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If the Myrtle Beach waterfront weren't so pretty, it might run the risk of playing second fiddle to all of the city's other attractions.
After all, if you made time for every museum, shop, amusement park, festival, concert, and miniature golf course (there are more than 50!) during your stay, you'd run the risk of never setting foot on the sand. But luckily for visitors, the shore is a knockout here: a 10-mile strip of wide, white sand, bordered by scenic dunes and tall sea grasses that just can't be ignored. In fact, it was these same beaches that helped put Myrtle Beach on the map in the early 1900s, as railroad workers from the nearby town of Conway flocked to the shore in their downtime.
Today, Myrtle Beach remains the star of South Carolina's famed Grand Strand of beach towns, though the city never rests on its laurels. May 2010 saw the construction of the brand new 1.2-mile Oceanfront Boardwalk and Promenade. And a year later, the boardwalk welcomed a showstopping centerpiece: a nearly 200-foot-tall SkyWheel, the tallest Ferris wheel on the East Coast!
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Casting a line out into the surf is one of the most tried-and-true pastimes in Myrtle Beach. If you want in on the fun but don't know a fly from a bobber, you're in luck. The Orvis shop in the Market Common holds free fly-fishing clinics (for beginners, the 101, and for more experienced anglers, the 201) from April through mid-June on Saturday and Sunday mornings. You'll be reeling in whoppers in no time.
With its 20-acre maze of giant slides, wave pools, and raft rides, Myrtle Waves Water Park ranks as the biggest in South Carolina. During the summer, the park can get crowded, so consider renting a private cabana overlooking the wave pool. Each comes with Wi-Fi, two chaise lounges, discounts on food and drinks, and free waiter service.
The name says it all, really: The Beach, Boogie, & BBQ Festival is a three-day smorgasbord of live music, arts-and-crafts vendors, and more ribs and pulled pork than you can boogie off in a week. For ambitious adults, there's a wing-eating contest; for hungry kids, a watermelon-eating race. Held each September, the event is a grand finale to the busy summer season and a welcome start to the cooler, calmer fall months.
Old-timey thrills take center stage at the Pavilion Nostalgia Park & Carousel Park, which features classic kids' rides like swirling tea cups, dune buggies, and merry-go-rounds, including the famous 1912 Herschell-Spillman Carousel. The park is open year-round, so stop by during the winter low season to avoid long lines.