The hook
Every other California mission is a church with some ruins around it. La Purísima is the whole thing, rebuilt board by adobe board, the only place you can walk through a mission as it actually was.
01Why it's worth it
Founded in 1787 and flattened by the 1812 earthquake, La Purísima might have vanished like most of the mission outbuildings did, but in the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps took it on as one of the largest historical reconstructions ever attempted in the country. Over seven years, working from the foundations up, they rebuilt ten of its structures and refurnished them: the church, the long colonnaded residence, the workshops, the soldiers' quarters, the blacksmith and candle and weaving rooms, even the elaborate water system that still runs from springs a mile above. The result is the most completely restored mission in California, and it's a state park rather than an active church, so you walk through furnished rooms, past gardens of old California plants and live burros and longhorn cattle, and get the whole working settlement instead of just the sanctuary. On living-history days, costumed volunteers fire up the crafts.
02How to experience it
It's northeast of Lompoc off Highway 246, about five hours from the Bay. There's a vehicle fee, and the grounds are big, so give it a couple of hours at least. Spring is best for the gardens and green hills. Check the calendar for Mission Life demonstration days, when the whole place comes alive with costumed crafts and animals.