California state park’s cash cow struggles as tourist numbers plummet

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Are the walls closing in on a historic California Castle?

Central California’s Hearst Castle in San Simeon, once a major cash cow in the state’s park system, has seen plummeting visitor numbers in recent years. Tourists are skipping the $35 ticket to the lavish estate and driving through the popular coastal route that runs right past its door.

What’s to blame? Officials are citing several excuses, from weather to road closures to gas prices.

The Mediterranean Revival castle was built between 1919 and 1947 by publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst.

The Palace once attracted 700,000 to 800,000 visitors annually. Its picturesque grounds have been the backdrop of films like 1960’s “Spartacus” and Lady Gaga’s 2014 music video for “G.U.Y.”

But now, California State Parks officials say the castle’s last “normal” year was 2019, just before the pandemic.

Like many other attractions, the attraction shut down in 2020 when the pandemic was in full swing. But It did not reopen to the public until two years later in the spring 2022 due to road repairs.

Access to the castle was impacted by the closure of a 90-mile stretch of Highway 1 near Big Sur, which was shut down from January 2023 to January 2026 due to landslides. The road closed again in August and September of this year due to the Plaskett Fire.

The number of visitors to the castle has been fledgeling since its opening. During the 2024 busy season, 178,181 people visited the castle, SFGATE reported. The next year, that number fell to 162,758.

Traffic increased slightly this year to 168,133 visitors, but it was still a far cry from 2019’s 274,025.

“There are a number of impacts that can relate to overall attendance,” Dan Falat, district superintendent for California State Parks’ San Luis Obispo Coast District, told SFGATE.

“Highway 1 [closure] comes into play. Overall tourism comes into play. We were closed for over two years, and yes, things have changed … Changes with international travelers. Domestic travel [patterns are] different. Gas prices. It’s hard to put all factors into one reason.”  

State Parks has introduced new tours in hopes of reviving interest in the castle, including one focusing on architect Julia Morgan, who designed the castle.

The entire area is facing a tourism slump, some say. Luis Gonzalez, who’s lived in San Simeon since 1989 and works in hotel management, told SFGATE that tourism to the area is in the worst state he’s seen it.

“The worst years in San Simeon since I lived here is after COVID,” Gonzalez said. “COVID, then after COVID, the castle was closed because they had to do repairs to the road for a year. After they opened everything, we’re doing good. COVID to 2025, it was bad, a lot of business closed, there’s no business. It was hard.”

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