9 Hidden Gems in Myrtle Beach
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Most first-time visitors never leave the Boardwalk core. These nine spots are a short drive away and worth the detour.
1. Cherry Grove Pier
North Myrtle Beach’s Cherry Grove Pier is quieter than the Boardwalk’s fishing spots, a good pick if you want ocean views without the crowds around the SkyWheel.
2. Conway’s Waccamaw Riverwalk
About 15 miles inland, Conway is South Carolina’s answer to a slower afternoon: a historic downtown and a riverwalk along the Waccamaw River, a solid half-day away from the beach entirely.
3. Pawleys Island
The quietest and most historic stretch of the Strand, Pawleys Island calls itself arrogantly shabby, and the Hammock Shops nearby lean into that low-key identity rather than fighting it.
4. Early-morning birding at Huntington Beach State Park
Most visitors hit Huntington Beach State Park for the beach and Atalaya Castle, but the park is also serious birding territory, with 300-plus species recorded; go at first light for the best sightings.
5. Murrells Inlet MarshWalk before the dinner rush
The MarshWalk gets packed at sunset, but an early-afternoon walk along the half-mile boardwalk over the marsh gets you the same views at Dead Dog Saloon, Drunken Jack’s, and the rest without the wait.
6. Georgetown as a Charleston alternative
If Charleston feels like too much for a single day, Georgetown, about 35 miles south and South Carolina’s third-oldest city, delivers a similar historic-waterfront feel in a fraction of the drive time.
7. The Market Common off-peak
Built on a former Air Force base, Market Common reads more like a small town than a beach resort, with restaurants and shopping that don’t depend on the tourist season the way the Boardwalk does.
8. Ocean Drive’s shag heritage
North Myrtle Beach’s Ocean Drive neighborhood is the birthplace of the Shag, South Carolina’s official state dance since 1984; the clubs here run beach music year-round, not just during the SOS festival weeks.
9. Myrtle Beach State Park camping
Among a skyline of oceanfront towers, camping at Myrtle Beach State Park, inside city limits with its own pier, is a genuinely low-cost way to be near everything without paying resort rates.
Read more: see the full Myrtle Beach guide for the headline sights these gems sit alongside, or the 3-day itinerary for how to fit one or two of these in.
One concrete tip: rent a car even if you’re staying in the walkable Boardwalk core, since every spot on this list needs one to reach.