It displays books and memorabilia of the novelist who spent 18 years in Big Sur. Ahead of you lies the southern stretch of Big Sur, wild and lonely. From here onward, the landscape settles down to hills and pastureland. The 115-room main house and guesthouses mix classical and Mediterranean Revival styles, using European architectural elements, antiques, and artwork collected by Hearst. On the ocean side of the highway, at Moonstone Beach, look for moonstones and California jade.
Peregrine falcons live here.
Around Morro Bay you'll also see great blue herons and, from October to March, monarch butterflies in eucalyptus trees. Like you, they're passing through.