Discover the most magical spots to pitch your tent or park your rig on your next Tule Lake National Monument adventure.
These crumbling buildings show how thousands of Japanese Americans were interred during WWII. Begin your tour at the Tulelake-Butte Valley Fairgrounds Museum. The segregation center was the largest U.S. camp where Japanese-Americans were detained, beginning in 1942. The camp became a high-security center in 1943, housing those who refused to sign a loyalty oath.
From the museum, a Ranger tour takes you to the jail. Graffiti on the walls tells a haunting story of how much prisoners missed their homes. Some never made it back. When the camp closed in 1946, 331 detainees had died there.
This site also encompasses a former POW camp, which housed German and Italian soldiers. A one-hour walking tour takes you by the camp's remaining buildings.
Plan your trip in advance because tours are offered only on Saturdays in the summer. However, the museum is open year-round, Monday through Friday. Touring this site is all about soaking up the nation's history. This is an impactful experience, but one that also focuses on the prisoners' resiliency.
The camp was a small city with everyday services, like a barber shop and a post office. Prisoners grew their own food in nearby fields, and 1,490 babies were born there. This site brings history to life and honors those who survived a difficult chapter.