After a two-year closure, Hearst Castle in San Luis Obispo County is set to reopen this May, California State Parks announced Thursday.
The Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument, a historic house museum and popular tourist attraction, will reopen to the public on May 11.
The site was closed for two years, first because of the COVID-19 pandemic and then because of severe rainstorms that damaged the access road to the castle in early 2021.
Starting March 31, tour reservations can be made online at HearstCastle.org or by calling 800-444-4445. There are different tours that visitors can go on, including the grand rooms tour that is meant to show visitors what it was like to be a guest on the estate.
Hearst Castle is an estate with a large, ornate 115-room house, guesthouses, pools and eight acres of gardens.
William Randolph Hearst began building the estate on his ranch land in 1919. He called it “La Cuesta Encantada,” or the Enchanted Hill.
The main house itself, called “La Casa Grande,” is home to a large art collection that includes Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities, as well as European paintings and sculptures.
The lavish building also has many historic carved and painted ceilings from Renaissance Italy and Spain.
The castle is also known for its Neptune Pool and ornate Roman Pool.
It has hosted President Calvin Coolidge, Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw, Charlie Chaplin and other notable figures.
“Hearst Castle is a state treasure and we are thrilled to reopen this wonder to the public to enjoy in a safe and responsible manner,” California State Parks Director Armando Quintero said in a statement. “We are confident that these once-in-a-lifetime repairs and improvements to the road facility will serve countless generations to come.”
Hearst Castle’s steep, curvy access road carries tour buses and up to 850,000 visitors to the castle per year. After a storm, the upper portion of the road had to be reconstructed, and concrete retaining walls were installed, among other fixes.
The 10-month project cost about $13.7 million, according to California State Parks.
“Hearst Castle is a Central Coast gem and one of the many drivers behind our growing tourism economy,” Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham said in a statement. “I am glad to hear that it will be reopening in time for the summer travel season and look forward to visiting again soon.”
State Parks will celebrate the castle’s reopening and its delayed 100th anniversary with a new tour that takes a look at the life and career of Julia Morgan, the first certified female architect in California and the first American woman to head her own architectural office.
The tour will focus on rarely seen areas of Hearst Castle that highlight Morgan’s design skills, as well as photo displays of architectural drawings, family photos and personal items.
The ticket pricing structure for Hearst Castle was revamped to have all fees combined into one price. State Parks officials say this means visitors can pay $3 to $6 less per ticket.
Tickets start at $30 for adults and $15 for children ages 5 to 12.