Huntington Beach State Park is located on the Atlantic Ocean in South Carolina about 20 miles south of Myrtle Beach. It is probably the most beautiful state park we have ever visited and rivals many national parks like Yellowstone or Rocky Mountain. High praise for the former summer retreat of Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington. Where else can you enjoy beautiful white sand beaches, campsites so private you can’t see your neighbors, a 50 room Moorish Castle to explore, a combined salt water-fresh water lagoon divided by a quarter mile causeway to observe birds and wildlife, the breeding grounds of the loggerhead turtles, a nature center, several nature trails, and a world class sculpture garden all within walking distance. Add to that some of the best seafood on the east coast with fresh oysters for 3 bucks a dozen; what more could you ask for?

The Huntington fortune came from Archer’s father, who was one of the original owners of the transcontinental railroad, and one of the men in top hats in that famous Utah scene of the golden spike being driven into the last tie. Archer was the only heir and Huntington Beach in California, New York and Connecticut as well as Huntington, Virginia, and numerous art museums are all namesakes of this famous family.

Anna Hyatt Huntington was a famous sculptress who needed a warm summer retreat due to both poor health and a desire to work in the natural sunlight of the outdoors. In 1930 Archer and Anna visited the coast and purchased 6,635 acres for $225,000 and began construction of their beloved winter home, Atalaya. Less than 100 yards from the ocean, this sprawling complex with over 50 rooms, made entirely of bricks in a Moorish motif, still stands in the park. Mr. Huntington was a scholar of Spanish art and culture and Atalaya looks as if it were magically transported from the hills of Madrid. The castle is only one story high and sports a central courtyard with a 40 ft water tower, an art studio with 25 ft skylights, outdoor studios, stables, oyster shucking room, library, garages, generator and wood storage area, servants’ quarters, bakery, walk in icebox, pens for bears and other animals used in Anna’s sculptures, massive dining rooms and a roof sun deck. There were fireplaces in almost every room. We toured the castle for over an hour and marveled at the inventiveness of a structure that was all built with local labor, without written plans, during the depression. The home was last used by the Huntingtons in 1947. After Archer passed on, and most of its contents were sent back to New York to the family mansion. Atalaya then was victim of vandals and is presently being restored. The grounds and 2,500 acres were then leased to the state of South Carolina in 1961 for the existing park.

The beach is beautiful with high surf and few visitors. We walked the beach almost every day. It is the breeding grounds of the endangered loggerhead turtle and it is “lights out” during the night at the beach. Flash lights disturb the females during egg laying season and are strictly prohibited.

Behind the beach is a causeway that divides a fresh water lagoon and a salt marsh. The fresh water side is filled with alligators and numerous species of birds. The salt water side sports oysters beds, crabs; and we spent hours on the causeway watching the egrets, sandpipers and terns feeding during low tide.

At the nature center Sara saw the rare painted bunting, a bird that will just takes your breath away. It has an awesome blue head with shades of red, yellow, and green on the side. It truly does look painted. Over 300 species of birds have been sighted at this park and this is a birder’s paradise. Sara’s Life Bird List is now up to 85, and at Huntington she added a least tern, tufted titmouse, lesser sandpiper, barred owl and yellow legged sandpiper, just to name a few.

Across the road from the park are the world famous Brookgreen Sculptural Gardens. The gardens were established by the Huntingtons and the entrance is graced with a towering sculpture by Anna of two fighting stallions in gleaming aluminum. Built on the grounds of a former rice plantation, the planters who owned the plantation were the riches men in America and owned hundreds of slaves. They devised an ingenious method to flood and drain the fields using the power of the tides pushing the fresh water upstream from miles away. Life for the slaves was dreary by anyone’s standards, and the owners and their families would escape the heat and malaria of the summer to their Charleston mansions. Conveniently most of the slaves were immune to malaria and an over seer was put in charge. History buffs would enjoy the many displays depicting plantation life.
But Brookfield Greens true glory is its art. With hundreds of works by artists from all over the world interspersed between stately live oaks, reflecting pools, samples of Archer’s poetry and incredible flower beds, Brookgreen can only be described as “must see” for any art lover or gardener. We turned the grounds for two days until we became very hungry.

And the local sea food is amazing. Murrell Islet, a few miles north of the park, is billed as the seafood center of South Carolina. Oysters are served raw, steamed, roasted, fried and Rockafellered. There is even an oyster shell recycling center run by the DNR of South Carolina just north of the park, where people drop off their shells by the carload for recycling in the ocean to help the new oysters have a place to grow. Oh, how we wish the state would recycle their trash like they do their shells. Wisconsin is centuries ahead of most of the south when it comes to recycling, and it was to our delight that this park had a recycling program for its temporary residents.

You can try one of the hundreds of restaurants in the area, or as we prefer, go to the fish markets. Row after row of fresh, iced seafood of every type greet you and at very reasonable prices. Besides oysters, there are blue crabs, clams, flounder, shrimp, halibut, red snapper and many local species. I love to talk with the fish monger about varieties new to us and cooking techniques. I am working up enough nerve to try cooking a whole fish on a cedar board against an open fire, a technique called “planking’. Sound delicious.

All and all, the Huntington Beach State Park area is a great place to take a vacation. It has something for everyone.