Marlo Faulkner, The Second Mrs. London | 2 p.m. | Free talk, reservations required; $15 vehicle fee |
| Sun., Nov. 22 | Jack London Memorial, 110th anniversary | 10:30 a.m. | Free; $15 vehicle fee |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | Turkey Waddle to the Ancient Redwood | 10 a.m. | $15; park entry waived |
| Sun., Nov. 29 | The Women of Beauty Ranch walk | 10 a.m. | $15; park entry waived |
| Mon., Dec. 21 | Invierno en los Museos | Register on event page | Free park entry |
Anyone who hasn't been since spring will pay more at the kiosk. On June 1, 2026, the vehicle fee went from $10 to $15 for up to nine passengers. It was the first increase since 2012, when the fee rose from $8 to $10. The fee covers the House of Happy Walls, the historic cottage, Beauty Ranch, the historic orchard and more than 30 miles of trails. In the joint announcement on the park's news page, California State Parks Bay Area Superintendent II Maria Mowery said the increase "is necessary to support ongoing trail maintenance, resource protection, and the expansion of parklands like the recently transferred open space from the Sonoma Developmental Center."
The park is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the cottage noon to 4 p.m. The park closes on Christmas Day, and the park, museum and cottage all reopen on New Year's Day.
Glen Ellen's properties carry the same layers of history as Beauty Ranch, with land, buildings and stories that run back generations. If you own one of them and want to talk about its history, how it's been cared for or what comes next, The Shone Group would be glad to listen. Let's Get Started.
