folsom prison museum

They have a great tribute to Johnny Cash. Very cool exhibits. It is a small museum but only 2.00 and you get bragging rights. Lots of books, t shirts, etc. The noon siren will blow so if you are there at noon don't panic. LOL.

Being a Johnny Cash fan, we had to make a short drive to Folsom Prison and learned a lot. There were items. including items made by prisoners, from the old prison and an section on Johnny Cash. We were fortunate to be able to talk a good while to an gentleman who had worked at the prison years ago and now worked at the visitor center. From the parking lot both the prison and the guard towers are visible, but you cannot get close. When we knew we would be in the area we had to make a stop.

We were in Folsom visiting a son and his family. A visit to the Folsom Prison Museum was suggested as an afternoon activity. We ranged in age from 70 down to 5 and all seemed interested but in different things. The museum is small and run by volunteers. There is a small charge of $2.00 per person which we gladly paid and then donated additional to help the museum. The lady that conducted our tour was a retired guard and had some very interesting personal stories to tell and facts to relate. As has been said in other reviews, much info on Johnny Cash and his concert recorded here in Folsom. Some neat artifacts and collections of knives, guns, law enforcement patches, etc. If you are already in Folsom and have from 30 minutes to two hours to spare.....why not! We enjoyed our outing and ended up spending about an hour and a half here.

We visited the museum when we were passing by Folsom. The museum is small (just 3 rooms), but so is the price. They have some interesting artifacts and Johnny Cash related info here. The teen in the family liked this place, too. A lot of info about prison, prison breaks, prison artifacts etc. Outside you can take a picture of the prison, real Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison style. It was a cloudy day, but I can imagine that when it is sunny, you can take even better pics. And I loved the semi wild turkeys wandering in the area. Guards were really nice and helpful. We though first that we were in the wrong place since the museum is next to the prison and we could not see it first from the parking lot.

Folsom Prison is huge and sits on a wide expanse of land near Folsom Lake. The scenery is really impressive, so a drive around the perimeter is something worth doing if you're already in the area. One can't actually go inside the prison, but you can view the entrance from a short distance. The museum holds a fair amount of artifacts and has a good portion of info about the history of the prison, including Johnny Cash's visits (he was never a prisoner at Folsom, contrary to popular belief). The museum itself is nothing too extraordinary. It's actually very small & some of the info was obviously printed directly from a wiki site. However, the museum director was knowledgable and friendly. He was able to answer all questions. For $2, it was worth checking out. We were able to take a few photos of the outside of the prison. If you're a Johnny Cash fan, it's definitely worth a stop. You can see from a distance where Cash posed for a photo standing by East Gate.

great to see and would say a 'must see' if you are in the area.However it feels really small and consists of a few cabinets of artifacts from the prisons history and some pictures mostly revolving around johnny cash. There were a few bigger items such as a ferris wheel made of tooth picks. Would have been better to be able to go in a cell or see more of what the actual prison was like rather than just a few items taken out of the prison over the years.but for the entry price of $2 it was definetly a fair price.

While in town for the Folsom Blues Breakout half marathon, we visited Folsom Prison. We were able to take a picture outside the iconic gate and walk around the museum. It was VERY small. It looks like they have plans to expand it from a poster I saw outside. It didn't really answer our question as to why the prison is so famous or popular.

museum only had a few artifacts and newspaper articles and a small sample of a cell. No access to the actual prison - no tours available

This little museum is very interesting and if you take the "tour" by the docent, the museum facts will make it more interesting for you. It is well worth the time to visit this small museum.

This was a no brainer for my family and i as we are all country and rockabilly music fans with a particular interest in Johnny Cash, we also love history so this place ticks all the boxes, we arrived right on closing time and the prison guard at the gate was polite and helpful, no power trip at all, he explained we had arrived upon closing and probably miss out, but after my wife explained that we had traveeld across the globe to get here, he opened up for us for an hour on our own, what a Gentleman! This place is not for everyone with a bit of a macabre feel, but we loved it, amazing displays and times made from prisoners, to stand where JR once stood and played was a real blast

A lot of information and objects packed in a few small rooms. Would give it 4 stars if the museum actually had more space to show all the things they have in a more professional way.Lovely (volunteer) staff and absolutely worth a visit.

If you are in the Folsom Area, I would definitely recommend a stop at the Folsom Prison Museum. The museum is very small. Our visit only took about 30 minutes. There is a lot of Johnny Cash stuff of course, and a bunch of interesting old prison items. The prison itself is really cool to see. You cant get too close to the actual prison Gate entrance, but you can get a really cool picture of it with the tower. The rock walls are really cool looking. It is definitely worth a stop if you are in the area.

30 minutes is all you need to swing by and learn some pretty cool trivia. Johnny Cash fans will certainly enjoying learning about where one of the man in black's greatest live albums was recorded. We actually started walking down the hill toward the prison gates are and were stopped and told to turn around!

If you like history, Johnny Cash, or prison history etc. This is a interesting place to go. You park in an area a bit away from the museum. But its easy to get to museum.It is a small building, with a few rooms full of prison history, pictures, and interesting objects. The people who run it are retired guards. There was a very nice lady when we went, she showed us around and told us about her time as a guard and guided us through the museum. There is a small gift shop inside with postcards and tshirts and books. The money goes to charities. The prison is surrounded by alot of land, the museum lady told us alot of animals have found refuge in the area. There was deer walking across the street.You can take a pic with the tower in background, just dont get any guards in the picture and dont cross the crosswalk ( a guard told us).

Just a small taste of History. Small little friendly place, and even though it could just take a few minutes to visit, it is well worth the trip just to view the entire experience. Lots of history to see here folks. You just can't see these things anywhere else. We go regularly just because it is so interesting! History is Amazing, and having this prison tucked into our little community here is really kind of surreal, if you think about it. So many different people and events have been and happened here. And so much more in the area. Keep Looking! Lots of great places for lunch and beautiful views of the lake and dam...