Free things to do
Not every good day on the Grand Strand costs money. Beaches, public piers, boardwalk strolls and a few parks and museums are free or close to it. Check each listing for current hours and any parking or entry fees, since those can change by season.
Beaches are public, but some towns charge for parking or have metered spots near beach access points, so check the town's rules before you go. Museums and parks that list a small fee are still among the cheaper ways to spend a day.
19 places
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Conway
Conway Riverwalk
Nature & eco · Boardwalk
The Conway Riverwalk is a scenic promenade of roughly a mile along the dark Waccamaw River in downtown Conway. Along the way are historic markers, public artwork, a public park, a marina and a playground, so it works well for a family stroll after a visit to the Horry County Museum.
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Georgetown
Georgetown Harborwalk
Nature & eco · Boardwalk
A riverfront walk along Front Street with boat tours, museums and a marina.
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Murrells Inlet
Murrells Inlet MarshWalk
Nature & eco · Boardwalk
A waterfront boardwalk along the marsh, lined with live-music venues.
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Central Myrtle
Myrtle Beach Boardwalk
Nature & eco · Boardwalk
An oceanfront promenade with piers, rides and summer live music.
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Little River
North Myrtle Beach Park & Sports Complex
Nature & eco · Park
This 160-acre park in Little River has baseball, softball and soccer fields, freshwater ponds, walking trails, two playgrounds, picnic shelters and the Cypress Nook disc golf course. It hosts youth tournaments and team events, and is a free place to stretch your legs, play a round or let the kids run.
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Central Myrtle
Socastee Recreation Park
Nature & eco · Nature reserve
Socastee Recreation Park is a 91.5-acre Horry County park with multi-purpose fields, picnic areas, a disc golf course, walking trails and a playground. It is a free place for families to spend a few hours away from the oceanfront.
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Central Myrtle
Splinter City Disc Golf Course
Nature & eco · Nature reserve
Splinter City is a 25-acre Horry County disc golf course in Myrtle Beach with two sets of tees. It is open daily and free to play, which makes it an easy low-cost activity for visitors who bring their own discs.
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Little River
Vereen Memorial Gardens
Nature & eco · Nature reserve
Vereen Memorial Gardens is an Horry County park on the waterfront in Little River with about three miles of nature trails and boardwalks. It is a quiet, free spot for a walk, bird watching and views over the marsh and waterway. Beach wheelchairs can be reserved through the county.
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North Myrtle Beach
Waites Island
Nature & eco · Nature reserve
Waites Island is an undeveloped barrier island of more than 1,000 acres at the northern tip of South Carolina, between Cherry Grove and Sunset Beach. There are no roads: visitors arrive by guided horseback ride, kayak or paddleboard through the salt marsh. Bald eagles, ospreys and herons live there, and dolphins and sea turtles are seen in summer.
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Surfside
Garden City Beach
Beaches · Family beach
A laid-back family beach where the inlet meets the ocean, great for fishing, crabbing, surfing and watersports. The Pier at Garden City is the hub, free to walk, at the end of walkable Atlantic Avenue with arcades, beach shops and casual eateries. Days are calm and evenings get livelier near the pier.
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Murrells Inlet
Litchfield Beach
Beaches · Quiet beach
Quiet, upscale and less commercial than the central Strand, Litchfield Beach has been a low-key beach town since 1978 and takes its name from an 18th-century rice plantation. Pair the beach with kayaking, paddleboarding and birdwatching, or a ride on the 26-mile Waccamaw Neck Bikeway. Brookgreen Gardens and Huntington Beach State Park are minutes away.
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Central Myrtle
Myrtle Beach
Beaches · Lively beach
The heart of the 60-mile Grand Strand, with wide sandy beaches, the oceanfront Boardwalk and Promenade, and the SkyWheel steps away. Shows, mini golf, aquariums, museums and more than 90 golf courses are all close by. Summer is busiest, so spring and fall bring thinner crowds.
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North Myrtle Beach
North Myrtle Beach & Cherry Grove
Beaches · Lively beach
Cast a line off Cherry Grove Pier, catch beach music at Ocean Drive, and watch the shag on Main Street, in the town known as the birthplace of shag dancing.
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Murrells Inlet
Pawleys Island
Beaches · Quiet beach
One of the oldest resort areas on the East Coast, dating to the 1700s as a summer retreat for rice-plantation families, and proudly "arrogantly shabby." Quiet beaches, historic cottages and a slow pace suit couples and nature lovers. Across the causeway, Hammock Shops Village is home to the original rope hammock shop.
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Surfside
Surfside Beach
Beaches · Family beach
"The Family Beach" since the town was incorporated in 1964, with a residential, small-town feel. Beaches are cleaned daily and supervised by lifeguards, and access points offer showers, restrooms and accessible ramps. In 2016 it was named the first autism-friendly travel destination, and the Pier Village adds shops, food and a fishing pier.
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Georgetown
Georgetown County Museum
Historic & cultural · Museum
Exhibits on nearly 300 years of local history, from colonial beginnings and the Revolutionary era to the indigo, rice, lumber and paper industries and today's tourism economy. The museum also houses the Francis Marion Interpretive Center and has a gift shop. The building has an entrance ramp and an elevator to the second floor. Free admission.
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Conway
Historic Downtown Conway Walking Tour
Historic & cultural · Walking tour
Start at the Conway Visitor Center in a historic building on Main Street for a self-guided historic walking tour of downtown Conway, where many sites are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The center also offers a tree tour and a mural guide, and guided historic tours can be arranged by reservation for individuals and groups.
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Conway
L.W. Paul Living History Farm
Historic & cultural · Historic site
Run by the Horry County Museum, this working farm shows daily life on a Horry County farm family's land between 1900 and 1955. Seasonal demonstrations include a blacksmith shop, gristmill, farm animals, tobacco raising and cane syrup making. Free guided tours of about an hour are offered on Saturday mornings.
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Georgetown
South Carolina Maritime Museum
Historic & cultural · Museum
Maritime history on the Georgetown waterfront, with free admission. Exhibits cover South Carolina's maritime past, including a Fresnel lens from the old North Island lighthouse and bricks salvaged from the c. 1730 Brown's Ferry Vessel, along with changing displays and a gift shop. Open Monday through Saturday.
