Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill is a private chapel just outside of Shandon on Highway 46 about 18 miles east of Paso Robles (Paso is half way between Los Angeles and San Francisco on Highway 101 in California).

[Photos on this page can be enlarged by clicking on them. Click outside the photo to close the box it displays in.]

As you come to the Shandon turnoff on 46 look to the north and you will see a private road going past farm buildings. On top of the hill in the distance you will see the top half of a small chapel. If you are lucky, you will be able to visit the chapel (see below for the most current schedule I’m aware of and contact information).

The chapel itself is designed to look something like a Spanish mission.

There is a patio and BBQ area behind the chapel.

And, on the side of the chapel a small fountain provides an interesting counterpoint.

The chapel is small inside but well set up for meditation or small ceremonies. The window is modeled after Saint Peter’s in Rome.

The only problem is that you have to walk up a rather steep hill to get from the parking lot to the chapel (there is a road up the back side but it’s really designed to discourage auto traffic; I’d feel comfortable on it only in a four-wheel-drive vehicle). [Note: That was my observation on the last visit many years ago. Looking at the Google images for this revised page it appears that the back road has been improved. Makes sense as wedding parties and caterers have to make their way up to the chapel area.]

Schedule and Contact: The chapel is private but often open on Sundays. A Catholic Mass is said by visiting clergy at 10am and, weather permitting, the chapel then stays open until around 3pm or a bit later. There is no set schedule. For further info you can call the owner’s office at (805) 238-7110.

Colophon

All photographs on this page were taken in the 1996-1997 time frame on Kodak Gold-400 print film. The prints were scanned to convert them to digital for presentation here.

[This page was moved from my TomsDomain.com site to TomsFotos 26 Feb 2014.]