Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach, SC
The SkyWheel and the boardwalk arcades are what most people picture at the mention of Myrtle Beach, though the sixty miles of Grand Strand sand around them is wide enough for a volleyball net every few hundred feet. It's built for tourists first, but locals still work the quieter stretches north and south of downtown.
Wide, easy sand and a boardwalk that's genuinely fun once a year, but downtown is as crowded and touristy as this coast gets, and most locals stick to the stretches north of it.
How we score beachesThe boardwalk section gets loud and packed by early afternoon. Head a mile or two north past 29th Avenue for the same sand with a fraction of the foot traffic.
Metered lots and street spots downtown run around $2 an hour and fill fast on summer weekends. Beach access away from the boardwalk is easier, with smaller free or cheap lots at most public accesses.
The boardwalk itself is flat and paved, with several ramps down to the sand. Away from downtown, access is mostly a short walk over a low dune or straight off a street end.
Dogs are only allowed on the beach before 10am and after 5pm from May 1 through Labor Day. The rest of the year they're allowed anytime, always on a leash 7 feet or shorter.
Water hits the low 80s by August, the same stretch that brings the biggest crowds and the tail end of hurricane season, which runs through November. Late September and October keep warm water with noticeably thinner boardwalk traffic.
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