On Hwy. 79 a little west of the town, the mission grounds include the church, the small museum, gift shop, cemetery, orchard, and the floored of the first chapel. Visitors may walk the grounds. The peaceful setting is ideal for reflective thinking of a personal nature or on topics such as the theft of church bells. Several bird species may be found on the grounds.
I've been on a quest to visit everything in California related to the Missions. Asistencia Santa Ysabel (pronounced Isabel) was founded in 1818 as an outpost to Mission San Diego, the first Mission in California. It is not large and historic ruins are few, but this little church in the middle of no-where is usually very peaceful and historic. A small museum is located in a small room at the side of the church. Historic cemetery and open spaces are adjacent. I've visited many times, once I discovered a large funeral for a very popular local man. It's still important to the local community.
Blink and you'll miss the sign leading to this tiny mission, which seems more like a normal church than an actual mission to me. But it's lovely, nonetheless, with some rather amazing artwork. Don't miss the little one-room "museum".
While the mission asistencia (Junior mission) is quite small with few historic outbuildings or displays, it really conjures up the look and setting of the missions in rural California in the early 19th century. A lovely spot on a beautiful drive if heading from the north to Julian. Also visit Pala mission asistencia further north which still has an active Indian school.
Wow, history abounds in this area. Originally founded in the early 1800's as an Assistencia to the Mission in San Diego. We missed being their when the Mission Museum and Gift Store were open. Next time. Educational and enjoyable to walk the grounds and visit the Cemetery.
In our quest to visit all the missions, we spotted this one while traveling thru Santa Ysabel so made a quick stop on a Sunday. Services were just ending. The church has beautiful stained glass windows that the sun was streaming through. A small mission, but certainly a lovely one.
Went hiking at the Santa Ysabel preserve and was told there was a mission nearby. I had to check it out. This is a small sub-mission. It's not one of the main missions along El Camino Real. It's very small and quaint, but very peaceful and serene. There's a small museum, a shrine to Mary outside and a gift shop (it wasn't open on the weekend when I visited). They do hold Catholic masses and was greeted by the priest when I went into the main church. The signature El Camino Real bell is also on site. I love seeing those!
Santa Ysabel Mission is a working church, with Saturday evening services as well as Sunday services. This is a "mini" mission, built for this outlying area of San Diego, on the edge of the Santa Ysabel Reservation. It is stark and basic in design, both inside and out, and a careful visit to the cemetery will give you an overall idea of its patronage. Really an interesting place to attend church.
A small mission that still serves the community, it is rich in history. The main sanctuary features beautiful woodworking and stained glass windows marking the stations of the cross. There is a small museum on the property which details the long history of the church and the sad story of how the bells went missing.
This is a very small, simple and serene mission with a great museum on the same grounds. We were in love with the stain glass and the simplicity of how people used to live. There is a very interesting cemetery to visit and a gift shop. Great stop for a quick break.