A Weekend Getaway | Cambria, California and Hearst Castle

Laura Smith
May 15
3 min read

California is big. We don't think much about how big California is until we drive it.

It takes about 6.5 hours to drive from San Diego to the small central coast town of Cambria, which is only a quarter of the coastline. Part of the drive is through LA (yuck) and the second half is along the coast, and it's truly incredible.

Cambria sits just over half way between San Diego and San Francisco, right on coast highway 1. It's a teeny town with the sweetest row of inns that look right out to a shorebreak beach called Moonstone Beach (can we move here already). Just across the 1 is a little downtown with coffee shops, boutiques and real estate offices. It's adorable, charming, cool and the landscape is a gorgeous and still a little wild. It's quite amazing to me just how wild most of California still is, driving up the 1 really seals in the impressive expansiveness of our landscape.

Sunrise over a Coastal Desert Landscape, boardwalk going off into the horizon — Early Morning Light on the Cambria Boardwalk at Moonstone Beach

This trip was for Mother's Day weekend. I wanted to take my mom to Hearst Castle because she's never been and it's one of my favorite places! After mentioning my plans to a few others in my circle, I realized fewer people had heard of Hearst Castle than I thought. It's an extraordinary ode to art, architecture and land hiding away in the hills of the central coast. To describe it briefly: The land was bought in 1865 by George Hearst. He and his family would also use the land for camping and ranching. His son William Hearst inherited the land and hired architect Julia Morgan to build his Spanish Colonial/Mediterranean style "castle" on the hillside and fill it with extraordinary art.

Hearst Castle is now managed by California State Parks. If you're interested in enjoying a tour, click here for tickets! You are only allowed to visit the castle through a tour, but it's worth it. Fingers crossed you get Tanya as your guide, she's the best. This last weekend we visited the libraries and suites. And, with each tour you get to see the magnificent pools.

Hot Tip: At the bottom of the hill, just on the westside of the 1 from Hearst Castle Entrance, is the Hearst Winery Tasting Room. A reservation to sit outside in encouraged, but there's a charming deli and store in the adjacent parking lot that makes yummy sandwiches, sells bottles of wine and has an outdoor patio. The grounds are beautiful and would definitely recommend a walk around.

Notable Mentions

Pelican's Inn and Suites is where we stayed in Cambria. Extremely cute hotel, cottage aesthetic with large suite rooms - perfect for a girls trip. We had a room with a partial ocean view, an adorable balcony with comfy chairs and a sitting area with a fireplace. You could hear the waves from inside the room, that's all I needed. Just steps out the front was the boardwalk and a walking trail that followed the cliffs edge. On either side were other hotels with various coffee shops and restaurants, easy to find whatever you needed without getting in your car.

Looking out a balcony window from a hotel room, cypress trees in the background at sunset — Pelican's Inn and Suites - Room 107

Cambria Coffee Company Best coffee on Main St. in Cambria's downtown. Has all the coffee styles you might want, shaded outdoor seating and really kind baristas.

Froggies Children's Boutique Locally/Women owned children's boutique. Has really cute and unique handmade children's pieces, as well as some Cambria specialties.

Cream Canvas Tote that says " Free by the Sea, Cambria, California" hanging in a shop. — Cambria Canvas Tote available in Froggies Boutique, Cambria

I hope you go to Cambria. I hope you drive the wild vast California Central Coast and breathe in the moody salty air. Take your getaway slow, the pace is different out there. Say hi to the rolling hills for me. Who knows, maybe you'll find us there one day soon, living our best shorebreak life.