Maidu Museum & Historic Site

What a gem in Roseville! A very small museum but top quality exhibits that interpret the local Native American cultures very accurately and in cooperation with the people they represent. The loop trail outside is a beautiful walk through oak woodlands with professional interpretive panels about the native uses of the land and native words for things along the way, and depictions of the petroglyphs that difficult to make out in most lighting situations. We spent about an hour and a half overall, and I will definitely be back in the spring to see the native plants in bloom!

Unfortunately, the second story of the museum was closed. The displays are interesting, can just about finish viewing the museum in less than an hour. We did take advantage of the outdoor dining area just outside the museum before taking the .25 mile walking trail around the federally preserved land. Though we missed the scheduled guided walking tour, the docent generously volunteered to take us around after we finished our picnic lunch. She provided us with interesting facts about the area, but part of the trail was closed. It's an ok museum, there are more interesting ones around the Sacramento region. It's not one I'd look to come back too, but maybe if I had out of town guests and looking for something to show them.

First time coming here. Parking is a bit confusing, with no designated parking lot. Unless you park in the activity area which was closed. So we had to park on the street, next to apartments. The museum is almost hidden in a sense. It's modern and not that visible besides the sign out by the sidewalk. The inside is really nice and clean. Really cool stuff, and the gentleman working the front desk was very friendly and welcomed our family. We came on a Wednesday so not that many people besides us, maybe if most 3 other families. The admission is $5 for adults. Children under 5 are free. They also have outdoor seating before you hit the walking trail. The trail is not that long, btw, nice sites as you walk. The museum is stroller friendly. As far as the trail, it can get bumpy if you take a stroller on the trail. Very small museum but a relaxing experience.

I attended as chaperone for my son's field trip. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Street parking. Recommend bringing cash in case the machine is down. We had a nature trail hike (easy and short) to learn about the natural environment (plants, food, etc). Then we toured the museum and played some games. I only wish there was more space for the kids to get their wiggles out. Also wish they talked about the poor treatment of the indigenous people (kids are in 3rs grade).

Beautiful place and awesome museum. Lots of good books about native stuff. Awesome volunteers and awesome employees there. The grind holes and the boulder with marks from natives was extremely interesting. Everyone should know history and especially the history of their area

First time experience and was pleased. The staff is very knowledgeable about the history of the tribes and land. It was very informative and great for the young people to educate themselves. Very clean and nice walking trails 👣

Very interesting museum, especially the outdoor half mile interpretive trail looking at the natural world and petroglyphs.

Very informative, beautiful, and interesting to learn about indigenous people in our local communities.

Did you know you can go look at petroglyphs in Roseville, California? I certainly did not until visiting the Maidu museum. You cannot get up close and personal with them like you can in Sweden, but we know why this is and why we cannot have nice things. The museum has kindly set up visual maps that help visitors make out the glyphs along the nicely maintained nature trail. If you are visiting in summer please stay hydrated as the trail is only partially shaded. It's about a 1.5 mile loop, but there's a longer bike trail that it is connected to. All is well-marked. $7 admission will get you access to the walking trail (there's probably a way for local cyclists to access the trail without paying but idk man, I'm from out of town.) and the museum, which does have restrooms and a water fountain inside. My friend and I enjoyed the museum and art exhibits indoors, then our nice nature walk outside to view the petroglyphs, mortars, and grinding rocks. We saw raptors, turkeys, lizards, turtles, deer, rabbits, and probably other creatures I am forgetting by now. Definitely stay on the trail as there are these lovely things called ground hornets (stingers up) we were warned about by the friendly staff. The weather was blessedly fair for July (Pocki brought Swedish summer over here and then left with it when she went back home) so we only had to suffer high 80s on the trail. I highly recommend visiting with walking shoes and water bottles. We spent a good two hours here. One could bring a picnic as there are benches outside, but we didn't bring more than a few snacks. Parking is available wherever you can find it along the suburban street. There is not a dedicated lot, but there are a few disabled parking spaces in the front. Hours: Monday: Closed Tuesday - Sunday: 9AM-4PM

We came on a Saturday during Sacramento Free Museum Weekend and we had a great time. The staff greeted us and gave us a trail map. The museum has artifacts and displays about the Maidu people. Some are interactive with buttons fun for the kids to press. There was even a small gift section with various trinkets and books. We especially loved the trail outside. We were followed the map and walked part of the trial. There were different spots to stop with signs explaining what was there. It was cool learning about how the land, seeing the bedrock mortars, and petroglyphs. It was also very peaceful for being in the middle of Roseville. Although it wasn't very big, we had a fun time and plan to come back!

My wife and I visited the Maidu Museum yesterday. The inside of the museum is filled with amazing artifacts and interesting facts, (including interactive boards) about the Maidu people that occupied this area roughly 3500 years ago. There is also an outdoor walking trail, covered in crushed rock. The trail is flat but the crushed rock might be challenging for those with mobility issues. I would guess the trail to be roughly a mile in length. The outside trails have some amazing rock carvings, creeks and foliage to look at. Every area of interest has a corresponding placard detailing what you're looking at. I would give yourself about 90 minutes to walk through the inside and outside, taking time to read and observe everything the museum offers.

What a great museum to visit! Staff are welcoming and friendly upon entrance. You can have a docent, but, we did not have. There was a field trip that went to the trail so, we had the inner museum to ourselves. So, my family enjoyed it. Wide selections on things to do. It has indoor museum that are attracting not for just adults but also kids. There are movable maps, push button lighted boards, monitor screens, dried out herbs and animal skin/furs, cut out stand up people, ceramic puzzles in the main museum. There's art gallery that kids really enjoyed and looked into. There are lots of kids activities to choose from - coloring, reading, read aloud with TV, weaving activity, small library and stuff animals. There's outdoor trail too. For the admission, it is really worth the money! We love them!

We enjoyed our visit to this museum. It's a small museum but the ambience was peaceful and serene. Even though we couldn't walk outside due to the heat that day, we felt like we heard their stories well. We particularly enjoyed all the arts displayed there. We are planning to return in the cooler months, to walk around the outside.

Very interesting and valid information . Would be nice if there were info booklets available

This place is an asset to the community. It's an asset to the native community and to the Sacramento and Roseville community as well. Very beautiful and they're always seems to be activities available.

Beautiful site which respects Native voices of Maidu relatives still living in the area today. I enjoyed the self guided brochures through the eyes of a Maidu child, elder or adult. Enjoyed the children's area with many hands on activities. Beautiful coloring pages. The upstairs art was gorgeous. It was raining and about to close so we will be back to walk the trail and spend more time. Highly recommend for anyone to visit. Good for families as long as you keep an eye on the children. If you want time to read everything, you need to go without the children or have someone watching them :)

Beautiful walking trail in the nature. Educational for adults and kids. They have museum but you'll need to make reservation ahead of time.

We visited the Maidu Museum & Historic Site for the 16th Annual Sacramento FREE Museum Day Sat 2/1/14. This small museum usually charges $4.50 for adults so we were happy to visit on the FREE Sacramento Day. No photos allowed anywhere inside the Museum, only Outside! There's stories you can read about the Maidu Indian, see baskets they made, there's more in another room. Bathrooms available in the museum & around the side. Upstairs is a small art gallery. They have a small gift shop too. Highlight for us was the short 5/8 of a mile walk outside to see Petroglyphs which are rock carvings, supposedly there are 4 areas for them, only noticed 3. You can't get very close to the rocks, but its still nice to see them. Bedrock Mortars nice to see. Vernal Pools - no water in them this yr 2014! Soap root - didn't see. Rattlesnake Grass - didn't notice them. Midden - not sure about the dark soil. Worth a visit if in the City of Roseville! Hrs & Admission: FREE WiFi M-F 9-4 Sat 9-1 Third Sat 6:30-8:30pm Adult $4.50 Senior & Child $4 Family $16 www.facebook.com/indianmuseum

I took 8 yr old grandson. It would be a much better experience to be part of a group with a docent.

An absolutely wonderful experience. Every time my family and I have come here, the staff is always welcoming as if we are family. Isabella (one if the staff) has ALWAYS greeted us with open arms and ALWAYS keeps us posted as to the upcoming events and art walks. This experience isn't complete without a walk in the nature area. This site is rich and full of natural history. They have worked so hard in keeping this area preserved and beautiful. We always look forward to returning.

Good job Roseville on the Maidu Museum! This hidden gem is located in the middle of the South Placer suburbs, but you are quickly whisked away into pre-colonial California to experience the Maidu culture and historic sites. The native Maidu made use of the area for acorn grinding and a source of water. The museum occupies a corner of the greater regional park. The museum itself is a modern interpretation of a traditional roundhouse with several exhibits on historic and modern Maidu culture and people. It also has an art exhibit and an interesting gift shop. The grounds are the real attraction with preserved petroglyphs and grinding stones. On my visit, the grounds were waking up from their winter slumber and showing off their spring greenery. Several schools field trips were hiking around, but you can easily escape into your own world in the middle of Roseville. I recommend this place to nearly everyone. Families will enjoy the history and roaming areas; adults will enjoy the culture and nature paths. Parking is a bit of a challenge along the road, so you may need to walk a bit, and they do charge admission - but it is very reasonable.

This museum was great. There was a small entry fee $5 per adult, $4 per child or a family of 4 for $16. The museum was very clean and well cared for. Lots of really good information on the Maidu Indians. No photography allowed inside. The trail was a nice walk but didn't add any useful information to the tour in my opinion. I highly recommend visiting this museum. They also have a gift shop with very reasonable prices and unique items for gifts that I plan to visit frequently for crystals.

I went to this museum for the first time today. It was a perfect place to check out on a rainy April afternoon. I was welcomed by a informative worker, who gave me some hints about the museum The museum is focused on the Maidu Indians who inhabited many areas in northern California . It's a fascinating presentation. The basket weaving was an important craft and a necessity in tribe life and they have many hand made of various sizes and shapes. (Original) The building is shaped like the Maidu homes were shaped, circular. It is built on an historic site. There are a number of displays here and stories . It's heartbreaking to see what happened to these spiritual people. I was educated and reminded . This display should not be missed. Take an afternoon or anytime and go through the museum slowly, your heart will be touched .

This place is HUGE! Super fun time for my kids and I. We spent the day hopping around in the little creek and strolling along the paths with my mom. Fun for all ages!

I'm a big fan of museums. So when I had some time to spare, I decided to look up one in Roseville. Came across Maidu and went in. I arrived around 2pm and it was only a $2 entry fee as they close at 4...awesome! The regular price isn't that bad either. Anyways...everyone was so friendly and very informative. The museums had artifacts and photos. I went outside and there were many different trails about a mile long. Well low and behold I found a turkey on my way onto one of the trail and decided to head back inside. I'm not a big fan of birds :( there are other wild animals out there and I wish I was able to make myself go out further but that was a huge turkey. Great for field trips or taking your kids out. I actually went by myself hence the leaving the turkey on the trail. But I honestly enjoyed it and I think the people checking in on me made it that much better.

The museum has extremely limited hours, so my review one star review was earned primarily because it's so difficult to visit. Also, with what looks to be an extensive (probably village) site, a historic marker or two describing the area/site history would be nice, since we made the effort to at least drive by. It's too bad that there's not really much info on the website, either- museum fail.

What a wonderful historical place to visit. Took a trip here with my daughter's 3rd grade class. Very educational for the kids. Our hike with our personal docent was awesome. All the kids loved the experience and definitely learned a lot.

Nice place to come for a walk, play with the kids, have a picnic, they have great batting cages wonderful library and museum would definitely recommend this place to all families. Very peaceful and relaxing. Glad this my neighborhood park!

Great place to take kids to learn about the local Indians (History) and archaeological site.

Sadly, though understandably, I was not allowed to take pictures in the museum, though I was able to get some good shots of the trail outside included father down the post. The first floor of the museum covers the daily lives of the Maidu people: food, clothing, medicine, weaving, etc. shown in colorful and sometimes interactive displays. The first floor also covers the Maidu history including Northern California's own Trail of Tears: the Nome Cult Trail. A 100 mile forced march to the Nome Lackee Indian Reservation, which at points included steep terrain, and only about half of the original 460+ Maidu survived the march. The section also covers the boarding schools and a lovely little piece of legislation that essentially allowed people to kidnap Native American children and use them as indentured servants. It was really rather hard not to get a bit emotional over the horrible shit Native American's had to endure. In the display room features the taveling "Seaweed, Salmon and Manzanita Cider" exhibit that goes very in depth regarding the "traditional hunting, collecting, food preparation and food preservation by California Indian cultures from all regions of California", which gave me a fairly serious craving for smoked salmon. I was also interested in the custom of "Giving to the Deer" which entailed never eating a deer(and possibly other animals?) that you killed yourself, but giving it to your family and neighbors thereby using the death of the dear to continue to lives of others. The second floor contains art works including a fantastic wolf painting that I could probably never afford but will fantasize about anyway. There seemed to be a lot fewer paintings on the second floor than the last time I visited, which may have been part of a traveling show. Either way, the second floor looks somewhat empty these days and it would be nice see more art there. Outside the museum are the historical trails which are about a mile long and include a seasonal wetland, a year round creek, petroglyphs, and bedrock mortars. It's a rather smallish museum but really does a good job explaining all aspects of the Maidu lives and culture, though as I mentioned earlier, they certainly have plenty of room for more art on the second floor. The trails outside are nice and quiet and certainly wouldn't challenge even the most inexperienced hiker. The petroglyphs really add a sense of history and wonder to the site. Also, the price really can't be beat.

A Must See - Great for every age! Thank you for the Free Museum Day Visit Feb. 3, 2018! Our 8 year boy old loved the special day activities for kids; cracking and grinding acorns, bracelet making, and acorn spinning with kind museum helpers. We loved exploring the beautifully designed museum and doing the challenging scavenger hunt the kind museum greeter told us about. The highlight was the walking tour with Alex. He was excellent at explaining the nature around us and the history of the Maidu Indians daily life. He projects his voice in a good way so even a large group can hear him. He deserves a raise! Our first time to the museum and we have lived in Granite Bay many years. Note for Parents: plan to keep kids by your side and off the historic petroglyph rocks for the 45 walking tour, in respect to the history and the other museum guests. Loved learning all the history - we'll be back! Melissa Mitchell

I just had my mother's memorial service at this beautiful museum. The atmosphere was perfect. The museum is round with great natural acoustics. The director helped me find a native American flute player for the ceremony. Buffet luncheon was served in an adjacent room that had a large video screen with easy lap top hook up for my mom's memorial slide show. The room had good ambient lighting and felt intimate and relaxed. Most of the guests took advantage of the beautiful trail outside that weaves through the Maidu site under old oak trees next to a babbling brook where you can see many birds and ancient petroglyphs. This was a sweet meditative walk for those attending. The directors of the museum were kind and very attentive. My mother was a very spiritual and metaphysical person. This museum was a wonderful space in which to honor those qualities. Everyone was impressed and said it was the best funeral they ever attended.