If you've spent any time researching North Myrtle Beach, you've come across Barefoot Landing already, probably on a list of "top things to do." But if you're actually considering living nearby, there's a lot more worth knowing than just its restaurant list.
For one thing, it didn't start out as anything like what you see today. It started as fifteen little shops. And by the time you get to the end, I'll tell you the one question I'd ask before buying close to it.
How It Started
Barefoot Landing's story goes back further than most people realize. The property began as a small residential area with its own private marina, and in 1972 a modest shopping village called the Village of the Barefoot Traders opened there with just fifteen shops. It stayed small and quaint for years. Then in 1988, the whole property was redeveloped, expanded and renamed Barefoot Landing, and the big names followed.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1972 | The Village of the Barefoot Traders opens with 15 shops |
| 1988 | The property is redeveloped and becomes Barefoot Landing |
| 1993 | The Alabama Theatre opens, when the country band Alabama wanted to bring its music back to the Myrtle Beach area |
| 1997 | House of Blues opens on May 4, with Dan Aykroyd, James Belushi and John Goodman at the grand opening |
Johnny Cash was among House of Blues' early performers, which is a fun thing to know the next time you're standing in line there.
What's There Today
Barefoot Landing is built around a lake right alongside the Intracoastal Waterway, with shops, restaurants and entertainment spread along a boardwalk that wraps around the water. The Alabama Theatre anchors the show side, known for its year-round productions and its big holiday show, and House of Blues brings concerts all year, along with its Sunday gospel brunch. Alligator Adventure, a reptile park on the property, has been a longtime draw too.
The whole place leans into a relaxed boardwalk-village feel rather than a typical mall layout, and it's genuinely pet friendly year-round, which matters more than you'd think if you're the kind of person who wants to bring the dog along for a weekend stroll. Pets need to be on a leash or in a pet stroller, and each shop and restaurant decides for itself whether your pet can come inside, so ask at the door.
It's Busier Than You'd Think, All Year
Here's where living nearby gets interesting. I went through Barefoot Landing's own events calendar for 2026, and there was live music listed on every single day from April through September. Not most days. Every day. (If that sounds like your kind of thing, I wrote a whole piece on where locals find live music.)
On top of that, there's a vendor village for the spring bike rally in May, SummerFest from early June through the end of August, with fireworks most Monday nights, and WonderFall through the fall. There's free live music out on the lawn, too, and you're welcome to grab food from any of the restaurants and bring it out to enjoy the show.
Why This Matters If You're House Hunting Nearby
Barefoot Landing sits right on Highway 17 in North Myrtle Beach, and it's shaped the area around it in a real way. Living within a few minutes of it means having a genuine entertainment district as part of your everyday life, not just a tourist stop you visit when family is in town. Across the waterway is Barefoot Resort, with its golf courses and marina, and the wider North Myrtle Beach area mixes single-family neighborhoods a short drive inland, golf communities, and condos and townhomes closer to the water.
Pricing in this area moves the way it does everywhere on the Grand Strand, which means it varies a lot depending on how close you are to the water, whether it's a condo or a single-family home, and how recently it was built or renovated. As a rule of thumb, the closer you get to the water and the shops, the more you'll pay. Rather than throw out numbers here that could easily be outdated by the time you're reading this, I'd rather pull current listings for you directly, since pricing in this corridor shifts with the season and with what's actually coming on the market.
You get a resort-style amenity right outside your neighborhood, without having to live inside a resort.
My Honest Take for Buyers
If an active, walkable-to-dinner lifestyle with live entertainment and water views baked into your routine matters to you, the neighborhoods around Barefoot Landing are worth serious consideration. It's one of the few spots on the Grand Strand that gives you that kind of everyday convenience.
Now, the question I promised. Before you buy close to it, ask yourself honestly how you feel about crowds, traffic and noise in July. Barefoot Landing draws real crowds, especially in summer, so if you want quiet and distance from tourist foot traffic, look a bit further inland. And since anything near the waterway can sit in a flood zone, check the flood zone on any home you're serious about.
If you'd like, I'm happy to pull a current list of homes and condos in the communities around Barefoot Landing so you can see real, up-to-date pricing rather than a rough guess. You can also start searching listings yourself right here on my site.
Thinking about making the move to the Grand Strand?
Whether you're relocating from up north or planning your retirement on the South Carolina coast, I'd love to help you get there. Follow me on Facebook for more local tips, search Grand Strand listings right here on my site, and join one of my Facebook groups built specifically for people making this move:
