Manzanar National Historic Site
California
Tonight
🌗 46% moon
6.9 h fully dark
Crowds
low
Entrance
Free entry
Manzanar Remains Open During US 395 Pavement Project
CalTrans begins a monthslong pavement project on US 395 adjacent to Manzanar National Historic Site on Monday, May 11, 2026. Crews will be working to ensure access to Manzanar remains open, but it will be important to travel cautiously as typical access may involve detours and map apps may be inaccurate. Though work is scheduled only during weekdays, lane closures and detours will be in place throughout the week. More information may be available through CalTrans.
Official NPS alert →In 1942, the United States government ordered more than 110,000 men, women, and children to leave their homes and detained them in remote, military-style camps. Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps where the US government incarcerated Japanese immigrants ineligible for citizenship and Japanese American citizens during World War II.
Activities
Topics
No entrance fee.
Hours & seasons
The driving tour and grounds remain open daily from sunrise to sunset. Visitor center hours are more limited. See visitor center hours section for more information.
Hours are reported by the park — verify before you go.
📞 (760) 878-2194
✉ manz_information_request@nps.govConditions
Quietest months (fewer crowds): Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec
Typical crowds: low
Weather now: ☀️ Clear, 96°F
☁️ 105°/74°
⛅ 104°/81°
☁️ 99°/82°
Typical monthly recreation visits · NPS avg 2023–2025 — orange months are the quietest by crowds.
Quietest months
Relative crowds by month — lighter is quieter; ringed months are the calmest by crowds.
Jan
36%
Feb
40%
Mar
53%
Apr
84%
May
100%
Jun
99%
Jul
100%
Aug
89%
Sep
74%
Oct
77%
Nov
46%
Dec
37%
Log a sky reading
Measured the sky with an SQM meter or app? Add your reading (16 = city glow … 22 = pristine). Opt in under “Travelers like you” to share it on the community leaderboard.
Things to do
Driving, Biking, and Walking at Manzanar · 3.2 mi · Since exploration can drastically impact duration, keep in mind that the tour road is 3.2 miles long and one way. The area within the reconstructed barbed wire fence is about one square mile.
Become a Manzanar Junior Ranger · The length of time needed to become a Manzanar Junior Ranger varies greatly based on age and other factors. With focused effort, the on-site experience usually take 1-2 hours as it requires watching the 22 minute film, reveiwing exhibits, and driving the tour route. The at home experience also requires the film (available on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spo1Khmp2U4&t=1s">Manzanar YouTube Channel</a>), but also relies on website searches.
Explore Manzanar Block 14 Exhibits · Reading every word of every exhibit will add time to your Block 14 experience.
Visitor centers
Block 14
Manzanar Visitor Center
Accessibility
30 audio-described place(s)
Reported by the park — verify before you go.
Parking
Visitor Center Parking Lot · 78 accessible spacesaccessible
Not an official safety source — always defer to NPS.gov and rangers for life-safety decisions.
By the numbers
A visual read on Manzanar National Historic Site — its character, trails, sky, and weather.
Park fingerprint
How this park scores across the dimensions travelers care about.
Trail difficulty
Difficulty mix across this park's trails.
3-day forecast
Daily high and low temperatures (°F).
People & stories
Figures tied to Manzanar National Historic Site — each spans a cross-park journey.
Dr. Kazue Togasaki
— Women's History, Ggnra, Japanese AmericanHannah Tomiko Holmes
— Tule Lake, Tule Lake War Relocation Center, Tule Lake National MonumentPassport stamps
Mark the stamps you've collected — they show in your memory and along your routes.
🎫 Manzanar Visitor Center
Places to see
Block 14, Manzanar
audio
Block 22 Garden, Manzanar
audio
Block 34 Garden, Manzanar
audio
Camouflage Net Factory at Manzanar
audio
Education at Manzanar, Block 16
audio
First Street, Manzanar
audio
Guayule at Manzanar
audio
History of the Manzanar Cemetery
audio
Judo Dojo at Manzanar
audio
Legacy of the Manzanar Cemetery
audio
Manzanar Auditorium
audio
Manzanar Baseball
audioAudio & media
🎧
🎬
🖼
Learn more
This series will look beyond the historical facts relating to E.O. 9066 and explore the human side of the story. One incarcerate from each of the 10 camps with be highlighted in this year long series.
Six people and programs received the 2015 Harzog Award for their exceptional volunteer service. Check out their amazing contributions!
Congratulations to all the two 2019 recipients of the national Freeman Tilden Awards. Learn more about all their innovative interpretive programs.
View recipients of the National Park Service Freeman Tilden Awards, which recognize outstanding contributions to the practice of interpretation and education by NPS employees.
On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order No. 9066 empowering the U.S. Army to designate areas from which "any or all persons may be excluded." No person of Japanese ancestry living in the United States was ever convicted of any serious act of espionage or sabotage during the war.
Manzanar National Historic Site is the best-preserved of the Japanese American War Relocation Centers operated by the U.S. Government between 1942 and 1945. Incarcerees endured harsh living conditions and created a self-sustainable community by transforming the extreme desert environment into a more livable landscape. Today, historic fruit trees survive from the period as an indication of the resiliency of the incarcerated individuals who cared for them.
Aiji Nagano was incarcerated at Manzanar.
Albert Mizuhara was incarcerated at Topaz.
How Manzanar National Historic Site connects
This park's activities, topics, location, and on-the-ground places — one hop in the graph. Drag to explore; click an activity, topic, or related park to follow it.
Park
Activity
Topic
State
VisitorCenter
PassportStamp
ParkingLot
Trail
ThingToDo
Alert
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