Charles Schulz Museum

Charles Schulz Museum Commemorates "Sparky" and the Peanuts Gang

• Open: Open daily but closed Tuesdays, January 1, Easter Sunday, July 4, Thanksgiving, December 24-25
• Reservations: Not required
• Cost: Admission fee
• Location: 60 miles north of San Francisco in Santa Rosa, driving directions below
• How Long: Allow a couple of hours, more if you're a big fan who wants to read every strip
• Best Time to Visit: Any time

Charles Schulz remains one of the world's most beloved cartoonists. In 1997, cartoon historian Mark Cohen, working with Schulz's wife and attorney began plans for a museum to honor Charles Schulz. They wanted to show the world how his work inspired and taught us all.

About the Charles Schulz Museum

The museum is small, but covered with cartoons. You'll encounter them everywhere - on signs (a running Snoopy points the way to the restrooms), in the exhibits and on ceramic tiles that make up a two-story-high mural Charlie Brown, Lucy and The Football, designed by Japanese artist Yoshiteru Otani. It's made of over 3,000 black-and-white Peanuts strips printed on two- by eight-inch ceramic tiles, arranged to recreate the classic Charlie Brown and Lucy scene.

Charles Schulz's study is upstairs, along with Peanuts strips grouped by topic. You can also see the mural wall Schulz painted in his Colorado Springs home in 1951, carefully removed and installed in the museum. Other rotating exhibitions round out the offerings.

Schulz once said, "Cartooning is still just drawing funny pictures," and his pictures were funny indeed - everywhere in the museum, people giggle, laugh, chortle and snort at the cartoons, alternating from cartoon-induced belly laughs to the verge of tears at the thought of Schulz's death.

Charles Schulz Museum Review

As an admitted fan of Good Ol' Charlie Brown, I rate the Charles Schulz Museum 5 out of 5. Reading Peanuts comic strips and chuckling for a couple of hours is good for anyone. However, the Charles Schulz Museum is not a good place to take children who are too young to read or enjoy the comic strips.

Others may disagree. You can see what other people just like you think about it, then bookmark this page and after you've been there, come back and tell us what you think.

What do you think of the Charles Schulz Museum as a tourist destination?

• 0 = Yuck! Just say no to this flea-bitten hole of a tourist trap
• 1 = So-So More fun than a night in jail, but you might enjoy a good nap more
• 2 = OK Some people find it interesting, but I didn't
• 3 = Good Go if you have time, but it's not a big deal if you miss it
• 4 = Great I really liked it, and I think you will, too
• 5 = Awesome! It's a must-see sight that I recommend to everyone

Getting to the Charles Schulz Museum

Charles Schulz Museum
2301 Hardies Lane
Santa Rosa, CA
707-579-4452
website

From San Francisco, take Highway 101 North across the Golden Gate Bridge. On the north side of Santa Rosa, exit at Guerneville Road/Steele Lane. Turn left onto Steele Lane, then get into the right lane and stay there. Where the street splits, go straight ahead on West Steele Lane. After you cross Range Avenue and past the Redwood Empire Ice Arena, you'll find the museum at the corner of West Steele Lane and Hardies Lane.