Myrtle Beach + Pier

Myrtle Beach is known for a lot of attractions other than its beach, but if the beach is what you came for, South Carolina's original state park (opened in 1936) is a great place to enjoy it. Ever since 1936, this place has remained a pretty strip of sand that is perfect for family beach time, sunrise bike rides, surf fishing, and just laying in the sun.

The park preserves a relatively undeveloped coastline amid restaurants and resorts that line the rest of Myrtle Beach. You are unlikely to get this beach all to yourself, but you are likely to find it less crowded than the highly developed stretch a few miles north. Park entrance fee is $5 per day, but it saves the hassle of trying to park downtown to hit the the beach there. Plus, the state park offers major advantages that prove harder to find elsewhere such as picnic facilities, restrooms, playgrounds, shade trees, a public fishing pier, and a nature trail through adjacent maritime forest. There is also the campground, which makes an easy base camp for exploring the park and the town.

Myrtle Beach State Park's 1 mile of white sand beach is open to swimming, picnicking, bicycling, beachcombing, surf fishing, and plenty of other activities. There are lots of parking areas with boardwalks to the beach. The pier is roughly in the center, with about half a mile of state park beach access on either side. At the pier store you can buy fishing licenses and rent equipment, so even nonresidents passing through South Carolina can have a chance at the local catch. The pier is typically open from sunrise to sunset.

Restrictions apply during the summer months to bicycles and pets on the beach. Neither are allowed from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the summer months (May 1 - Labor Day), but they are permitted at all other times. Dogs must be kept on a leash and attended at all times. Bikes are a great way to get to the beach from the campground, and you may always ride them along the pathways and boardwalk parallel to the beach, just not onto the beach itself during those hours.