Family Kingdom Amusement Park: Myrtle Beach’s Seaside Classic Gets a Thrilling New Chapter

There is a particular kind of magic that only a seaside amusement park can produce — the specific combination of salt air, carnival music, the distant clack of a wooden roller coaster, and the smell of funnel cake drifting in off the ocean breeze. Most of the parks that once defined that experience along the East Coast have long since closed their gates for the last time. The ones that remain tend to occupy a special place in the hearts of the families who keep returning to them, year after year, because they carry something that no amount of corporate polish can replicate: genuine history, genuine community, and rides that have made real people genuinely happy for decades.

Family Kingdom Amusement Park at 300 South Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach is exactly that kind of place. Open since 1966 — the same year the Beatles played their final concert tour, the same year Star Trek first aired on television — this 13-plus-acre oceanfront park has spent six decades being exactly what families need it to be. It sits just steps from the Atlantic, just a few blocks from the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, and firmly in the center of one of the most visited stretches of coastline in the American South. Admission is free. The rides are real. And in 2026, as the park marks its 60th anniversary, it is about to enter the most exciting chapter of its long life.

Whether you are based in a vacation home along the North Myrtle Beach shoreline or spending a day exploring the full Grand Strand, Family Kingdom is worth a dedicated trip. The drive from Cherry Grove Beach or Ocean Drive takes about twenty minutes on Ocean Boulevard, and by the time the Swamp Fox comes into view through the windshield, the kids in the back seat will already be awake and asking questions you cannot answer fast enough.

The Swamp Fox: A Wooden Legend With Ocean Views

Start here. Everything else at Family Kingdom radiates outward from this ride, and if you are visiting for the first time, the Swamp Fox should be the first thing you do before the sun gets too high and the lines begin to stretch. The coaster was designed by John C. Allen, one of the most celebrated roller coaster architects of the twentieth century, and it opened in 1966 — meaning it has now been rattling and roaring above the Myrtle Beach oceanfront for sixty years without losing a step.

The stats tell part of the story: 72 feet tall, a 62-foot first drop, 2,640 feet of all-wooden track laid out in a figure-eight configuration over the historic waters of Withers Swash — a natural stream that has met the ocean at this spot since long before there was a Myrtle Beach to speak of. The land beneath the park was part of a 66,000-acre king’s grant to Robert Francis Withers in the early 1700s, which means when you ride the Swamp Fox you are, in a very real sense, riding over the same coastal ground that a colonial indigo plantation once occupied. History does not get more kinetic than that.

The city of Myrtle Beach officially declared the Swamp Fox a historic structure in March 2017, and the American Coaster Enthusiasts placed a historical marker at the ride in 2016 to mark its 50th anniversary. It is one of roughly one hundred wooden roller coasters still operating in North America, and it has appeared on multiple lists of the most underrated coasters on the continent. What those lists tend to undersell is the ocean view. As the train climbs the first lift hill, the Atlantic opens up to the east in a way that stops arguments mid-sentence. Whatever you were debating with your travel partner before you got in the car disappears the moment that drop comes.

More Thrills: The Rest of the Ride Lineup

The Swamp Fox is the headliner, but Family Kingdom has built a solid supporting cast around it. The Log Flume is a perennial favorite — a winding water ride that climbs through the park before dropping riders down a water-soaked chute that provides exactly the right amount of cooling on a hot August afternoon. The Twist ‘n Shout is the park’s fan-favorite steel coaster, offering a different flavor of speed and movement than the Swamp Fox’s wooden rumble. And if you want to understand why teenagers gravitate toward the more extreme end of the lineup, the Vertigo Thrill and the Flip Side are worth a look.

The Flip Side seats riders on a boom arm and whisks them 40 feet into the air before swinging them through a series of rotations that leave you momentarily unsure which direction the ground is in. The Hurricane sends you around a hilly track at speeds that make the ocean breeze suddenly feel intentional. The Lunatic spins riders outward on long arms in the time-honored tradition of carnival rides that have been separating brave souls from their loose change since the county fair circuit was the closest thing to an amusement park most towns ever saw. Bumper cars round out the lineup for those who prefer their chaos to be self-directed.

The park also has go-karts — a detail that deserves its own sentence, because go-karts have a way of converting the most reluctant participant in any family group into the person who insists on going around one more time. All told, Family Kingdom runs more than 32 rides across its oceanfront acreage, with more arriving in 2026.

For the Little Ones: Family and Kiddie Rides

One of the things that makes Family Kingdom genuinely good for mixed-age groups — the kind of vacation parties where the oldest and youngest members are a generation or more apart — is the depth of its kiddie and family ride selection. The park does not treat younger guests as an afterthought. The Puppy Roll, the Tea Cups, the Choo Choo Train, the Kiddie Speedway, and the Samba Balloons give smaller children their own version of the full amusement park experience, complete with the lines and the wristband-checking and the moment of anticipation just before the ride begins that is the same whether you are five or fifty.

The Dragon Coaster is worth particular attention. It threads the line between kiddie ride and genuine coaster experience in a way that makes it the perfect introductory ride for children who are curious about what the bigger coasters might feel like, without committing to anything they might find overwhelming. A child who rides the Dragon Coaster in the afternoon and talks about nothing else for the rest of the evening is one who will be asking about the Swamp Fox before the next trip is over.

The Giant Wheel — Family Kingdom’s Ferris wheel — deserves a mention here as well, because it belongs to everyone. At 100 feet, it lifts riders above the rooftops and the palmettos and into a clear view of the Atlantic that stretches from the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk south toward Surfside and north toward Crescent Beach. It is a gentler experience than the SkyWheel a few miles up the strand, more affordable, and still absolutely worth the stop — especially near sunset when the light turns everything on the water gold. Stroller and wheelchair rentals are available inside the park for families who need them.

What’s New in 2026: The RMC Raptor Is Coming

If you follow the roller coaster world even casually, the name Rocky Mountain Construction carries weight. RMC is the Colorado-based engineering firm responsible for some of the most celebrated coasters built in the last fifteen years — rides that have transformed regional parks into destination attractions and generated the kind of social media buzz that used to require a theme park the size of a small city to produce. In November 2025, Family Kingdom announced at the IAAPA Expo in Orlando that an RMC coaster was coming to 300 South Ocean Boulevard. The coaster community reacted, in the understated parlance of enthusiasts everywhere, with considerable enthusiasm.

The ride is a custom single-rail Raptor model — the first of its class in the entire Southeast United States. It will stand 100 feet tall, nearly 30 feet higher than the historic Swamp Fox, and reach speeds of 50 miles per hour on a track layout designed exclusively for the Myrtle Beach park. The single-rail format positions riders in open-sided cars that move through sharp transitions and rapid direction changes in a way that feels fundamentally different from anything else in the Family Kingdom lineup. The park has offered one hint about the name: they are near the ocean. Given that the rides targeted opening window is late summer 2026 — coinciding with the park’s 60th anniversary season — the timing feels deliberate and apt.

Three additional new rides are also joining the roster this season. The combined effect of these additions is to position Family Kingdom not just as a beloved local tradition but as a legitimate destination for coaster travelers — people who plan trips around rides the way others plan them around restaurants or concerts. For families already coming to Myrtle Beach, it adds one more compelling reason to carve out a full day. For enthusiasts who have not yet added the Swamp Fox to their track record, the window to do so before the new coaster becomes the headliner is narrowing.

Food, Games, and the Boardwalk Next Door

An amusement park without funnel cakes is a philosophical failure, and Family Kingdom has no such problems. Concession stands throughout the park serve the full range of boardwalk food: footlong corndogs, chicken on a stick, cold lemonade, fries, funnel cakes, and the category of treats that vacation nutritionists have collectively agreed not to think too hard about. An arcade sits alongside the ride lineup, and midway games occupy the spaces between attractions in the classic tradition of every fair and carnival that has ever set up along a waterfront. The park also permits outside food and drink in certain areas, which is worth knowing for families traveling with young children who have specific dietary needs or strong opinions about their snacks.

The broader Myrtle Beach Boardwalk and Promenade runs just steps away, connecting Family Kingdom to the rest of the downtown oceanfront entertainment district. Broadway at the Beach — the massive lakeside entertainment complex with restaurants, shops, and attractions — is a short drive north and makes for a natural pairing with a Family Kingdom day if your group wants to extend the outing into the evening. In 2026, Broadway at the Beach is also welcoming Ole Smoky Distillery and Yee-Haw Brewing Co. to its lineup, adding a new indoor-outdoor brewery and distillery with a beer garden and full-service bar for the adults in the group who have earned a quiet drink after a day of Log Flume and Dragon Coaster duty.

Planning Your Visit

Family Kingdom is located at 300 South Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach — about three miles from Myrtle Beach International Airport and a straight shot down the oceanfront boulevard from most points along the Grand Strand. The park is open seasonally, beginning in late March or early April, and runs through Labor Day Weekend. Weekend hours during the shoulder season typically begin in the early-to-mid afternoon; peak summer season brings expanded hours and seven-day-a-week operation. Check familykingdomfun.com for the current season calendar before you go.

Park admission is free — you pay only for what you ride. Individual ride tickets are available for purchase, with different rides requiring varying ticket quantities. All-day unlimited wristbands offer the best value for families planning to spend several hours working through the full lineup, and discounts on wristbands are periodically available through local coupon platforms. On-site parking is available nearby. Strollers and wheelchairs are available for rent inside the park.

A few practical notes worth keeping in mind: Family Kingdom’s evening atmosphere is genuinely lovely, with the ride lights reflecting off the ocean and the park taking on that particular glow that amusement parks have always had after dark. If you are visiting with very young children, morning arrivals before peak heat are easier on everyone. And if the RMC Raptor is part of your reason for coming, the ride is targeting a late summer 2026 opening — plan accordingly, and keep an eye on the park’s social channels for announcements as construction moves toward completion.

For those staying along the northern stretch of the coast, Family Kingdom pairs well with a full day on Windy Hill Beach in the morning and an early-evening drive down to the park once the temperature drops a few degrees. The whole thing — beach, lunch, park, boardwalk, dinner — fits comfortably into a single vacation day with the right planning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Pin Point Indoor Pickleball & Golf: North Myrtle Beach’s Premier Year-Round Sports Destination

Most people who come to North Myrtle Beach arrive with a plan that involves sand, saltwater, and sunscreen. The beach is the whole point — and on a clear morning when the light is soft and the tide is pulling back from the shore near Cherry Grove, it is easy to see why. But anyone who has spent more than a long weekend on the Grand Strand knows that a vacation here is more than a stretch of shoreline. It is an entire world of things to do, places to be, and people to meet — and that world just got considerably more interesting.

Pin Point Indoor Pickleball & Golf opened its Little River location in early 2026, and it has already established itself as one of the most compelling new venues on the northern end of the Strand. Tucked into a 47,000-square-foot building off S.C. Highway 90 — the same corridor that winds from Conway straight down to the North Myrtle Beach coastline — Pin Point brings together nine professional-grade pickleball courts, seven Trackman golf simulator bays, a full-service bar and restaurant, and private event space under a single roof. It is open seven days a week, it welcomes players from absolute beginners to serious competitors, and it does not care one bit whether it is raining outside.

For visitors staying in Ocean Drive or Crescent Beach, Pin Point is the kind of place that turns a rainy afternoon into a highlight of the trip. For golf enthusiasts who have come to the Grand Strand specifically for its legendary courses, it is a chance to work on your swing at 7 in the morning before the tee time arrives. And for locals, it is shaping up to be exactly the kind of anchor social venue that Little River has long deserved.

Nine Courts, One Obsession: Pickleball at Pin Point

If pickleball has a spiritual home on the Grand Strand, Pin Point is making a convincing case for the title. The facility’s nine courts stretch across the left side of the main floor, outfitted with CushionX flooring — the same cushioned, joint-friendly surface that serious players and physical therapists tend to agree on as the gold standard for indoor play. The courts are well-lit, properly dimensioned, and designed to handle everything from casual open play to organized tournament competition.

Open play runs daily and is priced at $15 for a two-hour session for non-members — enough time to get loose, find your game, and make a few new friends, which tends to happen naturally in pickleball no matter where you play it. If your group wants a dedicated court without sharing, full court reservations are $50 per hour and can be booked in advance through Pin Point’s online portal. A small pro shop and snack bar near the entrance handles paddles and quick refreshments for those who want to stay in the zone between sessions.

For those who want to improve rather than just rally, Pin Point offers structured clinics and individual lessons with certified instructors. Leagues are up and running — Pin Point’s first organized competition league featured a Myrtle Beach firefighters bracket, which tells you something about the spirit of the place. Tournaments are part of the programming calendar as well, and the facility has both the space and the court count to host competitive events that draw players from across the region.

It is worth noting that pickleball’s appeal is genuinely cross-generational, which makes Pin Point an unusually good fit for multigenerational vacation groups. Grandparents and grandchildren end up on the same court more often than you might expect, and the compressed playing surface means that the sport’s learning curve is forgiving enough that a complete beginner can have a genuinely good time within the first twenty minutes of picking up a paddle.

Seven Trackman Bays and a Teaching Pro

The Grand Strand has built its reputation on outdoor golf — more than 100 courses within a reasonable drive, sun-drenched fairways, and the kind of sweeping coastal layouts that end up on magazine covers. Pin Point is not competing with that experience. It is complementing it, and for serious players, the technology inside those seven simulator bays is genuinely impressive.

Each bay is equipped with a Trackman iO overhead launch monitor — the same system used by PGA Tour players and college programs to analyze ball flight, club data, and shot dispersion. The Trackman library offers more than 500 courses to choose from, a virtual driving range, and a test center with full diagnostics. Every bay accommodates at least six golfers, which makes them well-suited for a group outing where not everyone wants to be on their feet at the same time. Bay rental runs $40 per hour for non-members, and access to Pin Point’s short game area with putting green is included.

Six of the seven bays sit on the first floor, arranged along the right side of the building alongside a chipping and putting green and tables for eating and drinking. The seventh bay is upstairs, designated as a VIP bay with a more private, elevated setting that works well for groups who want their own dedicated space. On-site director of golf Adam Holmes — who came to Pin Point from North Carolina — is a PGA-certified teaching pro who offers individual lessons and has a workshop on the premises for club fitting, building, repair, and regripping. If you have been meaning to get that driver checked out before a round at Tidewater or Leopard’s Chase nearby, Pin Point is a practical stop.

The Bar, the Restaurant, and the View from Upstairs

A lot of places that combine sports and socializing get the balance wrong. Either the food is an afterthought — sad nachos and warm beer — or the bar crowds out the playing experience. Pin Point has calibrated things reasonably well. The main restaurant and full bar occupy the second floor, where 25-plus televisions keep every major game visible from virtually any seat, and where the sightlines look down over both the pickleball courts and the golf simulator bays simultaneously. You can watch your travel partner take a swing on the Trackman while you work through a flatbread pizza and a cold drink. That combination is not easy to find.

The kitchen runs a menu designed around bar-and-grill comfort without being lazy about it. Handhelds, flatbread pizzas, and salads anchor the core. The appetizer list covers the classics — wings, loaded fries, nachos, mozzarella sticks, sliders — alongside some more interesting options: street corn dip, fried pickles, shrimp skewers, and pretzel bites with cheese curds. It is the kind of food that works whether you are fueling up before two hours on the pickleball court or settling in for a long afternoon of simulator golf with a group of friends. The bar and restaurant are open from 11 AM to 9 PM daily, and Pin Point has table service.

General manager David Thurber brought more than two decades of Grand Strand restaurant experience to the operation — a background that shows in the way the food and service side of Pin Point integrates with the sporting side rather than feeling tacked on. The building runs to 47,000 square feet in total, which gives the whole experience a sense of room and comfort that smaller indoor sports venues rarely manage.

Private Events and Group Outings

For vacation groups staying in one of the oceanfront homes along the North Myrtle Beach coastline, Pin Point offers a compelling answer to the perennial question of what to do with a large group that includes people who don’t all want to sit on the beach at the same time. The facility has private and semi-private event spaces available for rental and provides flexible catering services alongside dedicated event planning staff who can help build a custom experience around your group’s size and interests.

Birthday parties, family reunions, corporate retreats, bachelorette and bachelor outings — Pin Point’s setup handles them all with a natural ease that comes from having enough space to keep different activities running simultaneously. A group of twenty can split between pickleball courts and golf bays, reconvene upstairs for food and drinks, and never feel like they are crowding each other out. Event inquiries can be submitted through the events page at myrtle.pinpointindoor.com.

Memberships, Drop-In Rates, and Booking

For vacationers and visitors, the drop-in structure is the place to start. Pickleball open play is $15 for two hours; court reservations run $50 per hour for non-members. Golf simulator bays are $40 per hour with access to the short game area included. The putting area is complimentary for everyone. Reservations can be made through Pin Point’s online booking portal at myrtle.pinpointindoor.com.

For those who are local or planning a longer stay in the area, Pin Point offers two membership tiers. A weekday membership comes with a $35 initiation fee and $69 per month, covering unlimited weekday pickleball and golf access up to two hours per day and six hours per week. A full membership has a $60 initiation fee and runs $119 per month, extending access to all seven days with up to two hours per day and eight hours per week. Both tiers include a $10 guest rate for visitors joining a member’s session, and members receive 30 percent off non-complimentary golf bay time. There is no cancellation fee for memberships.

All players — members and non-members alike — are required to create a Pin Point account and sign a waiver before their first visit. Non-members need to cancel reservations at least 24 hours in advance to avoid a no-show charge; members have a 3-hour cancellation window.

Planning Your Visit

Pin Point is located at 304 Hwy 90 East, Unit A-1, Little River, SC — a straightforward drive from anywhere along the Windy Hill and Crescent Beach sections of North Myrtle Beach. The facility opens at 7 AM seven days a week for pickleball and golf, with the bar and restaurant coming online at 11 AM. Last call for the courts is 9 PM nightly. Phone: (843) 352-4035. Email: nmb@pinpointindoor.com. Website: myrtle.pinpointindoor.com.

It is worth noting that Pin Point’s position on Highway 90 puts it in one of Horry County’s fastest-growing corridors, just minutes from the northern tip of North Myrtle Beach and the scenic backroads leading into Little River Neck. If you are coming from the Ocean Drive area, the drive runs about ten minutes depending on traffic. If you are based along Cherry Grove Beach, it is even closer. Book in advance when possible, particularly on weekends — the combination of indoor sports, a real bar, and a quality kitchen tends to draw full houses.

Frequently Asked Questions

Things to Do in North Myrtle Beach in May: Festivals, Events & Celebrations

There is a moment that happens in early May on the North Myrtle Beach coastline that is difficult to describe to anyone who has never experienced it. The crowds of spring break have eased. The hard heat of July has not yet arrived. The ocean is somewhere between cool and inviting — just right for the first real swim of the year. And all along Ocean Drive and Main Street and the causeways and the waterfront, things are beginning to hum. Bike engines. Beach music. The smell of fresh seafood drifting from Little River. That particular brand of Southern spring energy that only happens here, in this stretch of the Grand Strand, when May rolls in.

May is arguably the most underrated vacation month on the entire South Carolina coast. The temperatures are warm without being punishing — typically in the mid-70s to low-80s, with sea breezes that take the edge off. The Atlantic hovers around 70°F, perfectly swimmable for anyone who is not afraid of a little refreshment. Most importantly, May is when North Myrtle Beach becomes an event destination in the truest sense of the phrase. Literally every weekend in May offers something worth building a trip around.

Between the OD Beach Music Festival kicking off summer the first Saturday of the month, hundreds of thousands of motorcycle riders descending on the Grand Strand for Bike Week, the PGA Tour setting up shop at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club, two days of fresh blue crab and live music at the Little River waterfront, and a Memorial Day weekend that always feels like the true arrival of summer — May along the Grand Strand delivers more per calendar day than almost any other time of year. Add in Cinco de Mayo parties, Mother’s Day brunches on the water, and Kentucky Derby viewing parties with mint juleps in hand, and you have a month that does not know how to take a day off.

Here is everything happening in North Myrtle Beach in May 2026 — and why every single one of these events is worth the trip.

Why May Is the Best-Kept Secret on the Grand Strand

Ask any local and they will tell you the same thing: May is when the coast wakes up, but before it gets crowded. Families who have been coming to Cherry Grove Beach for decades know that you can still find a stretch of sand that feels like your own in early May. Walk Ocean Drive on a Tuesday evening and the restaurants are open, the music is going, but you do not have to wait forty minutes for a table.

There is also the simple matter of the weather. May mornings in North Myrtle Beach are made for coffee on the deck, a long walk along Crescent Beach, or a round of golf before the sun reaches its peak. By afternoon, the temperatures invite you into the water. By evening, the patios are full and the live music starts early. It is the rhythm of a beach town at its best — unhurried, warm, and quietly alive.

For families traveling with kids, May offers another gift: school calendars are wrapping up, but the massive summer tourism wave has not fully broken yet. You get the best of both worlds — a beach that is lively and active, with enough room to breathe. For couples, the spring light and the festival atmosphere make May one of the most romantic months on the calendar. And for groups traveling for the specific events — Bike Week riders, golf fans, food festival devotees, music lovers — May is simply unmissable.

Ocean Drive Beach Music Festival — Saturday, May 2, 2026

There is no better way to open May in North Myrtle Beach than the Ocean Drive Beach Music Festival, held the first Saturday of every May in the parking lot between Main Street and First Avenue South — the heart of the Ocean Drive neighborhood where beach music and shag dancing were practically invented.

The 9th Annual Ocean Drive Beach Music Festival returns on Saturday, May 2, 2026, with gates opening at 10 a.m. and live music running all day long. Co-produced with 94.9 The Surf and the City of North Myrtle Beach, this is a true community event that draws beach music lovers from across the Southeast. The festival features a rotating lineup of beloved regional and national acts — bands like Band of Oz, Jim Quick and Coastline, and other artists who have been playing these Carolina shores for decades. Bring your own cooler (up to 48 quarts) and chairs; no glass is permitted.

The festival takes place in the open-air lot just steps from the beach, and the setup is perfectly low-key: a big stage, a warm May sky, a crowd full of people who know the words to every song, and the kind of easy coastal happiness that does not require explanation. Advance tickets run around $75 and are worth purchasing ahead of time — day-of admission is $100 cash if tickets remain available.

The night before, a kickoff party runs at the OD Arcade & Lounge, featuring beach music trivia and live entertainment — a great warm-up if you are making a full weekend of it. First Avenue South between Ocean Boulevard and Hillside Drive closes to vehicle traffic for the festival, so plan your parking accordingly and arrive ready to dance.

Cinco de Mayo on the Grand Strand

In 2026, Cinco de Mayo falls on Tuesday, May 5, but the Grand Strand’s Mexican restaurants and beach bars have never needed an excuse to stretch a celebration across an entire weekend. Whether you are looking for a proper fiesta or just the perfect margarita to accompany a warm May evening, the North Myrtle Beach area has you covered.

Taco Mundo Kitchen y Cantina at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach has become one of the most popular Cinco de Mayo destinations on the Grand Strand. The waterfront patio setting is hard to beat — the Intracoastal Waterway glitters in the background while live music pumps and the margaritas keep coming. Their street-style tacos and gourmet seafood-forward menu give the holiday a distinctly coastal South Carolina twist. Expect specials, live entertainment, and a crowd that is genuinely in the spirit.

Down the strand in Myrtle Beach, Señor Frog’s at Broadway at the Beach goes all-out for Cinco de Mayo with outdoor seating, live music, dancing, and a drink menu built around the occasion. Their Cinco de Mayo 5K Run at Broadway at the Beach (typically held the Sunday nearest the holiday) offers a more active way to celebrate before settling in for tacos and refreshments. Nacho Hippo at The Market Common is another beloved local spot for creative tacos, loaded nachos, and festive drink specials — they consistently run Cinco de Mayo parties with live music and giveaways.

For a more upscale take on the evening, New York Prime in Myrtle Beach has hosted a Cinco de Mayo dinner event featuring their signature steaks and cocktails with a festive flair. And local favorites like Roca Roja Cantina and Fiesta Mexicana run their own specials throughout the week — the kind of neighborhood Mexican restaurants that are always packed on Cinco de Mayo for very good reason.

ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic — PGA Tour, May 7–10, 2026

For a destination long known as the Golf Capital of the World, having a PGA Tour event on the calendar every May feels exactly right. The 3rd Annual ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic returns to the Dunes Golf and Beach Club from May 7–10, 2026, bringing 120 of the world’s top professional golfers to a Robert Trent Jones-designed oceanfront course that has already earned raves from the tour’s most discerning players.

This is not just a tournament — it is the kind of week that transforms Myrtle Beach into a proper golf capital in the way that the title has always implied but rarely been demonstrated at this level. The $4 million purse and 300 FedExCup points on the line ensure a competitive, star-studded field. And the winner earns a spot in the PGA Championship field the following week — making this tournament a launching pad for some of the most dramatic storylelling in professional golf.

General admission tickets start at $44 for the Wednesday practice round and $65–$71 for tournament days. Children 15 and under are admitted free with a ticketed adult. For military and first responders, the tournament offers complimentary practice round tickets and a 25% discount on tournament rounds — a classy gesture that reflects the community spirit of the event. Premium hospitality in the Live Oaks Lounge on the 17th tee offers panoramic views of four holes and is one of the better ways to watch professional golf you will find anywhere on the tour calendar.

For golf travelers, pairing a round on one of the area’s legendary courses with a day watching PGA Tour professionals attack the same coastal turf is a rare combination. The Grand Strand’s dozens of world-class golf courses are never more alive than in May, and the Myrtle Beach Classic gives the whole trip an electric backdrop.

Myrtle Beach Bike Week Spring Rally — May 8–17, 2026

It started in 1940 as a small gathering of riders on the South Carolina coast — a hot dog roast on the sand, by some accounts — and 87 years later, the Myrtle Beach Bike Week Spring Rally has grown into one of the largest motorcycle events in the entire country. The 87th Annual Spring Rally runs May 8–17, 2026, drawing upwards of 300,000 to 500,000 riders and enthusiasts to the Grand Strand over 10 consecutive days.

The sound arrives first. By the second week of May, the low, rhythmic rumble of motorcycles threading down Ocean Boulevard and Kings Highway becomes the constant soundtrack of the coast. Every parking lot, every restaurant, every beachside bar fills with chrome and leather and the particular community warmth that defines the motorcycle culture. Riders come from every state in the country — and many points beyond — to ride the coastline from Murrells Inlet to Georgetown to Wilmington, to meet old friends, and to feel the specific freedom that only a coastal highway on a warm May morning can deliver.

The rally is spread across dozens of venues all along the Grand Strand. Some of the most well-known Bike Week gathering spots include Suck Bang Blow in Murrells Inlet — a 40,000-square-foot outdoor venue with live bands, a burnout pit, barbecue, and the kind of atmosphere that defines what a biker rally should feel like. The Beaver Bar, Jamin’ Leather, The Rat Hole, and the various Harley-Davidson dealership events along the strip all run daily events throughout the week. North Myrtle Beach’s own biker-friendly bars and restaurants throw their doors open wide — many running happy hour specials, vendor setups, and live music throughout the rally period.

One of the most beloved traditions during Bike Week is Crude’s Famous Veteran Ride — a free group ride that gathers for breakfast at Golden Egg in Surfside Beach at 8 a.m. and heads out at 10:30 for a 150-mile round trip down to Moncks Corner, SC. Past years have seen over 250 bikes participate, and no registration is required. All motorcycles and cars are welcome. For non-riders, Bike Week is still a genuine spectacle worth seeing — the sheer volume and variety of machines rolling through the streets is something that photographs cannot fully capture.

A practical note for travelers who are not attending Bike Week but are visiting during this period: expect increased traffic along Ocean Boulevard and Kings Highway, particularly on weekends. Plan accordingly, book accommodations early, and lean into the energy rather than fighting it. North Myrtle Beach’s beachfront and Intracoastal Waterway neighborhoods offer a slightly quieter backdrop while still putting you close to all the action.

Kentucky Derby Watch Parties — Saturday, May 2, 2026

The Kentucky Derby — the 152nd running of the race in 2026 — takes place on Saturday, May 2 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, with post time scheduled for the early evening. And while the mint julep crowd in the infield at Churchill Downs gets all the national attention, the Derby has also become a legitimate social event all along the Grand Strand, with restaurants and venues hosting viewing parties that are every bit as festive as anything happening in Kentucky.

Greg Norman Australian Grille at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach hosts an annual Kentucky Derby Extravaganza in their Shark Pub — the waterfront setting along the Intracoastal Waterway makes it one of the more atmospheric Derby viewing experiences you will find outside of Louisville. Expect big-screen coverage, Derby-themed cocktails, and the kind of festive energy that the race naturally generates. Reservations are recommended.

Captain Archie’s in North Myrtle Beach has become a local favorite for Derby viewing — their parties feature full race coverage on big screens, a hat contest, Derby-themed drinks, and a lively crowd that makes the two minutes of the race itself feel like a proper event. For an upscale option with a charitable twist, the annual Habitat for Humanity Derby Day event at Grande Dunes Resort Club combines a live broadcast of the race with music, games, gourmet food, and proceeds benefiting local families — a combination of celebration and community that perfectly captures the Grand Strand spirit. The Hard Rock Cafe in Myrtle Beach also hosts Derby parties with mint juleps and themed menus.

The Derby watching tradition on the beach has also developed its own local dress code — not full Churchill Downs regalia, but a nod in that direction. You will see elaborate hats at the more formal viewing events, and more than a few people who use the occasion as an excuse to dress slightly better than a beach vacation usually requires. It is one of May’s most charming social moments on the Grand Strand.

Mother’s Day in North Myrtle Beach — Sunday, May 10, 2026

Mother’s Day on May 10 has a particular quality in North Myrtle Beach that simply cannot be replicated at home. There is something about the combination of warm ocean air, a waterfront table, and a plate of food that somebody else prepared that makes celebrating Mom on the beach feel like an especially good idea. The Grand Strand’s restaurant community rises to the occasion every year with special menus, extended brunch hours, and the kind of attention that makes a Sunday in May feel like a real occasion.

Greg Norman Australian Grille at Barefoot Landing offers a beloved Sunday brunch running from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. that becomes especially popular on Mother’s Day. The menu leans into coastal-meets-Australian fusion — Tasmanian shrimp and grits, the Australian omelet, fresh seafood preparations — served with waterfront views that make even a simple breakfast feel like a special occasion. Reserve well in advance.

The Gospel Brunch at House of Blues in North Myrtle Beach is one of the Grand Strand’s most beloved Sunday traditions, and on Mother’s Day it becomes something else entirely. A hearty Southern-style buffet — fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, carving stations, sweet bread pudding — served alongside live gospel music that has the room clapping along before the first plate hits the table. It is joyful and communal in exactly the way that Mother’s Day should be. Bistro 90 runs its full menu with Chef’s specials, and California Dreaming in North Myrtle Beach opens early on Mother’s Day for families who prefer a more casual brunch setting.

Beyond the table, Mother’s Day in North Myrtle Beach offers experiences that are harder to find anywhere else. A morning walk along Windy Hill beach before the day gets moving is a gift in itself. A spa treatment at Cinzia Spa at North Beach Plantation turns an afternoon into something genuinely luxurious. And for families staying in one of the area’s oceanfront rentals, the day can unfold entirely at your own pace — breakfast on the deck, a swim, an afternoon at the golf course or outlet shops, dinner watching the last of the May sun fall into the marsh. That is the quiet power of a beach vacation: Mother’s Day becomes something Mom actually gets to enjoy.

World Famous Blue Crab Festival — May 16–17, 2026 (Little River)

Just a few minutes north of North Myrtle Beach, the small fishing community of Little River hosts what has become one of the most consistently excellent food and music festivals in the entire Southeast. The 44th Annual World Famous Blue Crab Festival takes place Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at the Historic Little River Waterfront, 4468 Mineola Avenue.

The festival has been awarded the Best Annual Event/Festival on the Grand Strand by readers of The Sun News for more than a decade straight — and when you spend an afternoon there, you understand immediately why. The setting is something that cannot be manufactured: moss-draped live oaks, the smell of salt water and steaming seafood mingling on a May breeze, 275-plus vendor spaces lining the waterfront, and a single live music stage that runs beach music from morning until the gates close. It is a genuine community festival that families plan their vacations around, year after year.

The food is the centerpiece and the mission: only local seafood is featured, and the blue crab — caught from the waterways just outside of Little River — is prepared fresh in every form imaginable. Crab cakes. Steamed whole crabs. Crab stew. She-crab soup. If your family includes anyone who has never eaten a properly steamed blue crab with a beer at a picnic table while a beach band plays fifty feet away, this is the weekend to change that. Admission is $10 per person; children 12 and under get in free. Satellite parking with a shuttle is available, and it is wise to use it — the festival draws around 33,000 visitors across the weekend and parking near the waterfront fills fast.

For those who want to start the day with a run, the World Famous Blue Crab 5K is held on the morning of May 16 at Vereen Memorial and Historical Gardens, winding through trails and boardwalks over the scenic marsh. All finishers receive a custom Blue Crab medal. It is one of the more beautiful 5K routes in South Carolina and a meaningful way to earn your afternoon of fried seafood.

Memorial Day Weekend — May 23–25, 2026

Memorial Day weekend is when North Myrtle Beach officially declares summer open for business. The permanent population of the city runs around 20,000 people — but over Memorial Day weekend, the daily population swells to more than 100,000. The restaurants are packed, the beaches are crowded in the best way, and the energy of the opening weekend of summer hangs over everything like a promise being delivered.

In Myrtle Beach, the city honors the holiday with genuine intention. A patriotic parade and family picnic at The Market Common features live music and military exhibits and displays. The Jack Platt Veterans’ March with Battlefield Cross Ceremony takes place on May 25 at 9 a.m., moving from 16th to Ninth Avenues North along Ocean Boulevard — a solemn and moving tribute that draws residents and visitors together. The weekend is also marked by a military appreciation that runs throughout the Grand Strand, with numerous restaurants offering discounts for active and retired service members.

Memorial Day weekend also coincides with the Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Black Pearl Cultural Heritage and Bike Festival in nearby Atlantic Beach, which draws thousands of additional motorcycle enthusiasts to the area. North Myrtle Beach’s Public Works Department manages traffic flow with dedicated lanes and increased law enforcement presence, ensuring the weekend runs safely for the massive influx of visitors. If you are driving to or around North Myrtle Beach during Memorial Day weekend, build extra time into your travel plans and embrace the fact that you have arrived at the busiest, most energetic beach weekend of the first half of the year.

The Brookgreen Gardens Memorial Day 5K takes place on the evening of May 25, winding through the oak-canopied trails and gardens of Brookgreen in Murrells Inlet. There are few more beautiful evening runs in South Carolina, and it is a meaningful way to close out a weekend that carries real weight alongside its celebration.

Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach typically runs live music and special events throughout the Memorial Day weekend, with the waterfront complex at its most vibrant. House of Blues, the outdoor stages, and the surrounding restaurants all extend their hours and programming to match the energy of the weekend. Book your reservation early — Memorial Day in North Myrtle Beach fills every table within walking distance of the water.

The Beaches of North Myrtle Beach in May

North Myrtle Beach is made up of five distinct beach sections, each with its own character, and May is the month when all of them are at their most accessible and most beautiful. The water temperatures climb from the upper 60s in early May to the low 70s by Memorial Day — cold by midsummer standards but absolutely swimmable, especially for anyone who understands that the best beach days are the ones where the water still has a little bite to it.

Cherry Grove Beach is the northernmost section, known for its quieter family atmosphere and the Cherry Grove Pier — a great spot for watching the sunrise or trying your luck at some early-season fishing. In May, Cherry Grove has just enough activity to feel alive without any of the elbow-to-elbow crowding of August. The stretch of wide sand is ideal for long morning walks.

Ocean Drive is the historic heart of North Myrtle Beach, birthplace of the shag dance, and where the OD Beach Music Festival brings thousands of visitors to Main Street on the first Saturday of May. The section feels especially alive in May — the music spilling out of Fat Harold’s and Duck’s Beach Club, the restaurants along the strip crowded but not overwhelming, the beach itself surprisingly uncrowded given the energy of the surrounding streets.

Crescent Beach sits in the middle of North Myrtle Beach’s five sections and offers some of the widest, most sweeping stretches of sand on the entire Grand Strand. It is a perennial favorite for families with oceanfront rentals who want space and access without sacrificing proximity to the activity zones. In May, Crescent Beach is at its best — warm, bright, and wide open.

Windy Hill is the southernmost section of North Myrtle Beach, sitting closest to the broader Myrtle Beach resort corridor. In May, Windy Hill offers a natural bridge between the quieter neighborhoods to the north and the activity of the main resort strip to the south — ideal for visitors who want a quieter beach base with easy access to the wider range of Grand Strand attractions and events.

Taste Around NMB & Ongoing Events Throughout May

Running from May 1 through May 25, Taste Around NMB is a self-guided restaurant touring event that gives visitors a structured reason to explore North Myrtle Beach’s dining scene. Participants visit a curated selection of the city’s most popular restaurants, collecting stamps or entries as they go, for a chance to win prizes. It is exactly the kind of ongoing event that makes a multi-week May stay feel like a genuine local adventure rather than a standard beach trip — and it introduces visitors to restaurants they might not have otherwise discovered.

The Garden Tea Party at McLean Park runs on Saturday, May 10, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. — a charming family event where children dress in their best tea party attire and enjoy lunch, sweets, and garden activities. It falls perfectly on the Saturday before Mother’s Day, making it an ideal anchor for a family Mother’s Day weekend in North Myrtle Beach.

Barefoot Landing’s Spring Live Music Series runs on Fridays and Saturdays throughout May on the Dockside Village Stage — free admission, waterfront setting, free lawn chairs provided while supplies last. It is one of the more reliably pleasant free events on the entire Grand Strand, the kind of thing you discover on your first night and find yourself returning to every evening of your stay. The Myrtle Beach Pelicans minor league baseball team is also in season throughout May, with home games at Pelican Stadium offering one of the best casual sports experiences on the coast — discounted beers on certain nights, kids’ activities, and the easy rhythm of summer baseball under the May sky.

The theater and entertainment scene along the Grand Strand also operates year-round, with the Carolina Opry and the Greg Rowles Legacy Theatre running their evening shows throughout May. Both offer high-caliber live performances that make for an excellent way to spend a May evening when you want something other than a beach bar or a festival crowd.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sand Hole Safety on North Myrtle Beach: What Every Visitor Needs to Know

The shovel was still standing in the sand when the North Myrtle Beach Police Department posted about it. A hole — big enough to swallow a grown adult — had been left on the beach over the weekend, red solo cups scattered in the bottom, a child’s red shovel propped against the rim. Whoever dug it had a great time. They just didn’t fill it back in.

This is one of those beach safety topics that doesn’t get nearly enough attention, buried somewhere between the sunscreen reminders and the rip current warnings. And that’s exactly why it needs to be talked about. Sand holes look harmless. They’re practically a right of passage at the beach — something every kid has done, something every parent has watched with a smile. But left too deep and left behind, they become something else entirely.

North Myrtle Beach has a city ordinance on the books about this. Beach patrol and local police are asking visitors to take it seriously. And the science — documented in peer-reviewed medical journals — backs up why. Here is everything you need to know before your next beach day on the Grand Strand.

What We Saw on the Beach This Weekend

The North Myrtle Beach Police Department shared the photo that prompted this article. A large, deep hole — well over the 12-inch limit set by city ordinance — left unattended on a public beach section. Shovels still upright in the sand. Litter in the bottom. The group who dug it had packed up and gone home, apparently unaware of the risks they left behind for anyone who might walk by after dark, or come running at full sprint the next morning without looking down.

It’s not a rare scene along the Grand Strand. Every season, deep holes are left behind on Cherry Grove Beach, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach, and Windy Hill. The people who dig them aren’t malicious — they’re just having fun and don’t think twice about what they’re leaving. This article is about changing that.

The Real Danger of Deep Sand Holes

This is where the statistics are genuinely startling. Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine documented 52 dangerous sand hole collapse incidents in the United States over a roughly 10-year period. Of those cases, 31 people died — a fatality rate of 60%. The other 21 survived, but many required CPR to be resuscitated.

Sand hole deaths are roughly as common as shark-related fatalities in the United States — and yet almost no one talks about them. In February 2024, a 7-year-old girl died after a roughly 5-foot hole she and her brother dug at a Florida beach collapsed and buried her alive. The 20 or so bystanders who rushed to help — digging with their hands and plastic pails — couldn’t free her before the sand kept caving back in.

Studies estimate that three to five children die in the United States each year from collapsing sand holes — at beaches, parks, and even at home. Victims in the reported cases ranged in age from 3 to 21 years, with 87% of them male. These are not freak accidents limited to one region. They happen on public beaches up and down the East Coast, including right here in the Carolinas.

The problem isn’t that digging is inherently evil. It’s that a deep hole looks — and feels — much more stable than it actually is. And that gap between perception and reality is what makes them so dangerous.

Why Sand Collapses Faster Than You Think

Sand behaves in a way that’s deeply counterintuitive. When it’s wet, surface tension between water molecules and sand grains holds the walls of a hole upright — well enough that you can carve out a neat, vertical surface that looks solid and permanent. Experienced hands at the beach can shape sand into towering castle walls using this principle. But that stability is borrowed.

Once the sand dries out, that surface tension is gone. With nothing holding the grains together, the hole collapses — usually without any visible warning beforehand. A footfall near the edge of a hole can be enough to trigger a collapse, because sand — despite how solid it looks — flows more like a liquid once its structure fails. Wet sand can weigh as much as 130 pounds per cubic foot, meaning a modest wall of the stuff can generate crushing, immobilizing force the instant it falls inward.

Sand collapses are what engineers call a brittle failure — there’s very little deformation to warn you that a collapse is about to happen. It occurs suddenly, and the compacted sand locks immediately around whatever — or whoever — is inside. That’s what makes rescue so difficult. Responders can’t simply dig straight down into the collapse site; that approach risks further cave-ins and can make things worse.

Night, Tides, and the Risks You Can’t See

A hole dug at noon under clear skies becomes invisible at 9 p.m. The Grand Strand sunsets are spectacular — people walk the beach well after dark, especially in the warmer months, enjoying the cooler air and the sound of the surf. At night, a deep unfilled hole blends completely into the surrounding sand. A jogger, a couple walking hand in hand, a child racing ahead of their parents — any of them could stumble straight in.

Tides compound the problem in a different direction. A hole dug above the tide line can flood rapidly as the tide comes in. A person or animal caught in a flooding hole faces not only entrapment but drowning risk as water fills the space faster than they can react. Rising tides also destabilize sand walls further, accelerating the collapse timeline.

There’s also a practical concern for the people whose job it is to keep the beach safe. North Myrtle Beach runs beach patrol and emergency response vehicles along the shore. A deep hole in the sand — especially an unmarked one — presents a real hazard to those vehicles, which can become immobilized if a wheel drops unexpectedly. When emergency vehicles lose time, response times to actual life-threatening situations on the water increase.

The Impact on Sea Turtles and Coastal Wildlife

The South Carolina coast is active nesting territory for loggerhead sea turtles, a threatened species that comes ashore at night to lay eggs along the same beaches where families spread out their towels during the day. Female turtles follow the shoreline’s natural grade — the gentle slope from the dunes to the waterline — as they navigate up from the surf. An unexpected drop into a deep hole can trap a turtle on her back or leave her so disoriented that she never makes it back to the ocean.

Wildlife ranging from sea turtles to crabs to small fish can become trapped in or injured by unfilled beach holes, sometimes suffering lasting physical damage. Hatchlings, which emerge at night and instinctively orient toward the brightest horizon (the ocean surface), can tumble into holes and be unable to climb back out. A single nesting season along Cherry Grove or Ocean Drive involves dozens of active nests — and every responsible beachgoer plays a role in giving those hatchlings a clear path to the water.

Filling in your hole before you leave costs you about two minutes. For a loggerhead sea turtle hatchling navigating that same stretch of beach at 2 a.m., it could mean survival.

The North Myrtle Beach City Ordinance: The 12-Inch Rule

The City of North Myrtle Beach is clear on this: any hole dug on a public beach that exceeds 12 inches in depth must be filled in before you leave. This isn’t buried in fine print — it’s an active ordinance that beach patrol officers enforce, and the North Myrtle Beach Police Department has made a point of reminding visitors about it publicly.

Twelve inches is roughly knee height on most adults, and chest height on a toddler. It’s a generous standard — plenty of room for enthusiastic sandcastle builders and kids with buckets. The rule isn’t designed to take the fun out of digging. It’s designed to prevent the specific category of danger that comes from leaving a human-sized excavation unattended in a public space.

Think of it as the same social contract that governs picking up after your dog, respecting the sea oats and dune fencing, and keeping the beach free of litter. North Myrtle Beach has been welcoming families to its ten miles of coastline for generations — from the wide flats of Windy Hill to the shelling grounds of Cherry Grove. Keeping those beaches safe is a shared responsibility, and filling your hole is one of the easiest ways to do your part.

How to Dig Safely (and Still Have Fun)

Let’s be direct about something: sand digging is a wonderful part of being at the beach. Kids should dig. Families should build. The goal here isn’t to put away the shovels — it’s to use them wisely. Here are the practical guidelines that let everyone have a great time and go home safely.

Keep it shallow. Stay under 12 inches — roughly knee height for an adult or waist height for a young child. Deep holes are where the danger begins. Shallow digging for sandcastles, moats, and channels is completely safe and endlessly entertaining.

Never let anyone sit or stand inside a deep hole. Especially children. The danger isn’t just digging — it’s occupying a hole that’s deep enough to surround the torso. If your child starts climbing in, redirect them.

Dig away from the shoreline when possible. Holes near the water are subject to rapid tidal changes, which destabilize sand walls faster and flood excavations suddenly.

Assign someone to fill duty. Make it part of the pack-up routine — sunscreen in the bag, umbrella down, chairs folded, hole filled. It takes about the same amount of time as carrying your cooler back to the parking lot.

If you see a deep unfilled hole left by others, fill it. Be the person who takes the two minutes. The next beachgoer walking by at sunset — or the sea turtle navigating that stretch at midnight — will benefit from it.

What to Do If a Hole Collapses

Speed is everything. If someone is buried in a sand collapse, call 911 immediately — do not wait to see if the situation resolves on its own. While waiting for emergency services, have bystanders begin carefully moving sand away from around the victim. The instinct to dig straight down can cause further collapse; trained rescuers work by forming a wider excavation area around the collapse point, moving sand outward rather than directly downward to stabilize the surrounding walls.

If the victim is visible, talk to them constantly to maintain awareness of their consciousness. Sand compresses the chest and restricts breathing — the faster you can free the torso, the better the outcome. North Myrtle Beach maintains 54 lifeguard towers along its coastline during peak season, and their teams are trained in beach emergencies including sand-related incidents.

The best emergency response, of course, is the one that’s never needed. Fill the hole.

Frequently Asked Questions

Slime Kitchen Opens at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach — A Chef’s Unexpected New Venture

Published March 31, 2026 · Thomas Beach Vacations

From Fine Dining to Slime Making — A Chef Changes Course

Michael Donovan had his eye on a kitchen. The award-winning chef had been scouting locations across the Myrtle Beach area for months, envisioning a restaurant of his own — the kind of place where he could finally call every shot, from the menu down to the music. Then he stumbled across a listing for a kitchen franchise, and the trajectory of his career took a hard, gloriously unexpected turn.

It was not the kind of kitchen he had ever worked in before. No walk-in coolers. No line cooks. No sizzling flattops or prep lists. This kitchen dealt in glitter, not garlic. It was Slime Kitchen — a California-based franchise where families create custom slime from scratch using KitchenAid mixers, colorful bases, and dozens of scents and textures.

Donovan had never heard of it. But his 10-year-old daughter had. She had seen Slime Kitchen all over TikTok and Instagram, and she made the case with the kind of conviction only a kid who really, truly wants something can deliver. After consulting with his wife, Maria, the couple decided to bring the franchise to Myrtle Beach — and not just anywhere in Myrtle Beach. They chose Broadway at the Beach, the sprawling 350-acre entertainment complex that draws upwards of 14 million visitors a year.

This is the first Slime Kitchen location in South Carolina, and it sits near Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach, one of the Grand Strand’s most visited family attractions. It is also a business that has become a true family affair — the Donovans’ daughter and 12-year-old son are fully invested in the operation.

What Is Slime Kitchen?

Slime Kitchen is a hands-on, interactive experience where guests create their own custom slime from scratch. Founded in the San Francisco Bay Area, the franchise has been spreading across the country with locations in California, Oregon, Kentucky, and Lake Tahoe. The Myrtle Beach location at Broadway at the Beach marks the brand’s first expansion into South Carolina.

The concept is simple but irresistible, especially for anyone who has ever watched a slime-making video and felt the pull to try it themselves. Guests walk in, choose from a variety of slime bases, then layer on scents, colors, glitter, and textures before mixing everything together on a real KitchenAid mixer. The result is a stretchy, perfectly squishy creation that goes home with the guest. All materials are food-safe and non-toxic — something Maria Donovan was particularly proud to point out.

If you have spent any amount of time around kids in the last five years, you already know the appeal. Slime content dominates social media platforms, and the tactile, sensory nature of slime-making has turned it into one of the most popular hands-on activities for children and families. Slime Kitchen takes that internet fascination and gives it a physical space — a place where you can actually get your hands into it.

The 10-Step Slime-Making Experience

Slime Kitchen structures each session around a guided 10-step process that walks guests through the creation of their own custom slime. It is part craft project, part science experiment, and part sensory adventure — and the whole thing unfolds at stations designed to make every step feel like a choice, not a chore.

Guests start by selecting their slime base from six different varieties. From there, they move through stations where they pick scents — everything from cotton candy to tropical fruit — and add color using dyes and pigments. The texture station is where things get creative: options include glitter in multiple sizes, foam beads, clay mix-ins, and specialty toppings that give each slime a completely unique look and feel.

Once everything is selected, guests use a KitchenAid mixer to combine the ingredients — a step that gives the whole process the feel of an actual kitchen. The finished slime is stretched, tested, and packed up to take home. Kids earn a diploma in slime culinary arts at the end, a small touch that adds to the experience. The entire session promotes sensory learning and creative expression, making it more than just a novelty activity.

Birthday Parties and Group Events

Beyond the walk-in slime-making sessions, Slime Kitchen offers birthday party packages that have already made the franchise a hit with families across its existing locations. The parties are hosted by dedicated staff members — referred to as Head Chefs — and include games, prizes, diplomas, and a special birthday slime cupcake for the guest of honor.

Two party tiers are available. The standard package includes one slime creation per guest, while the premium option allows each child to make two slimes from any of the six varieties. Parties typically run between one and two hours depending on the package selected. Group workshops are also available for school field trips, summer camps, and team-building events, making the Myrtle Beach location a versatile addition to the Grand Strand’s family entertainment scene.

Why Broadway at the Beach

The Donovans chose Broadway at the Beach because it was already a place their own family loved to visit. Located at 1325 Celebrity Circle in the heart of Myrtle Beach, the complex is South Carolina’s largest entertainment destination — more than 350 acres of shops, restaurants, attractions, and live entertainment venues surrounding the 23-acre Lake Broadway.

Slime Kitchen fits naturally into the mix of specialty shops and interactive attractions that define Broadway at the Beach. Families who visit Ripley’s Aquarium, WonderWorks, or the Hollywood Wax Museum now have another reason to extend their day at the complex. The location also benefits from Broadway’s free parking and its position as a stop on the Myrtle Beach Connector bus route.

For visitors staying in North Myrtle Beach who are looking for a rainy-day activity or an afternoon break from the beach, Slime Kitchen adds yet another option to the long list of reasons to make the drive south to Broadway. It pairs especially well with a visit to the aquarium or lunch at one of Broadway’s more than 20 restaurants.

Grand Opening — April 10, 2026

While Slime Kitchen has already opened its doors to guests, the official grand opening celebration is scheduled for April 10, 2026. The event will feature a ribbon-cutting ceremony and is open to the public. The timing places the launch right at the front end of the spring tourism season along the Grand Strand — a smart play for a business that thrives on foot traffic and families in vacation mode.

Walk-ins are welcome at the Myrtle Beach location, and reservations are not required. However, weekends and holidays tend to see higher demand, so booking ahead through the Slime Kitchen website is recommended if you want to guarantee your spot.

More Family Activities Near Broadway at the Beach

One of the best things about a trip to Broadway at the Beach is that a single activity can easily turn into a full day. Slime Kitchen sits within walking distance of some of the most popular family attractions on the Grand Strand.

Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach remains the anchor attraction, with its 85,000 square feet of marine exhibits, the famous 330-foot Dangerous Reef moving walkway, a penguin playhouse, and interactive touch tanks. WonderWorks offers an upside-down adventure with over 100 hands-on science exhibits. The Pavilion Nostalgia Park brings classic amusement park rides to the complex, and the Hollywood Wax Museum lets families pose alongside lifelike celebrity figures. For older kids, Backstage Escape Games provides immersive puzzle-solving challenges.

Broadway at the Beach is also welcoming several new businesses in 2026, including Ole Smoky Distillery and Yee-Haw Brewing Company, which will bring a distillery, brewery, beer garden, and tasting rooms to the complex. It is shaping up to be one of the most exciting years the entertainment district has seen in some time. For families visiting from Cherry Grove Beach, Ocean Drive, or Crescent Beach, a day trip to Broadway at the Beach is always worth the short drive.

Getting There from North Myrtle Beach

Broadway at the Beach is located at 1325 Celebrity Circle in Myrtle Beach, roughly 15 to 20 miles south of North Myrtle Beach depending on which beach section you are staying in. From Windy Hill, the drive is typically around 20 to 25 minutes. From Cherry Grove, plan on closer to 30 to 35 minutes depending on traffic.

The fastest route is typically Highway 31 (Carolina Bays Parkway) south to Robert Grissom Parkway, which leads directly into the Broadway at the Beach complex. Highway 17 is the more scenic coastal route and offers plenty of stops along the way if you want to break up the trip with shopping or lunch. Parking at Broadway at the Beach is free.

Plan Your Grand Strand Vacation

Slime Kitchen is just one more reason the Myrtle Beach area continues to add new experiences for families every season. Whether you are visiting for a long weekend or spending an entire week on the Grand Strand, staying in North Myrtle Beach puts you within easy reach of Broadway at the Beach and every major attraction in the area — while giving you a quieter, more relaxed beach experience when you head home at the end of the day.

Thomas Beach Vacations offers a wide selection of oceanfront homes and oceanfront condos across all four sections of North Myrtle Beach — Cherry Grove, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach, and Windy Hill. Book your stay and start planning your family’s next Grand Strand adventure. Call us at (866) 249-2100 or visit northmyrtlebeachvacations.com to browse available properties.

Frequently Asked Questions

Undertow Movie Filming in Myrtle Beach: Hollywood Comes to the Grand Strand

A Thriller Finds Its Stage on the Shore

The morning light off the Myrtle Beach coastline can fool you. It slides across the pier planks, catches the spray where the Atlantic breaks against the pilings, and makes everything look like a postcard. But for the past month, that same light has been doing double duty — illuminating something you do not see every spring along the Grand Strand. Film crews. Cameras mounted on rigs. Directors calling for quiet on a public beach where quiet almost never happens. The movie is called Undertow, and it has turned familiar stretches of sand and local landmarks into the backdrop of a Hollywood psychological thriller.

Director Adam Sigal brought the production to the Grand Strand after the script was originally slated to film in Ireland. The reason for the change was straightforward — South Carolina offered stronger financial incentives and, once the filmmakers scouted the coastline, the visual pull of this place did the rest. The South Carolina Film Commission confirmed that the creative team was so taken with what the Grand Strand offered that they rewrote the script to set the story here. That kind of pivot does not happen because of a tax break alone. It happens because a place looks right on camera and feels right in a story.

The production has been spotted at locations stretching from Garden City to North Myrtle Beach — surf shops, the boardwalk, a municipal aquatic center, even the police station. Beachgoers on spring break have walked into active film sets without realizing it. Local paddleboarders have been recruited for ocean scenes. The whole thing has had the feeling of a town discovering, in real time, that its everyday landscape is somebody else’s cinematic vision.

Grand Strand Filming Locations

What makes the Undertow production interesting from a local perspective is how widely the crew has spread across the region. This is not a case of a film company renting a single soundstage and calling it a day. Sigal and his team have used the entire Grand Strand as their set, and the result is a production deeply woven into the geography that visitors and residents know by heart.

Filming kicked off at Village Surf Shoppe in Garden City, a place that has been part of the beach culture down here for years. The historic surf shop closed its doors temporarily for interior and exterior scenes, and one of the film’s characters reportedly owns a surf shop in the story — a detail that fits Garden City’s vibe like a wetsuit in October. From there, the production moved north.

Pier 14 in Myrtle Beach served as another key location. Sitting directly over the Atlantic at 1306 North Ocean Boulevard, right along the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, Pier 14 has been a Grand Strand landmark since the mid-1980s. The pier’s position — jutting out over the waves with an unobstructed ocean horizon — gives it the kind of dramatic framing that directors look for without having to build anything. Scenes involving a search-and-rescue sequence were filmed near the pier, and local paddleboarders were even asked to participate in the shoot.

Up in North Myrtle Beach, the North Myrtle Beach Aquatic and Fitness Center on Second Avenue South became the site for controlled ocean sequences. A significant portion of the film takes place on a yacht, and the aquatic center’s pools allowed the crew to stage underwater chase scenes and swimming sequences in a safe, repeatable environment. It is the kind of creative problem-solving that makes location shooting work — using a municipal pool to simulate open water, surrounded by the same coastal town where the outdoor beach scenes are happening a few blocks away.

The production also filmed along the beach near Riptydz Oceanfront Grille and Rooftop Bar, where what appeared to be a wedding scene drew a crowd of onlookers from the nearby Myrtle Beach Boardwalk. Additional shooting took place at the Myrtle Beach International Airport, local restaurants, the city’s Chamber of Commerce offices, and the police station — which was temporarily shut down to accommodate filming.

The Cast and Crew Behind Undertow

Adam Sigal is a writer, director, and producer with more than twenty years in the industry. His path to filmmaking took an unusual route — he worked as a private investigator in Los Angeles before turning to screenwriting, a background that likely informs the kind of tension and suspicion that drives a thriller like Undertow. His previous directorial credits include Chariot (2022), starring John Malkovich and Rosa Salazar, and Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose (2023), which featured Simon Pegg, Minnie Driver, and Christopher Lloyd. Producer Joel Shapiro’s credits include Gunner (2024) and River Runs Red (2018).

The cast is headlined by Tania Raymonde, an actress whose face many viewers will recognize even if they cannot immediately place it. She played Alex Rousseau in the ABC phenomenon Lost, appeared as Cynthia Sanders on Fox’s Malcolm in the Middle, and starred alongside Billy Bob Thornton in the Amazon legal drama Goliath. Raymonde was spotted on set at Village Surf Shoppe in early March, and her involvement brought a visible level of industry credibility to the production. Additional cast and local extras have been involved throughout the shoot, though the full roster has not been publicly released.

The plot itself remains tightly guarded. What has been confirmed is that the story centers on a seaborne kidnapping — a woman is taken from the ocean, and the narrative unfolds from there. Sigal described a scenario involving a yacht, a pursuit through the water, and the kind of tension that builds when a character is trapped between the open sea and a threat that will not let go. The Myrtle Beach setting is not incidental to the story. It is the story. The coastline, the piers, the salt air — all of it feeds the atmosphere the film needs.

Why South Carolina Is Winning the Film Incentive Game

The reason Undertow ended up on the Grand Strand instead of the coast of Ireland comes down to money and momentum. South Carolina has built one of the more attractive film incentive packages in the Southeast, and productions are responding. The state’s Motion Picture Incentive program offers qualifying productions a cash rebate — not a tax credit that has to be brokered, but a direct check — of up to 25 percent on in-state crew wages and up to 30 percent on goods and services purchased from South Carolina suppliers. Productions need to spend at least one million dollars in the state to qualify for the main program.

That rebate structure is significant. Unlike states that offer tax credits requiring brokers and extended waiting periods, South Carolina reserves the estimated rebate funds upfront and cuts the check within 30 days of the final audit. For a production company managing cash flow across locations and schedules, that kind of certainty matters. The wage rebate is even assignable to a financial institution, meaning producers can use it to finance the production itself.

In 2025, South Carolina introduced the Local Filmmaker Incentive, a pilot program with two million dollars in annual funding aimed at smaller productions. This newer program lowered the spending threshold to $250,000, opening the door for independent filmmakers who previously could not hit the million-dollar mark. The requirement that at least one producer be a South Carolina native has helped ensure the program builds local industry talent rather than just importing it. Matt Storm of the South Carolina Film Commission has been instrumental in managing the state’s incentive program and guiding productions through the application process.

The state legislature is also considering Bill H.3832, which would increase the annual rebate cap from ten million dollars to thirty million dollars. If passed, the expanded cap would position South Carolina to compete even more aggressively with states like Georgia and Louisiana for major studio productions. The trajectory is clear — South Carolina is not just dipping a toe into the film industry. It is building infrastructure.

Film Tourism and the Grand Strand Economy

When a film crew sets up on a public beach and starts shooting, the first thing that happens is entirely predictable — people stop and watch. Spring breakers near Riptydz slowed their boardwalk strolls to a halt when they realized a movie was being made in front of them. Visitors from out of state tried to take photos before being told the set was closed. That kind of curiosity is the seed of something the tourism industry calls film-induced tourism, and the Grand Strand is positioned to benefit from it in ways that go well beyond the weeks of active production.

The economics are layered. During production, the film company spends money locally — hotels for the crew, meals at area restaurants, equipment rentals, location fees, and wages for local hires. That is the immediate impact. The longer-term value comes after the film is released, when audiences see the Grand Strand on screen and start thinking about visiting. The Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, the beaches of Cherry Grove Beach and Ocean Drive, the pier at sunset — these are not just film backdrops. They are destinations, and seeing them in a movie makes them feel both familiar and aspirational to potential visitors.

South Carolina state officials have noted that productions like Undertow generate both direct revenue and tourism interest that extends well beyond the production schedule. The South Carolina Film Commission actively works to attract directors and production companies for exactly this reason — every film shot here is, in effect, a feature-length advertisement for the state’s coastline, communities, and culture.

Myrtle Beach’s Growing Film Legacy

Undertow is not an isolated event. It is the latest chapter in a story that has been building across South Carolina for years. More than 200 feature films, television series, and TV movies have been shot in the state, and the South Carolina Film Commission has signaled its intention to increase that number. The Grand Strand in particular has become a recurring location choice for productions that need a coastal setting with accessible infrastructure, cooperative local government, and a visual palette that ranges from quiet tidal creeks to wide public beaches to neon-lit commercial strips.

The appeal for filmmakers is practical as much as it is aesthetic. The Grand Strand offers a concentrated range of environments within a short drive — the marshlands and surf culture of Garden City, the boardwalk energy of downtown Myrtle Beach, the quieter residential feel of Crescent Beach and Windy Hill in North Myrtle Beach. A production does not have to relocate to find a different look. It just drives fifteen minutes up or down the coast.

Dan Rogers, Senior Project Manager at the South Carolina Film Commission, has spoken publicly about the growing interest from filmmakers in the Myrtle Beach region. The fact that the Undertow production rewrote its script to move the setting from Ireland to Myrtle Beach says something about the confidence the creative community is placing in this coastline. It is one thing to film here because the incentives are good. It is another thing entirely to change your story because the place itself demanded it.

Visit the Filming Locations Yourself

One of the best parts about a movie filmed on the Grand Strand is that every location the crew used is a place you can visit on your next vacation. You do not need a backstage pass or a studio tour. You just need to show up.

Walk the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk and stop at Pier 14 for a seafood lunch over the Atlantic — the same pier where search-and-rescue scenes were filmed for Undertow. Head south to Garden City and browse Village Surf Shoppe, where the first scenes of the production were shot inside a real working surf shop that has been part of the local beach scene for decades. Drive up to North Myrtle Beach and explore the neighborhoods around the Aquatic and Fitness Center on Second Avenue South, where the controlled water sequences were staged.

And while you are in North Myrtle Beach, take some time to explore what the rest of the area has to offer beyond the film sets. Walk the wide, family-friendly sand at Cherry Grove Beach, where the marsh inlet meets the ocean and the fishing pier stretches out over the waves. Stroll through Ocean Drive, the birthplace of the Shag dance and the heart of North Myrtle Beach’s social scene. Settle into the quieter rhythm of Crescent Beach, or catch the sunset from Windy Hill, where the pace slows down and the ocean view widens. Whether you want a front-row seat to the waves from an oceanfront home or the convenience of an oceanfront condo, the Grand Strand has a rental that fits the trip you are planning.

When Undertow eventually hits screens, you will be able to watch it and say you have been to those places. You have walked that beach. You have eaten at that pier. That is the kind of connection a filmed-on-location movie gives you — and the Grand Strand has always been a place that rewards people who actually show up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Whether you are coming to walk the same beaches where Undertow was filmed, explore the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, or simply settle into a week of ocean air and slow mornings, Thomas Beach Vacations can help you find the perfect place to stay in North Myrtle Beach. Browse oceanfront homes and oceanfront condos across Cherry Grove, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach, and Windy Hill. Call us at (866) 249-2100 or visit northmyrtlebeachvacations.com to start planning your Grand Strand getaway.

North Myrtle Beach Golf Courses: The Complete Guide to Every Course on the North Strand

There’s a moment on the back nine at Tidewater Golf Club — somewhere around the 12th hole, where the Cherry Grove marsh opens up and the Atlantic catches the late-morning light and the whole Grand Strand seems to exhale — when a golfer understands exactly why people keep coming back to North Myrtle Beach. It isn’t just the golf, though the golf is extraordinary. It’s the way the courses here feel woven into the landscape. Salt air drifting across bent-grass greens. Tidal marshes running right up to the fairway edge. Ancient live oaks draped with Spanish moss. The Intracoastal Waterway shimmering through the pines like a ribbon of hammered silver. North Myrtle Beach doesn’t just host golf — it frames it.

This stretch of the South Carolina coast has earned its reputation as one of the greatest golf destinations in the United States. The broader Grand Strand is home to more than 90 courses spread across roughly 70 miles of coastline, and a significant number of the finest ones are concentrated right here on the north end — in North Myrtle Beach, Little River, Longs, and the adjacent communities of Calabash, Sunset Beach, and Ocean Isle Beach just across the North Carolina line. World-renowned architects left their fingerprints all over this place: Pete Dye, Greg Norman, Tom Fazio, Davis Love III, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Rees Jones, Ken Tomlinson, Tim Cate, Dan Maples, Clyde Johnston. The list reads like a who’s who of American golf design history.

This guide covers every course in the North Myrtle Beach orbit — the premium crown jewels, the mid-range layouts that surprise you, the budget-friendly tracks that locals swear by, and the North Carolina border courses that belong in any serious Grand Strand itinerary. All of the courses listed here are verified open and actively booking tee times. A handful of longtime favorites — Farmstead Golf Links, Possum Trot, and Heather Glen — have permanently closed in recent years, and they are not included here out of respect for your planning. What remains is remarkable.

Why North Myrtle Beach Belongs on Every Golfer’s Map

The Golf Capital of the World. That title belongs to Myrtle Beach, and the north end is a large reason why. Experienced golfers know that the courses clustered around North Myrtle Beach represent some of the most sophisticated and scenic layouts in the Southeast. The concentration of nationally ranked public-access courses within a 30-minute drive of each other is, quite simply, remarkable. You can spend a full week here without repeating a round and still leave courses on the list for next time.

The climate cooperates. North Myrtle Beach enjoys mild winters where golf is playable year-round, softened by Atlantic sea breezes that keep summer rounds from becoming endurance tests. Spring and fall are legendary — courses fill up fast from March through May and again from September through November, when conditions on the greens approach perfection and the light over the marsh at 7 a.m. makes you wonder why you ever played anywhere else.

After the round, you’re minutes from Cherry Grove Beach, from excellent seafood restaurants, from the live music and nightlife of the Ocean Drive district. North Myrtle Beach is a place where a golf trip becomes a full vacation. And vacation properties from Thomas Beach Vacations make it easy — spacious homes and condos close to the fairways, comfortable enough that your foursome doesn’t want to leave. Now let’s talk courses.

The Crown Jewels: Premium & Nationally Ranked Courses

These are the courses that put North Myrtle Beach on the national golf map — layouts that have earned rankings in Golf Digest, Golf Magazine, and Golfweek, and that players travel specifically to check off their lists.

Tidewater Golf Club

The crown jewel of the North Strand. Ask experienced Grand Strand golfers which course belongs on any serious bucket list, and Tidewater is nearly always the first name out of their mouths. Designed by Ken Tomlinson and opened in 1990, Tidewater occupies an extraordinary peninsula tucked between Cherry Grove Inlet and the Intracoastal Waterway, with Atlantic Ocean views from the 13th green that stop golfers dead in their tracks. It is the only course in history simultaneously named Best New Public Course in America by both Golf Magazine and Golf Digest, and it continues to rank among Golfweek’s Top 200 Resort Courses (2025) and Golf Digest’s Best Courses in South Carolina (2024). The par-72 layout stretches 7,078 yards from the tips with a slope of 144 — a genuine championship test — but five tee options make it accessible for all skill levels. Nine holes play along Cherry Grove marsh or the Waterway. The signature 12th, a 145-yard par-3 carrying saltwater marsh to a bunker-flanked green, is one of the most photographed holes in the Carolinas. A complete bunker renovation was finished in 2025. After the round, Joey’s Clubhouse Grille is a proper stop. | 4901 Little River Neck Road, North Myrtle Beach, SC

Glen Dornoch Waterway Golf Links

A few miles north of North Myrtle Beach in Little River, Glen Dornoch earns a place on nearly every serious golfer’s must-play list. Designed by Clyde Johnston as a tribute to Donald Ross and the Scottish links tradition of Royal Dornoch, this course carves through 270 acres of ancient live oaks, coastal marshland, and terrain unlike almost anything else on the Strand. The rarity is the elevation — natural rises of up to 35 feet create drama that flat Grand Strand layouts simply can’t replicate. The 6,890-yard layout (slope 145, rating 73.2) concludes with three of the most celebrated finishing holes in Myrtle Beach golf: hole 16, a brutal dogleg-left par-4 over marsh; hole 17, a long par-3 carry over water with almost no margin; and hole 18, running along the Intracoastal Waterway to a narrow green with boaters watching from the water. The Pub at Glen Dornoch overlooks the waterway and is exactly the kind of 19th hole this kind of finish deserves. | 4840 Hwy 17 S, Little River, SC

Long Bay Golf Club

Just months after winning the 1986 Masters, Jack Nicklaus toured the land west of North Myrtle Beach in Longs, SC and told local reporters he liked what he saw. The result is one of the most distinctive courses in the Carolinas. Long Bay departs sharply from the typical Nicklaus formula — instead of tree-lined fairways, it relies on massive waste bunkers, expansive mounding, and a layout that demands creative shot-making and patience over raw power. The par-72 layout stretches 7,021 yards from the tips with a slope of 137. Golf Digest awarded it 4.5 stars in “Places to Play,” and three back nine holes — 10, 13, and 18 — have been consistently ranked among the Grand Strand’s top individual holes. The island green on hole 13 is the signature moment. It’s a course that reveals itself more deeply with each visit, which is why so many golfers return to it year after year. A golden statue of Nicklaus greets you in the parking lot. | 350 Foxtail Drive, Longs, SC

Rivers Edge Golf Club

About 30 minutes north of North Myrtle Beach in Shallotte, NC, Rivers Edge is an Arnold Palmer Signature Design that has appeared on Golf Digest’s America’s Top 100 Greatest Public Courses — a distinction that makes the short drive more than worthwhile. Palmer built the course around the dramatic bluffs and tidal creeks of the Shallotte River, and six holes play from heights overlooking two miles of grassy marshland. Hole 9, known as “Arnie’s Revenge,” is the signature moment — a risk-reward thriller along the river that golfers debate long after the round ends. Seven holes total play along or near the water. The elevation changes here are genuinely uncommon for coastal golf: from high bluffs to low marsh carries, the course shifts your perspective hole by hole. Reviews through early 2026 consistently praise both the conditions and the staff. | 2000 Arnold Palmer Drive, Shallotte, NC

Barefoot Resort & Golf — Four Legends, One Address

In 2000, Barefoot Resort & Golf made golf history by opening four championship courses simultaneously — something that had never been done in the United States before. The architects recruited were a Mount Rushmore of golf design: Greg Norman, Davis Love III, Tom Fazio, and Pete Dye. Located along the Intracoastal Waterway in the heart of North Myrtle Beach, Barefoot remains one of the most celebrated multi-course destinations on the East Coast. Each course has its own distinct personality and challenge profile.

Barefoot Dye Course (Semi-Private)

The most demanding of Barefoot’s four courses. Classic Pete Dye hallmarks are everywhere: railroad ties, aggressive waste bunkers, strategic water hazards, and greens that punish the wrong side of the hole. Ranked 30th in South Carolina by Golf Digest, it has hosted competitive events and is considered by many to be among the finest layouts on the entire Strand. Operates semi-private — call ahead for availability.

Barefoot Norman Course

The most dramatic of the three public Barefoot layouts. Seven holes run directly along the Intracoastal Waterway, with fairways that run right up to natural waste areas in classic Norman fashion. Open green complexes and emphasis on short-game precision make this one accessible and visually spectacular in equal measure.

Barefoot Fazio Course

Tom Fazio’s signature touch is unmistakable here — intricate bunkering, flowing fairways, and marsh views that reward patience and strategic thinking. Often favored by low-handicappers for its exacting demands, the Fazio Course is a consistent favorite among golfers who return to Barefoot multiple times in the same trip.

Barefoot Love Course

Davis Love III’s nod to traditional Carolina low-country design, the Love Course is the most accessible of Barefoot’s public layouts. Open, rolling fairways and replica plantation ruins — among the most photographed features in all of North Myrtle Beach golf — give it a warmth and character that stays with you after the round. | 4980 Barefoot Resort Bridge Road, North Myrtle Beach, SC

The Sweet Spot: Mid-Range Courses Worth Every Dollar

The mid-range tier is where a lot of the most memorable Grand Strand golf happens. These courses offer championship design, excellent conditioning, and experiences that rival anything in the premium category — at price points that let you play more rounds and come back next year.

Arcadian Shores Golf Club

Rees Jones’ first solo design project, opened in 1974 and still earning national recognition 50 years later. Located between Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach adjacent to Kingston Plantation, Arcadian Shores plays 6,857 yards from the championship tees (slope 137, rating 73.2). Live oaks, natural lakes, and strategic bunkers define the layout. Two holes have been named to the local media’s “Grand Strand Dream 18” — the par-3 2nd and the par-4 13th, the course’s toughest hole, which demands a precise tee shot followed by an approach over water to a sloping, bunker-guarded green. A major renovation in recent years brought TifEagle Bermuda greens, improved irrigation, and repaved cart paths throughout. Part of the Myrtle Beach Golf Trail. | 701 Hilton Rd, Myrtle Beach, SC

River Hills Golf & Country Club

Designed by Tom Jackson and tucked into a wooded, residential community in Little River, River Hills is one of the quieter, more intimate rounds on the North Strand. The tree-lined fairways lead to well-protected greens that reward accurate iron play over brute force. A community-club atmosphere and consistently strong conditioning make it a favorite among returning visitors who prefer a more contemplative round. Part of the Founders Collection of courses. | 3670 Cedar Creek Run, Little River, SC

Aberdeen Country Club

A short drive west of North Myrtle Beach in Longs along Highway 9, Aberdeen is a 27-hole facility with three distinct nines — Highlands, Meadows, and Woodlands — modeled after the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in Scotland, the world’s sixth-oldest course. Designer Tom Jackson built it in 1989 along the Waccamaw River among towering hardwoods and wetland preserves teeming with ospreys, eagles, and alligators. Golf Digest gave it four stars in “Places to Play” and the rare dual recognition for both value and service in the Carolinas. Each nine has its own feel: Highlands rolls with links-style hills, Meadows is precision-oriented, and Woodlands is the most demanding of the three. Kids play free every day with a paid adult. Part of the Founders Collection. | 701 Buck Trail, Longs, SC

Crow Creek Golf Club

Consistently ranked as one of the most requested courses on the North Strand, Crow Creek is a Rick Robbins design from 2000 located in Calabash, NC, just across the state line. The course is a standout for its bent grass greens — one of a shrinking number of North Strand layouts that still maintains bent putting surfaces, which are known for exceptional speed and smoothness. The private-club atmosphere, meticulous conditioning, first-rate practice facility, and welcoming staff make Crow Creek feel like a private club at public prices. A favorite for groups who want a step up in experience without the premium resort price tag. | 240 Hickman Road NW, Calabash, NC

Sandpiper Bay Golf Club

A Dan Maples design in Sunset Beach, NC, Sandpiper Bay has built a loyal following among golfers who appreciate a links-influenced layout in a welcoming, unpretentious setting. Open stretches mix with wooded corridors, and the course has a reputation for being one where everyone seems to play a little better than expected. Consistently praised for strong conditions and value pricing. Part of the Brunswick Plantation package network of popular North Strand layouts. | 1900 Sandpiper Bay Drive SW, Sunset Beach, NC

Thistle Golf Club

Designed by Tim Cate in Sunset Beach, NC, Thistle operates 27 holes across three nines and has hosted major amateur events — most recently serving as the site of the playoff round for the 2025 Play Golf Myrtle Beach World Amateur Championship. The course is known for exceptional conditioning and a high-end experience. Some nines undergo periodic renovation to stay current, so calling ahead to confirm which combination of 18 holes is in play is worth the two-minute conversation. | 3840 Highway 1013, Sunset Beach, NC

Sea Trail Golf Resort

Three distinct 18-hole courses within a single resort community in Sunset Beach — designed by Willard Byrd, Rees Jones, and Dan Maples, respectively. The variety is the appeal: a golfer can play very different experiences on consecutive days without leaving the property. The Rees Jones Course and Dan Maples Course both have devoted followings among regular Grand Strand visitors. The Byrd Course is a budget-friendly option with solid conditions. The Maples Course has recently undergone renovation. | 211 Clubhouse Road SW, Sunset Beach, NC

Oyster Bay Golf Links

Dan Maples’ debut solo design, opened in 1983 and named Golf Digest’s Resort Course of the Year that same year. Located just across the state line in Sunset Beach, NC, but squarely in the orbit of the North Strand. The par-70 layout plays just under 6,700 yards and uses saltwater marshes, freshwater lakes, the Calabash River, and 63 cavernous bunkers to create rounds that stay in the memory long after you’ve left the Strand. Two island greens define the back nine — the signature 17th, where an oyster shell-walled tee box launches a shot to a green built on a mountain of shells, is one of the most photographed holes in the Carolinas. Resident alligators on the Calabash River provide a uniquely coastal form of ambiance. Part of the Legends Golf Resort family; stay-and-play packages include breakfast, lunch, and two drinks. | 614 Lakeshore Drive, Sunset Beach, NC

Budget-Friendly Courses That Punch Above Their Weight

The smartest golf trip itineraries mix premium rounds with strong value layouts. These courses deliver honest, well-maintained golf at prices that let you play more frequently — and still walk off the 18th with a genuine smile.

Beachwood Golf Club

Over a million rounds have been played at Beachwood since Gene Hamm opened this course in 1968, and every one of them has been welcomed by a staff that actually seems glad you showed up. Located on Highway 17 South in the heart of North Myrtle Beach — literally between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway — Beachwood has been voted The Most Player-Friendly Golf Course in Myrtle Beach by local golfers. The par-72 layout plays to 6,691 yards from the tips; water threatens on six holes; bunkers are placed strategically but fairly. Recently renovated, with the best driving range in North Myrtle Beach — all-grass hitting area, two large practice greens, chipping area, and a practice bunker. Partners with Azalea Sands and Eagle Nest for the North Myrtle Beach Golf Pass. | 1520 Hwy 17 S, North Myrtle Beach, SC

Azalea Sands Golf Club

Opened in 1972 and designed by Gene Hamm, Azalea Sands holds one distinction that almost no other Grand Strand course can claim: not a single home or condo is visible from any fairway. Just you, the layout, and whatever wind comes off the coast. Located on Highway 17 in the heart of North Myrtle Beach, Azalea Sands is under new management and has been freshly renovated. The design will make you use every club in the bag — deceptively open in places, it rewards course management over power. Fast greens, good pace of play, welcoming to all ages. Part of the North Myrtle Beach Golf Pass with Beachwood and Eagle Nest. | 2100 Hwy 17 S, North Myrtle Beach, SC

Eagle Nest Golf Club

Just north of North Myrtle Beach in Little River, Eagle Nest is best known for one of the most memorable finishing holes on the Grand Strand: an 18th hole par-5 stretching to 626 yards from the tips that puts every club in your bag and every decision you’ve made that day to the test. Gene Hamm designed this course with an honest fairness that makes it enjoyable for all skill levels while never becoming a pushover. A budget-friendly layout that plays better than its price suggests. Part of the North Myrtle Beach Golf Pass. | 1 Eagle Nest Drive, Little River, SC

Crown Park Golf Club

One of the North Strand’s best-kept secrets, Crown Park sits just minutes from North Myrtle Beach off Highway 9 in Longs. The Robbie Byers-designed layout winds through a Carolina pine forest with no housing on any fairway — a genuine rarity. TifEagle putting surfaces are known for being smooth and fast. The par-72 course plays 6,477 yards from the back tees with a slope of 128 and rating of 71.3 — not overly punishing, which makes it ideal for a first round of the trip or a departure day layout. An expansive grass driving range, putting green, and chipping area are on site. Part of the Myrtle Beach Golf Trail. | 2225 Hwy 9 W, Longs, SC

Diamondback Golf Club

A Russell Breeden design tucked off Highway 9 in Longs, Diamondback is the quiet overachiever of the North Strand — a course that surprises golfers who write it off as an out-of-the-way budget option. The 6,928-yard layout carves through towering pines and natural wetlands with multiple forced carries that reward smart club selection. Signature hole 16 is a 209-yard par-3 with lowcountry marsh spreading from left to right. The staff here consistently gets glowing reviews. A perfect add for arrival or departure day when you want quality without fuss. | 615 Log Cabin Road, Longs, SC

Meadowlands Golf Club

Named the 2019 Myrtle Beach Golf Course of the Year, Meadowlands is a Willard Byrd design from 1997 located in Calabash, NC, less than 10 minutes from the North Carolina border. It was built on land owned by the same family that operated the now-closed Farmstead Golf Links next door, and Meadowlands continues operating under the family’s stewardship. TifEagle greens, a layout that is welcoming to golfers of all skill levels — particularly women — and consistent value pricing make this a dependable choice. | 1000 Meadowlands Trail NW, Calabash, NC

Brunswick Plantation & Golf Resort

A 27-hole resort in Calabash, NC with three nine-hole courses — Azalea, Dogwood, and Magnolia — each offering a different feel and challenge. Voted one of the top 50 courses in the United States, the Willard Byrd and Clyde Johnston-designed layout features Champion Bermuda greens guaranteed to be in top condition year-round. The resort serves as a hub for North Strand golf packages, with easy access to Crow Creek, Meadowlands, Sandpiper Bay, and many other courses within 20 minutes. The 14,000-square-foot plantation-style clubhouse with Jasmine’s restaurant is a proper stop after the round. | 512 Whitefield Way SW, Calabash, NC

Just Across the Line: More NC Courses in the North Strand Orbit

The North Carolina state line north of North Myrtle Beach runs through golf country, and several outstanding courses in Brunswick County are so closely tied to the North Strand experience that no complete guide to North Myrtle Beach golf can leave them out. These are legitimate day trips from any North Myrtle Beach vacation rental — most are 20 to 35 minutes away.

The Pearl Golf Links — East & West

Two 18-hole Dan Maples designs side by side in Sunset Beach, NC, The Pearl East and West offer 36 holes of championship coastal golf on a shared property. Both courses are well-maintained and regularly praised for conditioning. East is considered the more challenging of the two; West is more player-friendly and accessible. Together they give a group the flexibility of two very different rounds in one stop. Part of the Myrtle Beach Golf Trail. | 1500 Pearl Blvd SW, Sunset Beach, NC

Surf Golf and Beach Club

One of the oldest courses in the Southeast, Surf Golf and Beach Club was established in 1959 and renovated in 1992. Its seaside layout features water and sand hazards on most holes, and the Atlantic winds that funnel through challenge even experienced players to think their way around rather than overpower the design. A semi-private course with a genuine history in the North Myrtle Beach golf community. | 1701 Springland Lane, North Myrtle Beach, SC

Carolina National Golf Club

The only Fred Couples Signature Course in the Brunswick County and Myrtle Beach region, Carolina National winds through 27 holes of wetlands, marshes, and river views that make it one of the most scenic tracks accessible from North Myrtle Beach. Located about 35 minutes north, it’s well worth the drive for golfers who want a Couples design without the typical price tag of celebrity-architect courses. Consistently praised as one of the area’s most underrated layouts. | 1643 Goley Hewett Road SE, Bolivia, NC

The Big Cats at Ocean Ridge Plantation

About 20 miles north of North Myrtle Beach near Ocean Isle Beach, NC, Ocean Ridge Plantation is home to four Tim Cate-designed layouts known collectively as the Big Cats — each named for a different big-cat species. All four are championship-caliber courses set within a private community on the Brunswick County coast, and all accept public tee times. They represent some of the most distinctive golf in the entire region.

Tiger’s Eye Golf Links

The highest-rated of the four Big Cats, Tiger’s Eye is a high-end layout that plays 7,014 yards from the championship tees with dramatic elevation changes uncommon for the Brunswick coast. Multiple holes carry over wetlands and marshes, and the course’s tight fairways and demanding greens reward precision over distance. Consistently appears on top-10 Grand Strand lists. | 351 Ocean Ridge Pkwy SW, Ocean Isle Beach, NC

Leopard’s Chase Golf Course

The newest of the Big Cats, Leopard’s Chase is a high-end links-influenced layout with wide, windswept fairways and bold bunkering. The visual drama is immediate — the course feels more open and exposed than its siblings, with a genuine links character that suits golfers who want to shape shots against coastal wind. | 351 Ocean Ridge Pkwy SW, Ocean Isle Beach, NC

Lion’s Paw Golf Links

The most player-friendly of the Big Cats, Lion’s Paw is designed by Willard Byrd with a layout that remains challenging but accessible for a wider range of handicaps. Its generous fairways and less penal rough make it a good first-round choice for groups that want an Ocean Ridge experience without the full difficulty of Tiger’s Eye. | Ocean Ridge Pkwy SW, Ocean Isle Beach, NC

Panther’s Run Golf Links

A TifEagle-surface Tim Cate design that sits between the accessibility of Lion’s Paw and the demanding nature of Tiger’s Eye. Panther’s Run has earned a devoted following for its playability and scenic coastal terrain. The course drains well and tends to hold up better than average after rain, making it a practical choice when the forecast is uncertain. | Ocean Ridge Pkwy SW, Ocean Isle Beach, NC

Tips for Planning Your North Myrtle Beach Golf Trip

Book Tee Times Early — Especially in Spring and Fall

Prime weekend tee times at Tidewater, Barefoot Resort, and Glen Dornoch fill weeks in advance during March, April, and May. If your trip is planned, your tee times should be booked at the same time. Most courses open their booking window 30 to 90 days out. Don’t assume you can call the week you arrive and get what you want.

Mix Premium and Value Rounds

The smartest itineraries pair one or two premium rounds — Tidewater, Barefoot Dye, Glen Dornoch, Long Bay — with two or three value layouts like Crown Park, Beachwood, Diamondback, or Meadowlands. You play more rounds, spend roughly the same money, and the variety between course styles makes each round feel fresher than the last.

Early Morning in Summer, Anytime in Spring or Fall

Summer golf in North Myrtle Beach is perfectly doable — grab the first available tee time, finish your round by midday, spend the afternoon at the beach. Spring and fall are when North Myrtle Beach golf peaks: mild temperatures, lower humidity, and conditions on the greens that you’ll be talking about when you get home.

Check for Aeration Before You Book

Most North Myrtle Beach courses aerate greens in summer and overseed in late October. Aeration schedules are published months in advance — check them before finalizing your itinerary if you’re traveling between May and November. A two-minute call to the pro shop can save you from showing up to sand-filled greens when you were expecting peak putting surfaces.

Stay Close to the Courses You’re Playing

Traffic on Highway 17 during peak season is real. Staying in a vacation rental close to the courses you’ve booked makes the difference between a relaxed trip and a stressful commute. North Myrtle Beach properties in Cherry Grove, Crescent Beach, Ocean Drive, and Barefoot Resort put you within minutes of Tidewater, Barefoot Resort, Beachwood, Azalea Sands, and Eagle Nest. Planning accommodation alongside your tee times is the move.

Frequently Asked Questions

Best Restaurants in North Myrtle Beach: A Local Dining Guide

The North Myrtle Beach Dining Scene

There is a particular kind of evening that happens in North Myrtle Beach — the kind where the sun is still warm on your face, the salt air is doing whatever it does to your appetite, and you realize you are not heading to a chain restaurant off the highway. You are here. You are on the Grand Strand. And dinner should mean something. It does, if you know where to go.

North Myrtle Beach is often overshadowed by its noisier neighbor to the south, but anyone who has spent a week here knows the truth: the food scene is quietly excellent. You have upscale restaurants that would hold their own in Charleston or Charlotte. You have seafood shacks with more character than most places three times their size. You have waterfront tables on the Intracoastal Waterway, tucked-away marsh-view bars, and breakfast spots so good people are lining up before the doors open. The dining here ranges from barefoot-and-sunburned casual to white-linen special occasion, and nearly all of it leans hard into the fresh, coastal, Southern identity that makes eating on the Grand Strand feel like something more than just refueling.

This guide covers the restaurants worth knowing — the ones locals return to year after year, the ones that earn awards and actually deserve them, and a few hidden gems that do not show up in every generic listicle. We have organized them by category so you can find the right place for the right meal, whether that is a romantic dinner on night one or a pile of crab legs with the family on the back half of the trip.

If you are still planning your trip and wondering where to stay alongside all this great food, make sure you also check out our guide to things to do in Myrtle Beach to round out your itinerary.

Fine Dining & Special Occasion Restaurants

People sometimes raise an eyebrow when they hear the words “fine dining” and “beach town” in the same sentence. North Myrtle Beach tends to change their minds.

SeaBlue Restaurant & Wine Bar

On a Tuesday night in early June, the parking lot at SeaBlue fills up quietly. No neon signs, no outdoor speaker noise. Just a converted building on Highway 17 N that has made itself into something remarkable. Inside, the lighting is muted, the tables are close enough for conversation but not crowded, and the wine list could easily pass for one at a serious urban restaurant. SeaBlue earned the OpenTable #1 Restaurant in the Country in 2014 and has held the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence for over a decade. That is not beach-town boasting — that is a legitimate culinary credential.

Owners Kenneth Norcutt and Tracy Smith run the kind of restaurant where they are genuinely present in the dining room — not a corporate concept, but a personal one. The menu is contemporary American with a French backbone: prime steaks, locally sourced fresh seafood, small plates, and several chef’s tasting menus with wine pairings for those who want the full experience. The seasonal menu rotates to keep ingredients at their peak. Reservations are strongly recommended, especially in summer and on weekends. SeaBlue is open Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m., at 501 Hwy 17 N, North Myrtle Beach.

21 Main at North Beach Resort & Villas

Elegance at the beach usually comes with a catch — it is either overpriced, trying too hard, or so stuffy it forgets it is surrounded by vacation. 21 Main manages to be upscale without being stiff. Housed in the Plantation House at North Beach Resort & Villas, the steakhouse carries an award-winning kitchen, an in-house sommelier, and a menu that combines dry-aged prime beef with serious fresh seafood. The 16-ounce Prime New York Strip, the bone-in Ribeye, and the sushi menu are all mentioned in the same breath by regulars. During Myrtle Beach Restaurant Week 2026, they offered a three-course dinner for $69 — an exceptional value for the quality. Complimentary valet parking is available. 21 Main opens Tuesday through Sunday at 5 p.m., with the lounge opening at 4 p.m.

The Parson’s Table

A few miles north of the main North Myrtle Beach strip, in Little River, sits a restaurant that lives inside a restored 1885 church. The Parson’s Table has been drawing diners who want something quietly extraordinary for decades. The setting — original stained glass, warm wood, Southern grace — matches the food, which leans into fresh regional ingredients done with care. Fried green tomatoes, maple bourbon pork chop, and fresh catch dishes rotate with the seasons. Locals who know their way around the Grand Strand consistently name it among the best dinners to be had in the area. It is worth the short drive north from wherever you are staying.

Fresh Seafood: Where the Locals Eat

The Grand Strand has been catching and cooking seafood since before tourism was an industry here. The places that survive the decades are the ones that do not cut corners on freshness or flavor.

Joe’s Bar & Grill

If you ask a North Myrtle Beach local — not a tourist, a local — where they take out-of-town family for dinner, there is a good chance Joe’s Bar & Grill comes up. Tucked behind the Olive Garden, across from the Alabama Theatre in the Windy Hill section of North Myrtle Beach, Joe’s does not look like a destination from the road. Inside, it feels like a hunting and fishing lodge that someone’s uncle inherited and turned into a restaurant — rough-hewn walls, trophy fish, a tidal salt marsh visible through every window, and two bars with wood-burning fireplaces. The dining is what Grand Strand Magazine has called “casual fine dining,” and the description fits.

The menu covers beef, veal, fresh seafood, and poultry with a daily specials board that reflects what came in fresh. Regulars swear by the Prince Edward Island blue mussels sautéed in spicy marinara, the bacon-wrapped scallops on rice, the shrimp and scallop fettuccini, and the steak au Poivre — a filet mignon in a brandy and Dijon cream sauce that more than one reviewer has called the best steak they have eaten on a vacation. Joe’s opens daily at 4:30 p.m. at 810 Conway St., North Myrtle Beach, and reservations are strongly recommended. Happy hour runs daily until 7 p.m. at both bars.

The Shack — Cherry Grove Seafood

Since 2010, The Shack has been the kind of place that families in Cherry Grove walk to barefoot and leave happy. Southern-style cooking and Calabash-style seafood are not trends here — they are the whole point. The Cherry Grove platter is the thing to order: lightly battered fried shrimp, oysters, flounder, scallops, and deviled crab, served with hush puppies and coleslaw. The Shack also does shrimp and grits, biscuits and gravy, steak and shrimp, and daily specials that rotate through classics like chicken bog and hand-chopped Carolina BBQ. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all served, and the portions are the kind that make you question your plans for the rest of the afternoon. It is a family-owned operation, and that shows in the service and the consistency.

Cape Fear Seafood Company

Cape Fear Seafood Company brought its award-winning menu to North Myrtle Beach at 1386 Hwy 17 N, and the reception has been strong from the start. The kitchen focuses on locally sourced shrimp, fish, scallops, crab, mussels, and clams in expertly crafted Southern coastal dishes. The shrimp and grits have won admirers across the Grand Strand, and the patio with fire pits makes it a particularly inviting lunch spot for visitors staying in the area.

Best Waterfront & Barefoot Landing Restaurants

Barefoot Landing, the waterfront shopping and entertainment complex on the Intracoastal Waterway, is home to some of the best dining in North Myrtle Beach. The setting does a lot of work — boats moving on the water, warm lights at dusk, the sounds of the marina mixing with music — but the restaurants here earn their reputation beyond the view.

Greg Norman’s Australian Grille

Since 1999, Greg Norman’s has been doing waterfront dining at Barefoot Landing with the kind of sustained quality that makes it easy to understand why it is still the first restaurant many visitors mention. The view of the Intracoastal Waterway is spectacular, particularly at sunset. The menu draws on Australian-inspired cuisine with serious prime steaks, fresh fish, and a wine list that has held the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for over fifteen consecutive years. It earned a 2024 OpenTable Diners’ Choice and was named Best Dinner with a View by Grand Strand Magazine in 2024. Brunch, lunch, and dinner are all served. For a waterfront meal in North Myrtle Beach that feels like an event, this is the benchmark.

Flying Fish Public Market & Grill

Flying Fish sits at Barefoot Landing with water views and a menu built around the freshest catch the region offers. It is the kind of place where the daily specials board reflects what actually came in that morning, not just what sounds seasonal. The steamed buckets and raw bar selections are consistently praised, and the Buffalo Shrimp Tacos and Mahi Melt have developed loyal followings. Prices are reasonable for a waterfront restaurant, and the atmosphere is casual enough for families without feeling like a theme park. If you only have time for one lunch on the Intracoastal, Flying Fish is the right choice.

Boardwalk Billy’s

Boardwalk Billy’s is where you go when you want the Intracoastal Waterway, cold drinks, a plate of crab legs, fall-off-the-bone ribs, and the feeling that dinner is not a formal event but an experience. The open-air deck is the main attraction, and the raw bar oysters are a fixture on most tables. What surprises people is the menu’s range — alongside the seafood and BBQ ribs, there is unexpectedly solid sushi, which has become a regular order for those who know. The atmosphere is casual and loud in the best way: families, groups, and couples all find a version of Boardwalk Billy’s that works for them.

Tidewater Grill

Also inside Barefoot Landing, Tidewater Grill has positioned itself as a local favorite with rooftop crab cakes, waterfront views, and a menu that spans Calabash-style seafood to hand-cut steaks. The daily specials bring variety beyond the regular menu, and the staff’s attentiveness is consistently mentioned in reviews. Tidewater is a good choice for groups who want waterfront dining at a slightly lower price point than Greg Norman’s while still getting quality food and great views.

BBQ, Southern, & Casual Favorites

Not every great meal at the beach needs a sunset view. Some of the most satisfying eating in North Myrtle Beach happens in simple rooms that smell like smoke and wood and something slow-cooked since early morning.

Brisket — Texas BBQ

You smell Brisket before you see it. The hickory smoke from their Texas-built smoker carries for a good distance, and by the time you walk in the door, you have already decided what you want. Brisket earned the 2024 Best Specialty Cuisine Restaurant award from Grand Strand Magazine, and the accolade is earned through consistency: real slow-smoked Texas barbecue done without shortcuts. Brisket, pulled pork, chicken, ribs, and sausage are all smoked over hickory wood and served with Southern sides that take the meal seriously — fried green tomatoes, collard greens, hush puppies, and a Frito pie that has no business being as good as it is. A well-stocked top-shelf bourbon menu and craft beer selection round out the experience. This is a good stop for anyone who believes that great BBQ is its own category of dining, not a consolation prize for nights you skip the seafood.

Nacho Hippo

Nacho Hippo at Barefoot Landing occupies a specific and important niche in the North Myrtle Beach dining landscape: it is fun, genuinely good, and suitable for everyone from small children to adults who need an extensive happy hour. The concept centers on creative Mexican-inspired food — loaded nachos, tacos, quesabirria, salsa varieties — served alongside craft cocktails, a full bar, and live music on the outdoor deck that overlooks the Intracoastal Waterway. The energy is festive, the atmosphere is colorful, and the food punches above the price point. It is a natural stop during a day at Barefoot Landing, and the happy hour specials make it a worthy evening destination too.

Hamburger Joe’s

Since 1989, Hamburger Joe’s has served the best and most affordable burgers and wings on the Grand Strand, and the regulars here will hold that opinion against any challenger. It is cash only, it is casual, it is everything you want when you want a really good burger after a long beach day and you do not want to think too hard about the decision. The buffalo wings and hickory smoked pork BBQ sandwich are both worth mentioning. Prices run from $5 to $10. This is not a destination for special occasions — it is a destination for the particular kind of hungry that only happens on vacation.

Breakfast & Brunch Spots

The morning meal on a beach vacation deserves better than a drive-through. North Myrtle Beach has at least one breakfast institution and a few excellent alternatives.

Blueberry’s Grill

Blueberry’s Grill at Barefoot Landing is the most decorated breakfast and brunch spot in the area, and it has been for years. The 2025 Best Breakfast and Brunch award from The Sun News is the most recent recognition, but the lines forming outside before 7 a.m. tell the same story without the trophy. The menu is Southern-inspired with a creative edge: the signature blueberry hush puppies are the dish people come back for, the lemon-ricotta pancakes are legitimately excellent, and the shrimp and grits compete with anywhere on the Grand Strand. The smoked brisket hash is a newer menu addition that has quickly become a regular order. Blueberry’s is open daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., directly off Highway 17 S near Barefoot Landing.

Johnny D’s Waffles and Benedicts

Johnny D’s is the breakfast choice that comes up repeatedly when locals and frequent visitors compare notes on morning spots. The menu name says it all — waffles and Benedicts are the specialties, and both are done with care and variety. Blueberry pancakes, chicken and waffles, and twisted Benedict variations keep the menu interesting for repeat visits. The portions are generous, the prices are reasonable, and the service is the kind of friendly, unhurried pace that belongs on a beach vacation morning.

Casual Bites & Family-Friendly Picks

Not every meal needs to be a sit-down event. North Myrtle Beach has a solid lineup of casual spots that serve excellent food in environments where kids are welcome and the pace is relaxed.

King’s Famous Pizza

Over three decades in the North Myrtle Beach dining scene is a credential few restaurants achieve. King’s Famous Pizza has earned that longevity by doing pizza well and consistently. The menu is focused rather than sprawling — Meat Lovers, House Special, Zorba’s Greek Pizza, Alfredo, and Buffalo Chicken are the standouts — alongside subs, gyros, and pasta. It is a reliable family dinner that satisfies the kind of group where no two people want the same thing. The quality of toppings and crust is what separates it from the standard tourist-area pizza spot.

Benny Rappa’s Trattoria

For Italian food done right — real portions, house-made pasta, the kind of trattoria that smells like garlic and olive oil the moment you walk through the door — Benny Rappa’s is the answer in North Myrtle Beach. It is BYO wine, which changes the math of a dinner out considerably, and the portions are the generous kind that make the value obvious. Groups and families both do well here. It does not pretend to be anything other than a good Italian restaurant, and that is exactly why it has built the loyal following it has.

Tips for Dining in North Myrtle Beach

A few practical notes that will make the difference between a smooth dinner and a 45-minute wait outside a restaurant while everyone in your group gets increasingly irritable:

Reservations are not optional in season. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, the best restaurants in North Myrtle Beach — especially SeaBlue, Joe’s Bar & Grill, 21 Main, and Greg Norman’s — fill up fast. Make reservations before you leave home, not when you arrive. Mid-week dining is easier to get into than weekends, and early-bird windows (typically 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.) are available at several restaurants at a reduced price.

Barefoot Landing is walkable and worth a full evening. The complex at Barefoot Landing clusters several restaurants — Greg Norman’s, Flying Fish, Boardwalk Billy’s, Nacho Hippo, Blueberry’s Grill, and Tidewater Grill — within easy walking distance of each other along the Intracoastal Waterway. It is a natural place to make dinner and a stroll part of the same evening.

Shoulder season is a different experience. Spring and fall dining in North Myrtle Beach is genuinely pleasant — shorter waits, the same quality, and often the same great weather. If you have flexibility in your travel dates, an October or April trip changes the dining experience considerably for the better.

The local guides and award lists matter here. Grand Strand Magazine, The Sun News, and OpenTable are the most reliable indicators of sustained quality on the Grand Strand. If a restaurant has been on those lists for multiple consecutive years, it is earning that recognition through consistency rather than novelty. Seek out things to do in North Myrtle Beach for a fuller picture of the area as you plan your meals around your activities.

Frequently Asked Questions

SeaBasil Thai & Seafood: Carolina Forest’s Bold New Restaurant Is Worth the Drive

There is something that happens to a dining room when the person cooking your food also caught it. The fish on the plate was not processed through a warehouse or shipped from a continent away. It came off a hook somewhere past the horizon, out past the sandbars and the inlet, out where the water turns from green to deep blue and the Gulf Stream runs warm. That is the story behind SeaBasil Thai & Seafood, a new restaurant in the Carolina Forest area of Myrtle Beach that opened in mid-February and is now gearing up for a proper grand opening celebration on March 27.

The Grand Strand has no shortage of seafood restaurants, and it certainly has its share of Thai food. But a restaurant where the owner pulls tuna, mahi mahi, wahoo and cobia from the open Atlantic, then serves them at a table in a beautifully renovated dining room with Thai herbs, basil-forward sauces and handcrafted cocktails? That is something genuinely new. SeaBasil is the kind of place that comes along when someone with decades of culinary experience decides to stop doing things halfway and build exactly the restaurant they always wanted.

For visitors staying in North Myrtle Beach or anywhere along the Grand Strand, SeaBasil is a worthy dinner destination. For locals and food-focused travelers, it is already shaping up to be one of the more interesting openings this area has seen in a while. Here is what you need to know before you go.

A New Restaurant with Real Roots in the Grand Strand

SeaBasil Thai & Seafood sits at 4036 River Oaks Drive in the Village Forest plaza in Carolina Forest, sharing a shopping center with a Food Lion. It is not the flashiest address on paper, but the Carolina Forest corridor has grown into one of the most active dining and retail zones in the Myrtle Beach metro, and the Village Forest plaza draws consistent foot traffic from residents throughout the surrounding neighborhoods.

The restaurant soft-opened in mid-February, giving the kitchen time to settle in and the staff time to find their rhythm before the formal grand opening. That is a smart move for any new restaurant, and it shows an owner who understands the business. The March 27 celebration will be the official moment, complete with a ribbon cutting with the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce at 4 p.m. and a full evening of music and cocktails running until midnight.

The Woman Behind SeaBasil: From Fishing Boat to Front of House

Laddawan Fox is not a newcomer to the Myrtle Beach restaurant scene. She has owned and operated a string of well-regarded Thai restaurants over the years, starting with King Kong Sushi, which she ran in both Carolina Forest and at Broadway at the Beach. After selling those, she moved to the Charleston area and built Thai Elephants and Thai Elephants II before eventually returning to Myrtle Beach, where she has spent the past several years running Thai Cuisine in downtown Myrtle Beach.

Through all of those ventures, Fox kept fishing. She owns a boat and regularly heads out to the Gulf Stream off the Grand Strand coast, trolling for pelagic game fish like tuna, mahi mahi, wahoo and cobia. She also does bottom fishing for black sea bass, snapper and grouper, and she goes crabbing and flounder gigging in Murrells Inlet. Fishing was never just a hobby. It was always pointing toward something.

After divesting from her Charleston restaurants, Fox took a short break, about three months, before the itch to cook and create brought her back. The result is SeaBasil. She described the concept simply and directly: she always wanted to sell seafood, and she decided to pair it with herbs and Asian ingredients. That is how SeaBasil came to be. The name itself says it plainly. Sea and basil. Ocean and herb. It is a clear concept executed with the confidence of someone who has been building toward it for years.

Carolina Forest’s Restaurant Scene Has a New Anchor

Carolina Forest has evolved considerably over the past two decades. What was once a sparsely developed area west of Highway 17 Bypass is now a full-scale community with tens of thousands of residents, a growing network of restaurants, and the kind of local dining culture that sustains a great neighborhood spot. The dining options in Carolina Forest have expanded steadily, from fast casual chains to locally owned restaurants that draw diners from across the Grand Strand.

The space that SeaBasil now occupies has a history in the local restaurant world. The location has housed Asian restaurants for years, most recently Hana Teppanyaki House, and before that, an early Asian restaurant tenant that held an exclusive agreement with the property for the category. That history speaks to the demand for this kind of dining in the area. Fox has taken that legacy and built something entirely new in the same footprint.

For visitors renting a vacation home in North Myrtle Beach or staying anywhere along the Grand Strand, a drive to Carolina Forest for dinner at SeaBasil is completely reasonable. The restaurant is close enough to the beach that it works as a dinner excursion without feeling like a long haul, and the food is distinctive enough to be worth the trip.

A Vision for River Oaks Drive That Started Two Decades Ago

Fox has been watching the River Oaks Drive corridor for years. Long before the strip malls and restaurants and subdivisions filled in around it, she drove past what was then mostly woods and empty land and saw something most people did not. She saw what it would become. That kind of long-range vision is rare, and it is one of the things that separates restaurateurs who build lasting places from those who simply open restaurants.

The strip mall where SeaBasil is located was built around 2008. Fox has coveted a location in that area for years, and when the right space finally became available, she moved on it. The restaurant is the fulfillment of a vision she held for a long time, which may be part of why the concept feels so fully formed. This is not a restaurant built out of opportunism. It is one built out of conviction.

Inside SeaBasil: A Completely Reimagined Space

When Fox took over the space, she rebuilt essentially everything except the floor. The bar, the furniture, the kitchen equipment, the entire interior design, all of it is new. The renovation was overseen cooperatively by New Wave Renovations and McKeithan Design Studio, a Tennessee-based design firm. The result is a dining room that feels intentional and finished, not like a rebranded leftover from whatever came before.

The bar is a centerpiece of the new layout, which matters for a restaurant with a serious cocktail program and a liquor license that just came through. A dining room built around a proper bar creates a different energy than one that treats drinking as an afterthought. At SeaBasil, the bar is clearly part of the experience, and the cocktail menu reflects that investment.

The Menu: Where Gulf Stream Catches Meet Thai Tradition

The SeaBasil menu covers a lot of ground, but it does so with a clear organizing principle. Seafood and Thai cooking are the two poles, and the menu finds ways to bring them together while also honoring each tradition independently. The seafood side features scallops, shrimp, clams, mahi mahi, salmon and flounder alongside the kind of proteins that give a menu range, including filet mignon and New York strip steaks.

Seafood Fusion Highlights

The Basil Mixed Seafood is a strong example of what SeaBasil does best. The dish combines shrimp, scallops and clams stir-fried with sweet chili sauce, garlic, bell peppers, onions, basil and a house sauce, served over rice. It is the kind of dish that works precisely because the components are familiar but the combination is not something you find on every menu in town. Seafood with drunken noodles is another standout, bringing Thai noodle tradition into direct contact with fresh catches.

Traditional Thai Offerings

For diners who love traditional Thai food and do not need the fusion angle, SeaBasil delivers there too. The menu includes duck and stir-fried basil, a variety of appetizers and soups, hibachi plates, fried rice dishes, larb, papaya salads and a traditional salad. There is a kids’ menu, which makes it a practical option for families staying in the area. Desserts include coconut custard, which is the kind of thing that ends a meal on a note you remember.

Lunch combo specials are available daily, giving the restaurant a reasonable midday option for diners who want something more interesting than the usual strip mall lunch. The range of the menu means SeaBasil can serve a quick weekday lunch and a serious weekend dinner without feeling like it is trying to be two different things at once.

Cocktails, Sake, and Something a Little Different

The drink program at SeaBasil reflects the same blending instinct as the food menu. Specialty cocktails carry Thailand-related names and themes, and the bar offers a selection of wines, hot and cold sakes, and several bottled beers. The cocktail that is already drawing attention is a riff on an Old Fashioned, built with whisky, charcoal powder, lemon juice, house-made ginger and simple syrup, finished with a flaming orange peel on the rim. It is a confident cocktail that shows the bar program is serious without being pretentious.

SeaBasil also carries High Rise THC-infused fruit seltzers, a nod to where the beverage market is heading. For non-drinkers, the restaurant offers bubble teas and several other teas, which fits naturally with the Thai identity of the place. Happy hour runs from 4 to 6:30 p.m. daily, giving early diners a reason to settle in before the dinner rush.

Grand Opening Celebration: March 27

The formal grand opening for SeaBasil is scheduled for Thursday, March 27. The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce will be present for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4 p.m., joined by local dignitaries. The celebration then shifts into full gear at 5 p.m. with live music and signature cocktails running through midnight. A liquor license was secured just this week, meaning the bar will be fully operational for the event.

Grand opening nights at good restaurants have an energy that is difficult to replicate. The kitchen is firing on all cylinders, the staff is genuinely excited, and the crowd that shows up tends to be the kind of people who pay attention to what is new and interesting in their city. If you are in the Myrtle Beach area on March 27, SeaBasil is the event worth putting on the calendar.

Hours, Happy Hour, and What to Expect

SeaBasil Thai & Seafood is located at 4036 River Oaks Drive in the Village Forest plaza in Carolina Forest. The restaurant is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Lunch combo specials are available during daytime hours, and happy hour runs from 4 to 6:30 p.m. daily.

For visitors exploring things to do in Myrtle Beach beyond the oceanfront strip, Carolina Forest is a neighborhood worth discovering. SeaBasil sits in the middle of a busy dining corridor that reflects how much the area has grown, and it brings something genuinely original to the table. It is a destination restaurant in a location that happens to be convenient for locals, and for visitors staying in North Myrtle Beach, it is an easy drive down Highway 17 that rewards the effort. Keep an eye on this one as it hits its stride after the grand opening.

Frequently Asked Questions