Pennington Passages

The south side of Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina is known for Atalaya Castle. The Huntington family, for which the park is named, built the castle as a winter home. In this post, we tour the castle and the south side of the park. The north side of the park is equally impressive with nature trails, observation decks, and plenty of wildlife.

Atalaya Castle

Archer and Anna Huntington built the castle and nearby Brookgreen Gardens in the early 1930’s. The castle was designed with a Moorish theme because Archer was a Spanish culture buff. He included two art studios for Anna, who was a sculptor. The castle was constructed as an open square with a large inner courtyard divided by a covered walkway. With local labor, they completed both Atalaya Castle and Brookgreen Gardens around 1933.

The Tour

We bought tickets for the tour ($2 each) and received a self-guided tour pamphlet. We began our tour through front entrance and immediately stood in awe of the outside corridor leading to the watchtower.

We observed how the covered walkway split the courtyard into two equal sections. Plants were positioned in the archway windows.

We chose to follow the tour map in numerical order by room. We took the first right to explore the southwest side. We walked through the outdoor studio, where Anna Huntington worked on live animal sculptures, into the indoor studio. The indoor studio was impressive with lots of natural light.

We noticed the entire structure was built in brick – inside and out. Each room had its own fireplace. The Huntington’s bedroom had his and her bathrooms – how nice!

We continued to the southeast wing of the castle through a narrow corridor.

This wing faced the ocean an included the library, foyer, sunroom, and breakfast room.

Next, we continued around to the east wing of the castle to the staff quarters and kitchen areas. The icebox was particularly interesting. The Huntington’s would have huge blocks of ice delivered to keep the icebox cool.

Outside views from the courtyard were equally impressive to us. Anna Huntington designed all the grillwork on the windows to protect from hurricane winds.

Atalaya Straight Road

Upon exiting the tour, we gazed out the front entrance at Atalaya Straight Road. The Huntington’s used this road to access Brookgreen Gardens. We enjoyed how the road was covered in beautiful live oaks. The road seemed to mirror the long corridors of the castle.

On the map, we noted how Highway 17 bisected the road before crossing into the gardens. More importantly, we saw the Waccamaw Neck Bikeway – a 27 mile bike trail from Murrells Inlet to the county line with Georgetown. We wished we had our bikes with us!

Spoonbill’s Ice Cream

When we finished the tour of Atalaya Castle, our next stop was Spoonbill’s Ice Cream Shop. We found the shop at the south beach access. The area also included a large parking lot, bathrooms, picnic area, and playground. The ice cream was delicious!

South Beach Access

After enjoying the ice cream, we took the boardwalk to the south beach area. We noticed how well the dunes were protected with native plants and sea grass.

Gift Shop

Before leaving the south side of the park, we stopped by the gift shop and south campground. The shop was well stocked with mementos and snacks.

South Campground

The south campground was smaller than the north campground but did have full hookups. The campground was an easy walk to the beach and gift shop.

Huntington Beach State Park is one of South Carolina’s most popular parks for good reason. It has so much to offer if you enjoy wildlife, hiking, history, beautiful beaches, and ice cream! If you plan to camp, make your reservations well in advance – it books up fast. We can’t wait to return.