World’s Strongest Man in Myrtle Beach: Everything You Need to Know

There is a particular kind of electricity that settles over the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk when the World’s Strongest Man rolls into town. The ocean is right there, doing what it always does — steady, indifferent, blue-gray to the horizon. And then, a few feet away on a competition stage built directly into the boardwalk, a man the size of a refrigerator picks up a 400-pound atlas stone and places it on a platform like it is something he has done a thousand times. Because he has. And the crowd on the South Carolina sand goes absolutely wild.

The World’s Strongest Man competition — now nearly five decades old and broadcast in over 100 countries — has found something of a second home here on the Grand Strand. Myrtle Beach hosted the event in 2023 and 2024, welcomed it back for 2026, and each time the result has been the same: thousands of fans, elite athletes from across the globe, and a setting that no stadium venue could replicate. The boardwalk, the ocean, the April sun, the salt in the air. It is unlike anywhere else the competition has been held, and the organizers know it.

Whether you are a longtime strongman fan who knows every competitor’s backstory, or a vacationer who stumbled onto the event while walking the boardwalk and found yourself unable to leave, this guide covers everything worth knowing about the World’s Strongest Man in Myrtle Beach — the history, the athletes, the events, and how to make the most of a long weekend on the Grand Strand while the strongest men in the world are in town.

What Is the World’s Strongest Man Competition?

The World’s Strongest Man began in 1977 as a television event — a simple, slightly ridiculous idea that turned out to be brilliant. What if you gathered the largest, most powerful human beings on the planet, gave them a series of physically outrageous tasks, and broadcast the whole spectacle to the world? The answer, it turned out, was that people loved it. The event drew its first audiences on CBS in America and quickly became a fixture of international sports broadcasting.

In the nearly five decades since, the competition has grown into the premier event in strength athletics, with a global audience now exceeding 220 million viewers and a roster of champions that reads like a mythology of human capability. The format has evolved, the athletes have grown bigger and stronger, and the events have become more demanding — but the core premise remains unchanged. Find out who is the strongest man on earth. Do it outdoors. Make it look epic.

The competition is organized and produced by IMG, the global sports marketing agency, in partnership with Giants Live. It travels to different host cities each year — past venues have included locations across Zambia, Iceland, Malaysia, Morocco, China, and numerous American cities — and the 2026 edition marks its 49th running. Twenty-five athletes are invited based on their results over the prior competitive season, divided into qualifying groups over the first two days, with the top ten advancing to a two-day final.

How Myrtle Beach Became a WSM Destination

Myrtle Beach first hosted the World’s Strongest Man in 2023, and the fit was immediately obvious to anyone who was there. The oceanfront at Burroughs & Chapin Pavilion Place — right on the boardwalk at 9th Avenue North — offered something most competition venues simply cannot: scale, scenery, and a natural amphitheater effect. The Atlantic Ocean sits at the athletes’ backs during the finals. The boardwalk runs alongside the course. The crowd surrounds the action on three sides, pressed close enough to feel the effort radiating off the competitors.

The city itself contributed the rest. Myrtle Beach knows how to host large-scale events — the Grand Strand has long been home to some of the biggest tourism draws on the East Coast, from the Carolina Country Music Festival to the Harley-Davidson Spring Rally — and the infrastructure to support tens of thousands of visitors was already in place. Hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues, the boardwalk itself. The city absorbed the event and its fans the way it absorbs everything: with warm Southern hospitality and a full calendar of distractions for anyone who needed a break from watching trucks get pulled across a course by a man named Rayno.

The partnership with Visit Myrtle Beach has been central to the relationship. The destination marketing organization has co-produced the event with IMG since 2023, and the alignment has been mutually beneficial. The competition adds an internationally broadcast event that puts Myrtle Beach in front of a global audience. The destination provides the setting, the hospitality infrastructure, and the crowd energy that has become part of the event’s identity.

2023: Mitchell Hooper Wins the First Myrtle Beach WSM

The 46th World’s Strongest Man ran from April 19 to 23, 2023 — the competition’s first appearance on the Grand Strand. Thirty athletes competed, and the man who emerged with the title was Mitchell Hooper of Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Hooper had made his WSM debut just the year before, finishing in second place. In Myrtle Beach, he made no such concession, winning four of six events in the final to claim his first world championship.

Hooper’s victory made him the first Canadian to win the World’s Strongest Man title. Two-time defending champion Tom Stoltman of Scotland finished second, and 2020 champion Oleksii Novikov of Ukraine placed third. The competition on the boardwalk was broadcast later that summer on CBS Sports Network in the United States, introducing the Myrtle Beach venue to the show’s massive television audience.

2024: Tom Stoltman Claims His Third Title in Myrtle Beach

The 2024 World’s Strongest Man returned to the same Myrtle Beach venue in May, and this time it was Tom Stoltman who took the title. The Scottish strongman — known to fans as The Albatross for his towering 6-foot-8 frame — dominated the final to claim his third WSM championship, joining an elite group of men who have lifted the trophy that many times. Defending champion Mitchell Hooper placed second, and American Evan Singleton — a former professional wrestler competing under the nickname T-Rex — finished third.

Stoltman’s 2024 victory in Myrtle Beach cemented the city’s place in WSM history. Two editions, two different champions, both crowned with the Atlantic as a backdrop. The competition did not return to the Grand Strand in 2025 — that year’s event moved to Sacramento, California, where South African rookie Rayno Nel pulled off one of the more stunning upsets the sport had seen in decades, becoming the first first-year competitor to win the title since 1997. But the boardwalk was never far from the organizers’ minds.

2026: The World’s Strongest Man Returns to the Grand Strand

The 49th World’s Strongest Man runs April 23–26, 2026, at the oceanfront at Burroughs & Chapin Pavilion Place. It is the third time Myrtle Beach has hosted the event, and the return speaks to a relationship that has clearly worked well for both the competition and the city. Qualifying rounds take place on Thursday and Friday, with the top ten finishers advancing to the championship finals on Saturday and Sunday.

The competition is presented this year as the SBD World’s Strongest Man, with title sponsorship from SBD, a leading manufacturer of strength training equipment and apparel. Reserved general admission seating is available around the main stage for the four-day event, produced in partnership with Visit Myrtle Beach.

The Events: What Competitors Actually Do

Part of what makes the World’s Strongest Man so watchable — and so magnetic in person — is the variety of the events. This is not a single-discipline test. The competition is designed to expose weakness, to find the one man who is not only the strongest but the most complete across disciplines that range from raw explosive power to static endurance.

The 2026 qualifying events include the Farmer’s Walk into Power Stairs — a test in which athletes carry heavy implements across a course before tackling a staircase — the Overhead Circus Medley, Squat for Reps, the Truck Pull, and a stone-off to determine who advances to the final. The championship final on Saturday and Sunday adds a Deadlift for Reps event and closes with the Atlas Stones, the iconic sequence of increasingly heavy spherical stones that competitors must hoist over a series of platforms. The Atlas Stones have ended more than a few title runs.

Among the events that have defined the competition over the years, the Hercules Hold holds a special place in the hearts of spectators. Athletes grip chains attached to two 160-kilogram pillars, one on either side of them, and must hold the pillars upright for as long as possible. There is no movement, no technique to refine — just grip, pain, and willpower. The Keg Toss sends huge metal containers arcing over a 15-foot bar. The Bus Pull does exactly what its name suggests. These are not events that require much explanation. The crowd always understands immediately.

The Athletes to Watch in 2026

The 2026 field of 25 is headlined by four men who have held the title before, which makes for a particularly compelling narrative heading into the Myrtle Beach finals.

Rayno Nel of South Africa arrives as the defending champion after his shocking 2025 Sacramento victory. Nel became the first rookie to win the World’s Strongest Man since 1997, edging out a loaded field by half a point in one of the closest finishes in recent memory. He is still in only his second WSM appearance, but the strength of his 2025 performance — and the depth of his event record since — makes him the favorite heading into qualifying.

Tom Stoltman returns hunting a fourth world title, which would place him alongside legends such as Magnús Ver Magnússon, Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Žydrūnas Savickas, and Brian Shaw. The Scottish giant — the first athlete with autism to win the WSM — arrived in 2026 in sharp form after winning Britain’s Strongest Man, and Myrtle Beach has been good to him before. His 2024 final here was among the most commanding performances of his career.

Mitchell Hooper of Canada is perhaps the most technically complete strongman in the world right now. The 2023 Myrtle Beach champion has won four consecutive Arnold Classic titles, multiple Rogue Invitationals, and Shaw Classics — his record outside of the WSM is almost without parallel. The world title remains the one thing his resume is missing since 2023, and returning to the boardwalk where he first won it gives his 2026 campaign a certain narrative weight.

Martins Licis, the 2019 champion from the United States, rounds out the former champions in the field. American fans will also be watching Evan Singleton — T-Rex, the former WWE wrestler who placed third at the 2024 Myrtle Beach finals — as well as Trey Mitchell, a static powerhouse capable of dominating any deadlift-based event, and Eddie Williams of Australia, who has built a devoted following with his charismatic performances on the competition floor.

Fan Fest: How to Experience WSM Without a Competition Ticket

Competition tickets for the 2026 event are sold out. If you do not already have one, the reserved seating around the main stage is not accessible — but that does not mean you are locked out of the experience. The fan fest area adjacent to the competition course is free and open to all spectators throughout the weekend, and it is genuinely worth the trip on its own.

The free zone features local food trucks and food stands, merchandise vendors, interactive sponsor booths, and — critically — athlete meet-and-greet sessions. This is your opportunity to stand a few feet away from some of the largest human beings you will ever encounter in person. The athletes at the WSM level are not merely strong; they are a different physical category from most professional athletes. Seeing that scale in real life, on the boardwalk, on a warm April afternoon, is its own kind of memorable.

The atmosphere around the boardwalk during WSM weekend extends well beyond the venue itself. The surrounding Myrtle Beach Boardwalk area — which runs from 14th Avenue South to 2nd Avenue North and is lined with restaurants, shops, and amusement attractions — absorbs the energy of the event for the full four days. If you are spending the week at a rental in the area, this stretch of the city is worth visiting for the ambient energy alone, even apart from the competition itself.

Burroughs & Chapin Pavilion Place

The venue at the center of it all — Burroughs & Chapin Pavilion Place, located at 812 North Ocean Boulevard — carries a particular weight in Myrtle Beach history. The Burroughs & Chapin name is inseparable from the development of modern Myrtle Beach; the company’s origins go back to the late 19th century, and it was this family of businesses that built the original Myrtle Beach Pavilion amusement park on this same oceanfront site in the early 20th century. A succession of four pavilion structures stood on or near this location from 1902 until the amusement park’s closure in 2006, and the open-air event space that exists today carries that legacy of public gathering.

Today the space hosts major outdoor events year-round, including the Carolina Country Music Festival each June. For the World’s Strongest Man, the open layout is transformed into a full competition venue: elevated stage, competition course, spectator seating, sponsor activations, and the fan fest zone — all arranged with the Atlantic Ocean as the permanent backdrop. It is one of the more unusual settings in all of professional sports, and that is the point.

Planning Your Trip Around WSM Weekend

Late April is one of the finest times to visit the Grand Strand. The Atlantic is not quite warm enough for extended swimming, but the weather is consistently beautiful — sunny, mild, and free of the summer crowds that descend on the coast from Memorial Day onward. The boardwalk is alive but not overwhelming. Restaurant waits are manageable. The beach is uncrowded in a way it almost never is from June through August.

Guests based in Cherry Grove Beach or Ocean Drive in North Myrtle Beach are approximately a 15-minute drive south from Burroughs & Chapin Pavilion Place — close enough to make an afternoon trip to the fan fest and be back in time for dinner. Those staying in Crescent Beach or Windy Hill are similarly well-positioned.

If you are building a full weekend itinerary around WSM, the mornings and early afternoons while qualifying heats run are a good time to be on the beach or exploring the broader area. The competition stage energy ramps up through the afternoon and into the evening, and the fan fest tends to be most active when athletes cycle through for their meet-and-greet sessions. Check the official schedule at theworldsstrongestman.com for session times as the weekend approaches.

Parking near the boardwalk fills quickly on event days. The city has parking garages on 9th Avenue North and along Ocean Boulevard, but arriving early or taking a rideshare from your rental property will make the day considerably easier. The walk along the boardwalk from several of the nearby public access points is itself a pleasant way to arrive at the venue.

Frequently Asked Questions

Mama Duck Is Coming Back to Myrtle Beach — and She Has Something Important to Say

There are certain things that stop people dead in their tracks on Ocean Boulevard. A spectacular sunrise over the Atlantic. A pelican cruising low above the break. A perfect set rolling in on a glassy morning. And, as Myrtle Beach discovered last spring, a six-story-tall rubber duck perched at the edge of the pavilion looking out over the crowd with the serene confidence of someone who knows exactly how good they look. Mama Duck made quite an impression in 2025. In May 2026, she is coming back — and this time, she is sticking around for the full run.

The world’s largest rubber duck will return to Myrtle Beach on May 1 and 2, taking up her familiar position at Burroughs and Chapin Pavilion Place on North Ocean Boulevard. The event is free, open to the public, and built around something that matters far beyond the photographs: water safety. In a coastal community surrounded by the Atlantic, the Intracoastal Waterway, and hundreds of residential and resort pools, the message Mama Duck carries is one that every family visiting the Grand Strand this spring and summer should hear.

If you are planning a trip to the Myrtle Beach area in late April or early May, this is one of those events worth building your schedule around. It is free, genuinely fun, and one of the more memorable things you can do with young children on the Grand Strand — which is saying something in a stretch of coastline that does not suffer from a shortage of memorable things to do.

She’s Back — and This Time It’s Personal

Mama Duck’s 2025 Myrtle Beach debut was a genuine moment. She drew crowds, she made the news, and she put a six-story smile on the face of Ocean Boulevard. But her stay was cut short — high winds caused a tear in the structure, and the team made the difficult call to deflate and pack her up before the run was complete. Anyone who showed up after that point missed her entirely. It was the kind of outcome that only makes the return feel more earned.

The 2026 visit is being organized with the same coalition that brought her here the first time: the YMCA of Coastal Carolina is leading the project in partnership with the City of Myrtle Beach and Visit Myrtle Beach, with sponsorship from Black’s Tire and Auto Service. The event is set for May 1 and 2 with hours running from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day — a full two-day window that gives far more visitors the chance to see her than last year’s abbreviated run allowed.

Who Is Mama Duck?

Mama Duck is the world’s largest rubber duck — a six-story, roughly 60-foot-tall inflatable that has toured North America drawing crowds and stopping traffic wherever she lands. She is instantly recognizable: the classic yellow rubber duck shape scaled up to a size that makes grown adults feel small and children feel like they have wandered into the best dream they have ever had. She has appeared at harbor festivals, waterfront events, and community gatherings across the continent, and she has a knack for generating the kind of shared, collective delight that is increasingly rare in public spaces.

But she is not just a spectacle. Mama Duck has been specifically enlisted as an ambassador for water safety — a role that suits her well, given that the image of a rubber duck is already woven into the earliest memories most people have of water. She gives the YMCA of Coastal Carolina something that no pamphlet or billboard can provide: a reason for families to show up, to linger, and to be genuinely receptive to information they might otherwise scroll past.

More Than a Photo Op: The Water Safety Mission

May is National Water Safety Month, and the timing of Mama Duck’s visit is deliberate. The Grand Strand sits at the edge of the Atlantic, bordered by the Intracoastal Waterway and dotted with resort pools from one end to the other. It is a beautiful place to be — and one where the stakes around water awareness are genuinely high. Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children between the ages of one and four, and the vast majority of those tragedies are preventable with the right knowledge and the right skills.

YMCA of Coastal Carolina representatives will be on-site throughout the event, sharing practical water safety information with families in a format that is accessible rather than alarming. The goal — as the organization has framed it — is not to create fear but to build awareness, confidence, and preparedness, particularly for children and families who spend significant time near the water. Topics include rip current awareness, pool safety basics, and how to access swim lessons and scholarships for children in Horry, Georgetown, and Williamsburg counties through the YMCA’s Splash Safe initiative.

The Splash Safe program is a broader regional campaign built around short, accessible instructional videos and a community-wide effort to provide free swim lessons to children who otherwise lack access to them. Each fifty-dollar donation to the program funds a four-week swim course for one child. The campaign has drawn support from across the Grand Strand, and the Mama Duck event serves as its most visible public moment of the year. For more on the story behind the initiative, the YMCA of Coastal Carolina has published a detailed look at the thinking behind the event at ymcaofcoastalcarolina.substack.com.

Event Details: When, Where, and What to Expect

Mama Duck will be on display at Burroughs and Chapin Pavilion Place, 812 North Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach, on Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2. Hours run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Admission is free. The event is family-friendly and open to everyone — locals, visitors, and anyone who just wants to stand next to the biggest rubber duck on earth and take a photograph that their friends will absolutely not believe without context.

Beyond the selfie opportunity — and it is a genuinely spectacular one — families can expect on-site water safety resources, hands-on learning, and the chance to connect with YMCA representatives who can answer questions about swim lessons, Splash Safe materials, and how to apply for swim scholarships for children in the area. It is the kind of event that works equally well as a quick stop on a beach day or as a dedicated destination for a morning out with kids.

The event is sponsored by Black’s Tire and Auto Service, a long-standing Grand Strand business that has supported the Mama Duck initiative since its Myrtle Beach debut. The pavilion location puts Mama Duck right in the heart of the Myrtle Beach oceanfront, with easy access from both the beach side and Ocean Boulevard.

Part of the Sun Fun Festival

The Mama Duck weekend falls within the broader Sun Fun Festival, one of the Grand Strand’s longest-running spring celebrations. The Sun Fun Festival has marked the unofficial start of the Myrtle Beach summer season for decades, drawing visitors from across the Carolinas and beyond for a week of beach activities, live music, and community events along the oceanfront. Mama Duck’s arrival as part of that calendar adds a genuinely new dimension to what has traditionally been a people-watching and beach-going kind of week.

For families visiting the Grand Strand during the first week of May, the combination of the Sun Fun Festival atmosphere and a free, kid-friendly waterfront event makes the timing particularly well suited to a beach vacation with children in tow. The energy on Ocean Boulevard during that week is distinctly festive, and Mama Duck only adds to it.

Make It a Weekend from North Myrtle Beach

North Myrtle Beach is an easy drive from the Burroughs and Chapin Pavilion, and it makes a natural home base for anyone planning to spend the Mama Duck weekend — or the whole first week of May — on the Grand Strand. The four communities that make up North Myrtle Beach each bring something distinct to a spring vacation. Cherry Grove Beach is known for its fishing pier and wide, unhurried stretch of sand. Ocean Drive carries the history and soul of the original beach town, with the shag dancing heritage that still pulses through the area every spring. Crescent Beach sits in the quiet center, and Windy Hill offers the kind of peaceful southern end that feels genuinely removed from the crowds even during busy weekends.

Whether you are looking for a large oceanfront home rental to fit the whole extended family or a well-positioned oceanfront condo for a long weekend, North Myrtle Beach puts the ocean at your door and the rest of the Grand Strand within easy reach. May on the South Carolina coast is one of the best-kept secrets in East Coast beach travel — warm enough to swim, uncrowded enough to breathe, and full enough of events to fill every hour you want to fill.

Frequently Asked Questions

If Mama Duck is on your May calendar — and it should be — there is no better home base than a North Myrtle Beach vacation rental from Thomas Beach Vacations. Browse oceanfront homes and condos at northmyrtlebeachvacations.com or call (866) 249-2100 to find the perfect property for your spring trip to the Grand Strand.

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

There’s a certain sound that belongs to Myrtle Beach in March. It starts in the distance — a low rumble that rolls in from Highway 17 like distant thunder, except the sky is clear and the sea air smells like salt and motor oil and something good. It’s the sound of American steel headed south, chrome catching the late-winter sun, engines tuned the way they don’t build them anymore. It’s the Run to the Sun Car and Truck Show, and it’s been making that sound for 37 years.

If you’ve never seen the Run to the Sun in person, it’s difficult to describe the scale of it. Over 3,500 pre-1989 vehicles spread across 56 acres of the Grand Strand. Muscle cars. Vintage pickups. Resto-mods that took somebody twenty years and a second mortgage to finish just right. Spectators shoulder-to-shoulder on a warm March morning, leaning in to read the placards, asking questions, trading stories. The largest independent classic car show on the East Coast, and it comes to Myrtle Beach every spring like a reunion between old friends.

The 37th annual show runs March 19–21, 2026, at the Old Myrtle Square Mall. Whether you’re registering a vehicle, buying a spectator ticket, or just planning a March beach trip and looking for something extraordinary to fill a Saturday, this is one of those events that reminds you why people keep coming back to the Grand Strand year after year. It isn’t just a car show. It’s a community gathering with chrome and horsepower and a whole lot of heart.

What Is the Run to the Sun Car Show?

Run to the Sun started in 1988 as a grassroots gathering of classic car lovers who saw the Grand Strand for what it is: a wide-open stretch of coastal South Carolina that welcomes people, warmth, and a good time in equal measure. What began as a modest local event has grown — without losing its independent spirit — into one of the most respected classic car shows on the eastern seaboard.

The show is independently owned and managed by Michael Leaventon, who has kept the event rooted in its original values: a genuine celebration of pre-1989 automobiles, a commitment to giving back to the community, and a crowd-friendly atmosphere where car lovers from across the country feel at home. Cars come from over 28 states. That’s not a marketing statistic — that’s a testament to what Leaventon and his team have built over nearly four decades.

What makes Run to the Sun stand apart from larger, corporate-sponsored car shows is the people. The judging is personal. Staff, partners, and sponsors personally present winner plaques. The vendors are mostly regional. The charities are local. The whole thing feels like something that belongs to the Grand Strand, even when attendees are rolling in from Ohio or Pennsylvania or Tennessee with a trailer full of polished metal and a three-day weekend to enjoy.

2026 Dates, Location & What to Expect

The 37th annual Run to the Sun Car and Truck Show takes place March 19–21, 2026, at the Old Myrtle Square Mall in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The site spans 56 acres — enough room for 3,500 vehicles, 150 vendors, and upward of 10,000 spectators across three days.

March is one of the best times to be on the Grand Strand. The tourist crowds of summer haven’t arrived yet, so parking is manageable, restaurants have open tables, and the beach is peaceful in the mornings before the car show kicks off. Daytime temperatures in mid-March typically range from the low 50s to the low 70s — cool enough to walk comfortably in the sun, warm enough to enjoy being outside all day without much effort.

The Old Myrtle Square Mall property sits in a central location in Myrtle Beach, easily accessible from Highway 17 and close to a range of restaurants, shops, and entertainment options along the strip. If you’re driving in a show vehicle, the flat, open lot makes for easy maneuvering and display. If you’re arriving as a spectator, you’ll want comfortable shoes — 56 acres covers a lot of ground, and there’s plenty worth walking.

For full event schedules, vehicle registration details, and spectator ticket purchases, the official site is the best resource: runtothesuncarshow.com.

The Cars: 3,500 Classics on 56 Acres

The cut-off year is 1989 — anything pre-1990 is eligible — and the variety that rule produces is remarkable. Walk the show floor on a Saturday morning and you’ll move from a row of perfectly preserved 1950s Chevrolets to a cluster of late-1960s muscle cars to a collection of first-generation Broncos and Blazers with more personality than most of what rolls off assembly lines today.

Run to the Sun draws vehicles from over 28 states, which means you’re not just looking at local restorations. You’re seeing the best work from garages across the Mid-Atlantic, the Deep South, the Midwest, and New England — owners who hauled their pride and joy down to the beach specifically because this show has that kind of reputation. Decades of careful bodywork. Original engine bays that look better than the day the car left the factory. Custom builds that blend eras and styles into something wholly original.

The show includes a formal judging process, with winner plaques presented personally by staff, partners, and sponsors. Categories cover everything from stock restorations to radical customs, and the competition is taken seriously by everyone involved. But even if you’re just a spectator with a passing appreciation for old cars, the sheer density of beautiful machines in one place is something you don’t forget easily.

What Kinds of Vehicles Are Typically Featured?

Expect a broad mix: classic American muscle (Camaros, Mustangs, GTOs, Chargers), vintage pickups and trucks, pre-war rarities when they appear, custom hot rods, lowriders, and surf-ready woodies. European and Japanese classics occasionally make appearances in their own right. The pre-1989 rule keeps the focus on vehicles with genuine history, and the quality of what’s on display reflects the dedication of owners who take the craft seriously.

Vendors, Awards & Entertainment

With 150 vendors on-site, the Run to the Sun isn’t just a car show — it’s a market, a gathering spot, and a full weekend of activity. Vendors typically offer automotive parts and accessories, restoration supplies, memorabilia, vintage signage, apparel, and a range of food and refreshment options to keep you going through a full day of walking. The vendor section draws its own crowd of enthusiasts looking for hard-to-find parts or just a good deal on something they didn’t know they needed until they saw it.

A charity silent auction is held in partnership with the National MS Society, with 100% of proceeds going directly to the society. The auction items vary year to year but typically include automotive memorabilia, experiences, and locally sourced goods. It’s worth making a lap through the auction area early — popular items get competitive quickly.

There’s also a 50/50 raffle hosted by McLeod Children’s Hospital, giving attendees another way to support a worthy cause while putting a little skin in the game. The combination of competition, community giving, and casual weekend energy is what separates this show from a simple parking lot display.

Winner plaques are presented personally by show staff and sponsors — a touch that keeps the recognition feeling genuine rather than ceremonial. If you’re showing a vehicle, this is the kind of event where winning actually means something, because the people handing you that plaque know what went into the build.

Giving Back: Charities & Community Impact

In 37 years, Run to the Sun has donated more than $2.3 million to local and national charitable organizations — including over $175,000 in the last four years alone. That’s not background noise. That’s a meaningful part of what this event is. The car show has become one of the Grand Strand’s most significant annual charitable fundraising events, and the community it supports is broad and deep.

The 2026 beneficiaries include:

• National Multiple Sclerosis Society — silent auction proceeds
• Children’s Miracle Network at McLeod Children’s Hospital — 50/50 raffle proceeds
• Horry County Sheriff’s Department Benevolent Fund
• Grand Strand Miracle League
• Florence Miracle League
• Carolina Forest High School NJROTC Booster Club
• Boys and Girls Club of Grand Strand

The Boys and Girls Club of Grand Strand, the Miracle League programs that give children with disabilities the chance to play baseball, the NJROTC cadets at Carolina Forest — these are local organizations doing real work in Horry County. When you buy a spectator ticket or register a vehicle, you’re contributing to all of that. The show owner has been deliberate about keeping this connection alive for 37 years, and it shows in the loyalty the event commands from participants who return every single spring.

Where to Stay for the Run to the Sun Car Show

If you’re driving in for the weekend — whether you’re trailering a show car or just coming to spectate — the Grand Strand gives you options at every price point and preference level. But for visitors who want the full coastal experience alongside the car show, North Myrtle Beach is a particularly appealing base.

North Myrtle Beach sits roughly 15 miles north of the show venue, easily accessible on Highway 17. It’s a separate city from Myrtle Beach — quieter, with a more residential beach-town character — and it offers everything you need for a comfortable long weekend: easy beach access, good restaurants, and the kind of laid-back atmosphere that makes March on the coast feel like a genuine getaway rather than just a drive-in, drive-out event trip.

What’s Nearby the Show Venue?

Within walking or short driving distance of the Old Myrtle Square Mall, you’ll find a full range of Grand Strand dining and entertainment. Collector’s Café on Highway 17 Bypass offers a sophisticated dining experience in a setting that would feel right at home among car show enthusiasts — the walls are covered in original artwork and the food matches the ambition. For something more casual after a long day on your feet, River City Café on Highway 17 is a Myrtle Beach institution known for enormous burgers and a relaxed atmosphere. Down toward the Boardwalk, the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk and Promenade gives you a waterfront walk and easy access to coastal dining.

If the car show is just one part of a longer beach vacation — and honestly, why not make it that — North Myrtle Beach vacation rentals put you close enough to enjoy the show each day and far enough from the main tourist corridor to actually decompress at night. March rates are typically far more reasonable than peak summer pricing, and the weather is genuinely pleasant. It’s one of the better-kept secrets of Grand Strand travel planning.

For more ideas on how to spend your time on the beach this spring, check out our guide to things to do in Myrtle Beach and our roundup of Myrtle Beach events happening throughout the season.

More Things to Do Around Myrtle Beach in March

The Run to the Sun takes up most of a Saturday, but three days on the Grand Strand gives you time for more. March is underrated as a travel month here — the ocean is still too cool for a long swim, but the beach itself is beautiful for walks, and the town operates at a pace that feels like breathing room compared to July.

Broadway at the Beach

Broadway at the Beach, just a few miles from the show venue, is Myrtle Beach’s largest entertainment complex — restaurants, shops, miniature golf, and attractions centered around a 23-acre lake. In March it’s pleasantly uncrowded, and the waterfront dining options are worth an evening. Restaurants like Margaritaville and Dave & Buster’s are right on the complex if you’re looking for something casual and lively after the show.

Myrtle Beach Boardwalk and SkyWheel

The Myrtle Beach Boardwalk stretches 1.2 miles along the oceanfront and is one of the few boardwalks in the country that still feels genuine rather than manufactured. The SkyWheel at its northern end gives you a bird’s-eye view of the coastline that puts the whole Grand Strand in perspective — from up there, you can almost trace the route the car show participants took coming into town. Rides are available year-round and the lines in March are practically nonexistent.

Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach

If you’re staying in North Myrtle Beach, Barefoot Landing is a waterfront shopping and dining complex on the Intracoastal Waterway that’s worth a slow evening. The Alabama Theatre hosts live entertainment, and the surrounding walkways and docks have a genuinely pleasant low-key atmosphere that makes it easy to linger over a meal. It’s a nice counterpoint to the energy of the car show — quieter, more scenic, unhurried.

The Beach Itself

It seems obvious, but it’s worth saying: March mornings on the Grand Strand are among the most peaceful moments the coast offers. The light is low and golden before 9 a.m., the water is steel blue and cold and honest, and the beach belongs almost entirely to whoever shows up with coffee and a willingness to walk. After a full day of 3,500 cars and 10,000 people, a morning beach walk has a way of resetting everything.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’re planning to be on the Grand Strand for the Run to the Sun Car Show — or if the show just reminded you that a March beach trip is long overdue — Thomas Beach Vacations can help you find exactly the right place to stay. The team knows North Myrtle Beach the way locals do, and the vacation rental options range from cozy off-season retreats to properties with enough room to bring the whole crew. Give them a call at (866) 249-2100 or browse available properties at northmyrtlebeachvacations.com. A great car show deserves a great weekend to go with it.