paso robles pioneer museum

The place to be before or after the Pioneer Day parade is the Pioneer Museum, located at 2010 Riverside Ave. in Paso Robles.

Meander over to the museum early morning or after the parade

Do ya’all know where the “best-est fun on Pioneer Day” is? Sure, the parade route down Spring St. is fabulous. Yep, the Bean Feed in City Park is killer yummy. BUT, the dog-gone best-est place ta be is at Pioneer Museum! How come Chuck?
Well, starting at about 6 a.m., the tractors are being started up and the Ag equipment is getting hooked up to get in line.

paso robles pioneer museum

Gunslingers agree – the Paso Robles Pioneer Museum is the place to be!


Wagons and buggies are pulled out of the Museum’s Transportation Hall and receive their final dust-off. Billows of smoke and the roar of the engines from antique autos mix with enthusiasm of the men and women swapping stories.
Sipping coffee, munching scrambled eggs with bacon and toast while trying to stay warm and wishing the Sun would come up is the morning routine. This is definitely my favorite time to see the parade taking shape and experiencing the history and equipment of El Paso de Robles come to life!
When the parade is over and our tummies are full of “leave-your-wallet-at-home” free food, back to the Museum is where it’s at! Pioneer Museum is open for tours, the parade equipment is all lined up around the parking areas and you can now get up-close-and-personal with the behemoths you saw roll done the center of town. Parking is easy at the Event Center and the walk over only takes three minutes.
This year, the Museum staff is focusing on youth activities to go along with home-made bread and fresh butter made right there in an antique washing machine! Quilters and spinners will be demonstrating their skills and the newest display – the recreation in 1/3 jaw-dropping-scale of the original Paso Robles Hotel (before the fire) will be sure to amaze. With ,6000 artifacts across the campus, there is always something new to see.
Come on down early morning or after the parade. You’ll love it and you can thank me later!