Hearst San Simeon State Historical Park
State Park · San Simeon, California
Hearst San Simeon State Historical Park is the state park unit around Hearst Castle, at 750 Hearst Castle Rd in San Simeon on California's Central Coast. The park covers the hill the castle stands on and the ranch land and highway frontage below it, where the Santa Lucia Mountains drop toward the Pacific. Most visitors start at the visitor center and parking at the base (confirm), then ride a State Parks shuttle bus up the hill (confirm) for a guided tour. The tours are the real draw and are covered by the Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument row, so planning a visit here means booking those tours (confirm). Wild zebras descended from Hearst's private zoo have been seen grazing near the highway (confirm). Fog, wind and heat on the hill vary hour to hour, and the climate on the hill can differ sharply from the beach below. Without a tour, the grounds you can reach are limited, and this is not a hiking or beach park.
750 Hearst Castle Rd, San Simeon, California, 93452, United States
California State Parks has generally run the visitor center and shuttle on a daily schedule from morning to late afternoon, with tours leaving at set times and the last tour well before closing - confirm the days, the hours and the tour times on the park page before you set out. Some holidays may be dark, and winter and summer schedules differ. The park is a tour operation, not a walk-in area, so arriving at random hours gets you the parking lot and the gift shop at best. Highway 1 closures to the north in Big Sur can change how people arrive, so check road status the same morning.
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