On our trip to Northern California last October, Shane and I made a stop at the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose.
A little background on the Winchester Mystery House: The mystery house is a mansion located in San Jose, California. The mansion is known for it’s unique architecture and odd design. The home was once owned and built by Sarah Winchester, the widow of William Winchester involved in the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The mansion was constructed in 1886 and has since then been known by many to be haunted by ghosts who were killed by Winchester rifles.
If you are still curious to learn and see more about the mystery house, the film “Winchester”, that came out in 2018, does a great job telling the story and showing off the unique features of the mansion.
Hours: Hours are posted on their website but tours typically take place between 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM or 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM depending on the day of the week.
Tickets: Tickets are available for purchase on their website ($39.99 adults, $32.99 seniors, $19.99 children 6-12.) We visited in October and they were offering a Halloween Flashlight tour at night!
Duration of Tour: The tour takes about 1 hour. The tour guide we had was very informative and loved answering any questions our tour group had.
Parking: Parking is free and available in the front. There is also an overflow parking lot across the street.
Overall, the Winchester Mystery House Tour was a really neat experience. We would recommend checking out the mansion if you are in the San Jose area on your travels! Feel free to keep scrolling if you want to see some photos of inside the house and outside around the property!
The famous staircase to nowhere!
We scheduled our tour in the late afternoon so we could drive out to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk after and find a nearby beach to catch the sunset. It was about a 45 minute drive from the Winchester Mystery House out to to the coast.
Santa Cruz Boardwalk
Davenport Beach
