SOUTH CAROLINA · GRAND STRAND
Horry County beaches
Choose among named Grand Strand beach communities, municipal approaches and a state park with its own visitor facilities. Each guide keeps the exact arrival, local rules and current-source limitations separate.
Coastal region: Grand Strand
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Find your fit in Horry County
11 published guides in this county. Start with restrooms (1 qualifying beach), then compare the named entrances. Feature counts describe documented routes, not all beaches or every entrance in the county.
Use the verified route features below to choose where to begin. Counts refer to beaches with a qualifying named entrance, not every entrance. These are planning details, not current opening or guard duty.
A few places to start
Starting points ranked by verified entrance facilities; these are not a county-wide quality ranking.
Springmaid Beach
Entrance: Use the county-maintained Nash Street public beach access adjacent to Myrtle Beach State Park. Resort premises and the separately operated Springmaid Pier are not public beach access substitutes.
Restrooms
Parking & entry: Parking & entry details
Check before going: Check the entrance-specific route and equipment details below before planning your visit.
See entrance details →Choose the right shore and authority
Garden City’s Horry County approaches, Surfside Beach, Myrtle Beach, Atlantic Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach State Park have distinct authorities and rules. Private-community lodging and an oceanfront address do not establish a public crossing.
Private and protected shore references require their own public-use and arrival evidence. Destination coordinates are planning references, not landing or navigation waypoints. Confirm current postings before departure.
Every beach guide in Horry County
Garden City Beach — Horry County
Use the county-maintained street-end accesses in the Horry portion of Garden City, including Cedar Avenue, Holly Avenue and Calhoun Drive. The Georgetown portion has a separate guide and separate rules.
Surfside Beach
Use a signed Town beach entrance. Surfside Pier and 3rd Avenue North are named entrances with restrooms and mobility facilities; the Town lists 36 access points.
Myrtle Beach State Park
Enter Myrtle Beach State Park at 4401 South Kings Highway and follow the park beach boardwalks. Park admission and capacity controls apply.
Myrtle Beach
Use signed municipal street-end or park beach accesses. The municipal oceanfront and public boardwalk are distinct from the state park and county-managed Nash Street access.
Springmaid Beach
Use the county-maintained Nash Street public beach access adjacent to Myrtle Beach State Park. Resort premises and the separately operated Springmaid Pier are not public beach access substitutes.
Arcadian Shores Beach
Use county-maintained Shore Drive beach accesses, including Cottage Beach, Maison Drive and Hibben Memorial Park. Resort and campground routes have separate permission scopes.
Windy Hill Beach
Use a signed North Myrtle Beach access in the Windy Hill area, such as 46th Avenue South. Atlantic Beach is a separate town; its entrances and rules are not inherited.
Crescent Beach
Use signed North Myrtle Beach street-end accesses in the Crescent Beach area, such as 17th Avenue South.
Ocean Drive Beach
Use signed North Myrtle Beach accesses around Main Street or 4th Avenue North. The Ocean Drive name does not assign every observation to a surveyed beach boundary.
Cherry Grove Beach
Use a signed North Myrtle Beach entrance in the Cherry Grove area. Pier premises and inlet shores have separate restrictions; do not treat the inlet as an ordinary swimming route.
Atlantic Beach
Use the Town-described public waterfront approaches at Atlantic Avenue/Ocean Boulevard and the 31st and 32nd Avenue South street ends. Development plans and unimproved approaches do not establish an accessible route to the water.
Plan around the exact entrance
County dog rules, Town rules and state-park zones remain separate. Guard availability must be verified for the exact entrance. A seasonal or neighboring guard schedule does not promise a guard on duty here today. Parking payment windows, gate schedules and shoreline access are separate.
Read the guide’s named route for restrooms, rinse stations, wheelchair equipment, mat endpoints and remaining sand gaps. A boardwalk or beach wheelchair alone does not establish continuous access to the water.
Research scope and photographs
The October 9, 2026 desk review covers 11 qualified guides and forty-five research categories per guide. It is not an exhaustive shoreline survey, on-site inspection or same-day safety check. Held identities and unresolved exact landings remain in the private research queue.
Only individually verified, reusable photographs depict named beaches. Archival photographs do not establish current facilities or opening; a pending photograph never uses a different beach as a substitute.