Atlantic Beach
Atlantic Beach, SC
Atlantic Beach is four blocks of oceanfront squeezed between North Myrtle Beach's Windy Hill and Crescent Beach sections, and it carries real historical weight as one of the only Black-owned beach towns in the country. Founded in the 1930s and nicknamed the Black Pearl, it was one of the most popular beach resorts on the East Coast for Black travelers through the Jim Crow era.
The history here is genuinely singular on this coast and free parking is a rare find nearby, though four blocks of oceanfront is a short visit compared to the beach towns on either side.
How we score beachesFree parking at the Atlantic Street beach access is a genuine rarity this far up the Grand Strand, where most nearby towns meter every block.
Free parking is available at the Atlantic Street beach access, unusual for this stretch of the Grand Strand where most neighboring towns charge by the hour.
A short walk from street-side parking leads straight onto open sand, with no boardwalk or major grade change.
Water reaches the low 80s by August, alongside the same hurricane season, June through November, that runs the length of the Grand Strand. The town's annual Bikefest draws a Memorial Day weekend crowd that's become part of the local calendar.
More Atlantic Coast beaches
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