Cambria - Hearst Castle

We drove down and LA from the bay area. This time we took the more scenic Hwy 101. We crossed over to Hwy 1 and visited Hearst Castle. It is WELL WORTH the detour. You cut away from 101 at Paso Robles and take 46 to Cambria. This area is becoming known as another wine country in California. There were lots of nice wineries with tastings. We did not allow time to stop, but plan to on the next trip. You hit the Pacific near Cambria. The coast is breathtaking and stopping to enjoy the tide pools is worth the stop. Kids and adults will love hunting for sea stars, crabs and other creatures. Moonstone Beach is the most famous beach in the area, but other beaches can compete. Cambria is cute, with fun restaurants and quirky shops, although it can be a little sleepy. However, if you want quiet and cute, you have found your spot! This area is a great one-night stop on your way up or down the coast or a week if you want to just disappear.

Quick Tips:

Check out the tide pools. It doesn't get any better than this for a hands-on nature lesson. Walk on the beach (too rough for a swim). On Moonstone Beach, they have wonderful planked walkways over the dunes.

Shop in Cambria, check out the small theater, or visit the local lighthouse. The nearby beaches are also home to elephant seals.

Most of all, visit HEARST CASTLE -- give it a FULL DAY and enjoy all four tours. It's worth it! You will understand why Hearst picked this area for his getaway mansion.

Best Way To Get Around:

You will need a car for this trip. There is little local transportation, plus you will want to drive the coast on your own and explore.

The hotel is very comfortable. It's a low-rise (one level) typical motel-style hotel. The motel is modern and the upkeep is great. Things were very tidy around The Fireside Inn. It's located directly across Hwy 1 from Moonstone Beach.

The office is small with a nice fireplace. There is a medium sized pool and a relaxing hot tub and a cozy breakfast room. Rates all include a hearty self serve breakfast. What more could you want? The hotel is clean and comfortable and in a great location. Breakfast is good and the pool and hottub are great. Being a motel, the parking is easy and convinent, our car was right outside our front door.

At check in, the staff was a little unfriendly. We asked for a dining suggestion and all we got was a grunt and a finger pointing to a book of menus on the coffee table. Not a smile or a suggestion to be had. Things were more friendly the next morning when the woman who took care of the breakfast room was more chatty and had lots of smiles and "Good Mornings" for all the guests.

The room was a nice size, newly decorated. It seemed fresh and updated. Our room did have a very ugly parking lot view. However, front rooms have a WONDERFUL beach view with great private patios. Some larger rooms have a fireplace.

The hotel is near downtown Cambria (5 minutes) and 10 minutes to Hearst Castle and right on the beach. It's a great location for all your coastal exploring.

The restaurant (as the name suggests) is right across from the Moonstone Beach. On a warm night you can sit out on the patio and look across Hwy1 to the ocean and beach. On our night, the fog had rolled in and the weather had made it not suitable for outdoor dining (even with heat lamps). The inside is fine, you have large picture windows looking across to the beach. The waitstaff was friendly. The restaurant is not fancy, but a little more upscale than most in the area. They offer a full bar and a great menu.

The menu was expansive with lots of choices. It runs from fresh fish, to steaks to pastas. The kids had steak and it was excellent. I had an orange -coated halibut and it too was delicious.

It's well worth for the meal for the service, food and, yes, the view. Moonstone Beach is one of a kind and they have a prime spot on the beach!

Words cannot describe this attraction! I have seen photos for years but to actually be here is awesome. The castle is hard to describe in words. It's a European castle built on the top of a hill in the middle of nowhere. How they got the materials up this hill is a wonder. Julia Morgan worked her magic to build this great work, so far away from any major city.

WR Hearst threw parties, entertained movie stars and politicians here, and lived in this wonderful estate six months each year. It has been left intact and much like it was in Hearst's day. You can feel what it must have been like to be one of the honored weekend guests at this estate.

The tours are well run. The estate is SO large that it requires four tours to see the entire estate. These tours run all day long and you can book via the castle's own website at HearstCastle.com. Four tours are offered plus an evening tour. Tour number 1 is where to start. If time only allows you one tour, this is the one you will want to purchase. This tour includes a film, the main house (first floor) plus the pool area. The other three tours include the pools, gardens, guesthouses, second floor, wine cellar, and kitchen. Each tour overlaps a bit.

The main house is called Casa Grande and looks more like a church than a home. Hearst built it that way on purpose. It was suppose to be the centerpiece of this hilltop village and that is always a church. The main house is awesome, but I enjoyed the small cottages and guesthouse most of all. I love Casa del Mar.

You start at the base of the hill at the visitors’ center and take a five-minute bus ride up the hill. Each tour requires that your return to the base of the hill to the visitors center and back up again for the next tour. It's a long ride on a curvy road and if you get motion sickness it's not fun to have to go up and down all day. We had three different guides this day and each one was outstanding and really knew their facts. They are full of cute and interesting stories and facts.

The visitors’ center has a snack bar and a gift shop. The snack bar is a basic hamburger and hot dog counter and not very interesting. There are tables to eat at outside. Things can get chilly if you pick a day with lots of fog.

This place is very well run, very organized, and worth a detour off Hwy 101 for a visit.