Myrtle Beach

A River Doesn’t  Run Through It

Still, Myrtle Beach offers something for everyone

By Dudley Dawson

Until I moved to the Carolinas with my family about 20 years ago, I knew nothing of Myrtle Beach and its popularity as a resort destination among families in the mid-South. It didn’t take long, though, until friends and neighbors extolling the virtues of the beach drew our family to Myrtle, as it’s known locally. Now we make at least one pilgrimage to this South Carolina town each year for family fun with our three children, their spouses and nine grandkids, 17 of us total.

Myrtle Beach is located halfway between Wilmington, North Carolina, and Charleston, South Carolina, but it does not boast a rich colonial history as do its two seaport neighbors. Without a major river and an inlet to call its own, the development of Myrtle Beach has instead relied upon the magnificent natural asset that is incorporated into the city’s name. Its white sand beach is one of the finest along the lower Atlantic coast–wide, clean, safe and welcoming, and running for miles north and south. A river doesn’t run through it, but the Intracoastal Waterway does. That, combined with its location midway along the Atlantic coast, makes Myrtle Beach an attractive layover spot for those cruisers who migrate north and south in the spring and fall, as well as a destination, by land or by sea, in its own right. If you are a golfer, this place is legendary.

While Myrtle Beach has little to offer in the way of historical significance—Wilmington and Charleston are preferable if that’s your thing—it seems to have succeeded in combining the best features of several other noted destinations, including Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Branson, Hilton Head, even a bit of Las Vegas, but without the sometimes exorbitant costs of those locales. When you’re taking the whole gang for a week, as we do, for a total of more than 25 hotel room-nights each time, a little savings on the price of accommodations, amenities and amusements is appreciated.
Like Lauderdale, foremost is the beach—the Grand Strand—with its rows of hotels, motels and condos between shops piled high with souvenir T-shirts and shells, but there’s more. A block or two off the beach, the Orlando factor kicks in. Small amusement parks offer roller coasters, carousels and games of skill in a garish carnival atmosphere that comes to life as the setting sun reflects off the sportfishing boats returning from offshore. A dozen outrageous miniature golf courses feature the requisite jungle animals, dinosaurs and crashing planes in abundance. It seems every hotel has its own swimming pool, pirate ship and “lazy river” on the enclosed ground floor, for aquatic play, when the weather renders the beach itself too cold or blustery. It all sounds a bit tacky, and to be honest, it is, but the kids just love it.
Off the beach a couple of miles and west of the ICW, the more recent resort amenities begin. Here are chain stores and outlet malls of every description, the larger amusement attractions,—and rolling in a bit of Branson—dinner theaters and shows of every description. Broadway on the Beach, built around a huge lagoon, offers one of Myrtle’s largest concentrations of shops and attractions, with many more in the surrounding area. Across the highway from Broadway sits the perennial favorite of my grandkids and my wife, the go-cart racing center behind the NASCAR Café, where a half-dozen tracks offer hands-on fun for, as the Christmas song says, kids from one to ninety-two.
Inland a bit further, carved out of the scrub pine flatlands, are innumerable golf courses of the non-miniature variety. There are also several that lie closer to the beach, even along the ICW. Myrtle Beach may not have the reputation of Pinehurst or Palm Springs, but it rivals Hilton Head as a must-visit for golfers who prefer to arrive by boat. Where else can you play a few rounds or take in a tournament, relax over dinner at a AAA four-diamond resort such as the Marina Inn at Grande Dunes (marinainnatgrandedunes.com), and then retire for a night of familiar comfort in your own berth?
In addition to activities already mentioned, Myrtle Beach brings a bit of Vegas to the East by hosting numerous conventions, seasonal entertainment specials and traveling Broadway shows throughout the year. A review of the coming year’s calendar (visitmyrtlebeach.com) yields many that would be of interest to those of a nautical bent. Timed to coincide with a transit north or south, such a stop would offer welcome respite from the boredom of traveling the ditch and help prevent mutiny by otherwise reluctant crew.
The new Guide to Mid-Atlantic/ICW Marinas, from the Atlantic Cruising Club (book and DVD, $39.95; DVD only, $19.95; atlanticcruisingclub.com), lists at least 15 marinas in Myrtle Beach and nearby towns including Little River, Conway and North Myrtle Beach. Some are resorts, others back up to parking lots or miniature golf courses. Some are an easy walk to shopping and dining, while others will require a rental car or taxi to get around. Some offer full amenities, others virtually nothing, so familiarize yourself with the choices and select one to suit your personal preferences and your budget before reserving a slip.
Myrtle Beach offers untold options. You might prefer a golf outing with your own long-time foursome, or dinner and a show with your sweetheart. Nothing wrong with that, certainly, but I believe Myrtle Beach is best experienced wide open, the more the merrier. Our family often splits up after breakfast together, with various subgroups spending the day pursuing activities as their individual interests dictate. We then gather for dinner, exchanging stories of our day and planning for the next. In what has become a tradition for us, dinner on the last night of our stay is always spent at Friendly’s ice cream parlor near the beach. On this one night, the kids have carte blanche to pick whatever they want from the menu—even if it’s a dinner of fried onion rings and a banana split—without objection from parents or grandparents. The memories remain long after the upset tummies have settled, and it isn’t long before they’re asking, “When are we going to the beach again?”