Our Great Fulltime RV Escape: Hearst Castle, San Simeon, CA

Today we visited the Hearst Castle and we give it a big thumbs up! We got there well in advance of our Casa Grande (main house) Grand Rooms tour time and had lots of time to watch the Hearst movie and browse around the small museum, etc.

Driving up to the Castle

The bus ride from the Visitors Center up to the castle complex provided a gorgeous view of the rolling hillsides and shining sea. It was during this ride that we learned of the Hearst Zoo, the world's largest private zoo in the early 1930s. Animals such as Zebras, Camels, Llamas, and Kangaroos roamed freely in fields around the castle.

I enjoyed the tour of the Grand Rooms, but was a bit surprised to learn that Casa Grande was never finished. Although not fully explained, my assumption is that the Depression interrupted the construction. Although Randolph Hearst got back on financial track, I suppose impetus was lost and the project was left incomplete.

Assembly Room

It is evident that Hearst loved Flemmish tapestries - they are hung lavishly in every room we saw. And these rooms are also filled with numerous antiquities and artwork, all very valuable.

Although the Hearst Castle is not yet 100 years old, restoration efforts are already underway. This makes me wonder whether the original construction was properly done; it seems premature for a building of this caliber to already need so much work. Nonetheless, it is indeed very beautiful.

There are also three "cottages" in the castle complex: Casa del Monte, Casa del Sol, and Casa del Mar. We did not see the inside of these buildings (a different tour) but apparently they were all completed. These cottages were used by guests and family members, but everyone was required to dine at Casa Grande - the cottages were not built with kitchens or dining rooms. Randolph Hearst and his family lived in Case del Mar until 1928, at which time Hearst finally moved into Casa Grande.

While the buildings are marvelous, the gardens and terraces are amazing! And they were my favorite aspects of the Hearst Castle. See below for some photos (remember, you can click on each one for a larger image).

As we were driving back down the hill on the bus, the driver told us to watch for the Zebra herd that roams off CA-1 between San Simeon and Cambria - they are descendants of Zebras that lived on the lands of the Hearst Zoo in the 1930s. So, we are on the lookout for Zebras!