Located on the grounds of Huntington State Park is the Atalaya Castle. Built in 1931, this was the winter residence of industrialist and philanthropist Archer M. Huntington and his wife, the sculptor, Anna Hyatt Huntington. It was named Atalaya, Spanish term for watchtower and designed after the Moorish architecture of the Spanish Mediterranean Coast. This walled structure formed a square with two courtyards inside, east side facing the ocean and the west side a main entry court. The living quarters had 30 rooms that included a kitchen, food service/preparation area, dining room, breakfast room, sunroom, wardrobe/clothes storage, bedrooms, baths, servants’ quarters, library, Mr. Huntington’s study, his secretary’s office and Mrs. Huntington studio. A 40 foot square tower housing a 3000 gallon cypress water tank gave enough water pressure to flow through the house. Additional buildings featured a horse stable, a dog kennel, a bear pen and an Oyster shucking shed. Rooms were heated by wood fireplaces and coal heaters. The name seems not fitting as no moats, ramparts, turrets, towers, look outs, and gatehouse are featured. More of a fortress with its single story structure, narrow walled walkways, grillwork and shutters over each window and enclosed courtyards. The bare rooms do offer some descriptive placards, otherwise it is a self-guided tour and you are on your own with a floor plan map. Cost is $2 per person, free if you have a yearly state park pass, to help the upkeep and maintains of the property. Come and tour the historical grounds, spend some time on the beach and go looking for alligators along the coastal preserve.

Its $8 a person to get into Huntington SP. Before you go to the beach and explore, this is a pretty cool side quest to check out. Nice historic grounds to walk around and get a glimpse of the early 1900s life. $2 charge well worth it to walk the grounds. It's bare and brick but you can feel the essence of the greatness and energy that use to fill this place. If you have an imagination and appreciate art, check it.

Loved it. It's located in Huntington Park. Admission is $8 per person to get in the park the $2 per person additional to enter the castle. There are bathrooms, outdoor shower, gift shop, beach access and a playground. Also, save your $8 receipt for the park and you can use it to get into Myrtle Beach State Park the same day. Really a neat place to visit.

Very cool place, fascinating history. Nice place to tour. You can tell the grounds used to be spectacular. They are slowly working to restore the place. It is absolutely worth taking the time to tour this place and learn about this family and this unique home. Only $2.00 to tour..

I took my son here to learn a little history while we were on vacation. This castle holds a lot of interesting history that caught my attention, unfortunately, we didn’t have time to visit Brookgreen Gardens.

This is an old house built in 1931 in a Moroccan Style by Archer Huntington, a philanthropist from New York. The house was used by the armed forces during World War II to patrol the coast. It's a great place to go to the beach and spend some time or the whole day. Brookgreen Gardens is also a part of this park although you would have to pay a separate entry fee. The house has some 30 rooms to explore and it's upkeep is improving each year.

Awesome! Pleasant staff. Kindly told us no drinks other than water allowed inside castle. It was a lot bigger than we expected, amazing to imagine how life must have been like back then. The park being right there is also perfect!

Soooo many amazing photo opportunities. My husband took his fancy camera and we spent about 1.5-2 hours taking pictures of the entire grounds. I’ll update my post with his pictures but for now, these are the ones I took on my phone. Amazing history and so cool to see what each room was used for.

Very cool place! Take your time and read the information at each room. The couple who lived here were fascinating!! No pets allowed so be sure to plan accordingly if you travel with your pet.

Very cool location. I really enjoyed being able to wander at my own pace. Interesting history and design. Note: You must pay to get into the park and then pay again to see the castle.

Worth the 2$ but you do have to pay entry into the state park 8$ a person so really 10 but still a good self guided tour

I wasn't impressed too much by this historic property and I'm a history buff. The courtyards with palm trees were the only good highlights. I quickly walked through the dozens of empty open rooms and there's nothing to really see there. Maybe it would be a bit more interesting with a guided tour.

Admission was $2 and totally worth it. We didn’t get a tour or anything but there was a decent amount of info that you could get from reading the signs. It looked more like a jail than a castle but still made for some nice photos. A great little stop to spend an hour or two if you’re exploring the area. Also there’s a very nice beach that uses the same parking lot so that also helps

Atalaya Castle, located in Huntington Beach State Park, South Carolina. It's a historic castle built during the 1930s and is now a popular tourist attraction. Atalaya Castle was the winter home of Archer M. Huntington and his wife, Anna Hyatt Huntington. Archer Huntington was a philanthropist and founder of the Hispanic Society of America, while Anna Hyatt Huntington was a renowned sculptor. They used Atalaya as their residence during the colder months.

One of the most amazing places that you must visit! The history is amazing with beautiful view. We love just walking from room to room and reading the description of what each room used to be. Also, it’s an amazing place to take beautiful pictures!

Wonderful historic summer house used to be lived in by the famous Huntington couple, where Anna Huntington created her famous sculptures in the 20th century. House is well kept, self guided tour and entrance fee is $2. They have ghost tours offered periodically. House inside has many rooms, without furniture but you can enjoy the details of Spanish moorish architecture.

A very interesting self-guided tour. Although fascinating I was expecting a fancy castle. Somewhat disappointed to say especially since the steel gated windows made it look more like a jail than a castle.

We got free admission with our park pass, but otherwise expect to pay extra for admission. The castle is super cool and rooms are well labeled. Even our 12 year old was intrigued!

Beautiful. Pretty amazing how quickly it was built and how quickly it has come to disrepair. To imagine what it was like in its heyday. Great display to share the achievements and arts of the original Builder and owners and then then to see the sculptures at Brookgreen Gardens is great.

Definitely worth the $2 entry fee. Interesting architecture and entertaining way to spend some time while at the beach. Free tour at 2pm by volunteer tour guide was informative and worth it if you are interested in the history and “feel” of the place

Not really impressed. We were camping so entry was only $2. To be the home of former artist it lacked any kind of immersion. Sculptures, paintings, books, all of their works have been removed leaving this to be depricating prison-esque brick wall rooms with fireplaces. The courtyard and center walkway were the only real highlights and even then the tree placement is very off kilter. No rooftop access and for a couple that wanted a view of the ocean you can no longer see it from the castle with the tree barrier.

This was a very neat dwelling with rich history. My sister and our kids enjoyed walking around. So glad we had heard about this amazing home.

Don't miss out on this! Great piece of history that connects both Brookgreen Gardens and Huntington Beach State Park to a family that sought to escape their NY New England lifestyle.

This castle is a nice little treat in a public park. I'm used to free public parks but this one you have to pay to get into.