Atalaya Castle at Huntington Beach State Park

Very cool old mansion. I enjoyed walking around the parameters and each room is very unique. The best part was the view of the ocean from inside the mansion.

For an extra $ 2 you can get a brochure and peruse this interesting bit of history. Thanks to the Huntingtons who built this compound from scratch with no blueprints, this beautiful waterfront setting was saved from further development since the 1930s. Her sculpting studio and story that goes with it is really worth a walk through.

Thought that I had written a review on this place last year but I guess I had just written it on Huntington Beach State Park. So, we visited this Castle in July of 2014. We have been coming to Litchfield Beach each summer for the past 3 years. This was a fun place to visit. I love touring and learning about history — especially buildings. The grounds are large and beautiful. Each room has a card on the wall that tells you about the history of that room. This family also owned what is now Brookgreen Gardens which is on the other side of Hwy 17. That is a must see as well. What can I say? It’s an old castle, owned by rich people who had servants. It is interesting that they were a married couple with dogs only yet they needed so many rooms and servants. Tip: wear comfortable shoes, bring a towel to wipe your sweat, a water bottle, and a sun hat or an umbrella for shade.

A great place to head after spending the morning lounging on the beach, if you’re looking for a little ‘chill’ vs. ‘explore’ balance while on vacation… a little local history, a little culture, all in the offbeat package that is Atalaya (pronounced: at-​a-​lie-​uh), a winter home built and intended for use by the Huntington’s as a working and living space that helped circumvent the social obligations of ‘big city’ living.
Whether you’re a fan of quirky architecture, appreciate beautiful state park settings, want a fun place to access a dune-​style stretch of sandy beach, or like to poke through buildings just one Cat-​4 hurricane away from being memories, Atalaya is worth the stop. If you’re a fan of A. Huntington’s sculpture, it’s even more interesting, as a tour certainly gives insight .
If you have the time and are lucky enough to come across one of their daily tours (included in entrance fee of 2 $), do join.
Entrance to the Huntington state park is also required, but do note: both the parks (HBSP and MBSP) can be visited on the same day for one entry charge.
There’s also a wildlife learning center and plenty of spots for wildlife watching at the park.

This is a fun piece of relatively recent history plopped down in the middle of a state park. At only $ 2, the tour is worth it because the grounds are beautiful. That house is insane! Who just builds a castle to come to in the summers just so you can make statues and write poetry? Rich people. That’s who. But it is seriously a pretty cool place.

Der Begriff «Atalaya» kommt aus dem Spanischen und bedeutet Wachturm. Wachtürme, wie sie früher zum Schutz der Küsten gebaut wurden.
Die hiesige historische Anlage, die sich im Huntington Beach State Park befindet, wurde vom Philanthropisten Archer M. Huntington und seiner Frau Anna Hyatt, eine berühmte Künstlerin für (Groß-)Skulpturen gebaut. Das Ehepaar baute diese Anlage wegen des milden Klimas. So zogen sie im Winter regelmäßig von NY aus hierher.
Gebaut wurde Atalaya 1931 — 1933 und war vollständig konzipiert von Archer Huntington. Die Architektur wurde an spanische Vorbilder angelehnt und misst im Quadrat 60×60 m. Das Ganze wirkt wie eine kompakte Trutzburg, in deren Mitte ein Turm steht (12 m hoch). Dieser diente hier aber nicht als Wachturm, sondern als Wasserturm, von dem aus über ein raffiniertes System fließend Wasser in allen Badräumen und Küchen zur Verfügung stand.
Heute ist die Anlage ein nationales Denkmal und kann gegen eine geringe Gebühr besichtigt werden. Mit der Eintrittskarte erhält man einige Vorinformationen und ein Blatt mit Erläuterungen, das durch die nummerierten 30 Räume leitet. Gleich am Anfang befindet sich in einem Raum ein kleines Museum mit Gegenständen, Fotos etc. aus der Zeit, als Atalaya Castle noch bewohnt war. Man kann sich beim Rundgang sehr gut in die alte Zeit versetzen, als die Huntingtons und ihr Personal hier wohnten.
In einem Nebengebäude findet man ehemalige Ställe, in denen Wildtiere z.B. Bären gehalten wurden. Anna Huntington wählte als Vorlage für ihre z.T. riesigen Tierskulpturen immer reale Tiere. Ein Teil ihrer Werke steht heute in einem nahe gelegenen Skulpturenpark.
Der Besuch von Atalaya Castle lässt sich gut kombinieren mit einem Besuch des Huntington Beach State Parks und wie der Name schon sagt mit dem weitläufigen, breiten Strand.

Unusual historic home now located in a state park. I confess I was hoping for a castle, maybe an old Spanish relic. But this was interesting enough and definitely should be preserved.

Five star resort, if you bring your amenities… ie camper or RV. Absolutely stunning views clean beach and over all great campground. When I first saw the «castle» from a distance I thought it was a prison from the early 1900’s. It does not resemble a castle at all. But it is definitely cool a good $ 2 spent. You can even sleep in it in November for a price. I can’t wait to come back and camp some more.

Huntington Beach State Park is a photographers dream. Beautiful natural environment if you venture off the road to see it. Atalaya is an exceptional portrait backdrop as long as you plan your visit when there’s not a special event or high season crowds.
Plenty of folks wander toward the beach, explore some of the area on the south face — not many folks go out back. That eastern maritime forest offers some great photography with a nice Moorish style ruin in the background.
$ 5 into the park, $ 1 into Atalaya.

Interesting place, beautiful area. The place itself was not what I would have expected a Castle to be. It was all stone with a very cold atmosphere.
The workers were very nice. They charge $ 5 for the park entrance and $ 2 for the self guided tour to the Castle.
Somewhat disappointing for me. Went across the street to see the Brookgreen Gardens, but the entrance fee was $ 14/​pp. Didn’t feel like payingb $ 56!

$ 2 to get in to the Castle and do a self guided tour or time it right and there is a free tour with a guide that can answer questions and explain things. I certainly didn’t mind paying the $ 2 as it goes to the upkeep of the castle. It was very interesting and there are information plates in the rooms that explain what they were used for. The Huntington’s used local labor to build the house and hired local people as servants. They even paid for people that had the skill to build to come and stay on the property and teach the skills to the locals so that they could be used to build the property. That is amazing and empowering to me. It was neat to see all of the rooms had fireplaces to keep them warm. Very interesting. I love that they had an oyster shucking house! You will see pictures with furniture but there is no furniture in the house. It is just a shell that you are tourning unless they have some sort of special function going on. Just FYI!

Well, I must say that I am amazed by Huntington Beach State Park in general. It has a little bit of everything for everyone– bird watchers/​naturalists, beach goers, and history buffs. The castle is only a part of the whole state park. Admission is $ 5 per person to enter the park and $ 1 per person to enter the castle. There is additional fee for the audio tour at the castle. You can pay at the castle entrance or at the gift shop across from the castle. The guide at the castle was nice to lend us a large laminated map with some descriptions about the rooms for self-​guided tour. Perfect location right next to the beach. A little run-​down historic site which would be fixed up in the future according to the guide. We visited this place over the holidays during a snow storm so it was really cold. However, great landscaping and architecture in the castle!!!
The gusty winds at the beach deterred us from venturing on the shore. Plus, we already have a great view on Myrtle Beach just north of here. But, we managed to visit a couple of boardwalks inland to see the freshwater lagoon and the salt water marsh. These are the perfect spots to view wildlife like herons, pelicans, ducks, etc. The nature center was closed during Christmas weekend but there are programs as well to see when it’s open. Overall, I was surprised that this was a state park since it has alot to offer on the scale of a national park. Tons of things to do but probably nicer during the summer time to take advantage of the beach.

What a simple little gem for a photographer! I took quite a few photos of the emerald green ironwork over the earthen home and they popped beautifully. There is a lot of wonderful history here and a perfect backdrop to a visit to Brookgreen, right across the street.

Atalaya… «tower of the sea»…romantic Moorish ruins… home to a timeless love story and the Gold Watcher mystery.
Get up close and personal with the most remarkable, visionary, and humorous couple of the 20^th Century: sculptor Anna Huntington and philanthropist Archer Huntington.
Admission to Atalaya is FREE (you only need to pay to enter Huntington Beach Park). There are free guided tours from March through October, Tuesday — Friday at 2 PM and Saturday and noon. You can also tour Atalaya on your own daily from 9 AM to 5 PM.
Tour Highlights:
— «Behind-​the-​scenes» history nuggets like how they paid $ 225,000 for 6,600 acres) and they pioneered cross country RVing. The crew included dogs, monkeys and birds!
— The «castle» consists of 32 rooms (not all seen on the guided tour) connected by long extremely narrow passages. Wear something comfortable and expect a hearty up and down walk.
— Most interesting stops were at the master bedroom, the library and Anna’s 2 studios. I loved reading all the quotes posted on the walls.
My favorite from Anna: «Now I have five monkeys chattering in the studio, the peafowl screaming in the yard and the bears crawling on the other side. As a sculptor I call it an embarrassment of riches but others my not think so…»
Here is a virtual tour:
TIP! Make sure to visit the Brookgreen Gardens located across the street from the park entrance. It features an incredible collection of outdoor sculptures, beautiful gardens, the Lowcountry Zoo and nature trails.