Garden City Beach
Garden City, SC
Garden City Beach sits between Surfside and Murrells Inlet on the south end of the Grand Strand, a smaller, family-run alternative to Myrtle Beach with a fishing pier as its main landmark. Free oceanfront parking at every beach access is a rarity this far up the Strand, and it's a big part of why locals keep coming back.
Free oceanfront parking is a genuine rarity on this part of the Strand, though the pier itself is off limits to dogs, worth knowing if that's part of the plan.
How we score beachesSkip the paid Magnolia Drive lots entirely on a weekday. The free oceanfront accesses almost always have room outside of peak summer weekends.
Free, year-round parking is available at all oceanfront beach accesses, with additional paid lots along Magnolia Drive.
Most accesses are short boardwalk or sand path crossings over a low dune.
In the unincorporated parts of Garden City and Murrells Inlet, dogs are allowed on leash or under voice control from 9am to 7pm.
Water warms into the low 80s by August, alongside the same hurricane season, June through November, that shapes the whole Grand Strand. The pier is a solid morning fishing spot before the summer crowd shows up.
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