I'll confess something upfront. I've lived here long enough that I should have visited every state park within an hour of my office, and I've made it to exactly two. That's a personal failing I'm actively correcting, and it got me thinking that a lot of my clients, especially the ones relocating from out of state, have no idea how much is sitting practically in their new backyard.
South Carolina's state park system is enormous, dozens of parks spread across the whole state, from mountain waterfalls up near the North Carolina line to historic plantations along the coast. Most of that is a road trip. But right here on the Grand Strand, we've got two parks that couldn't be more different from each other, and both are worth an actual day of your life, not just a drive-by. One of them even has a castle on it. I'm not exaggerating. I'll get there.
Myrtle Beach State Park: The One Built for a Family Beach Day
This is the park most people picture when they think "state park at the beach." It sits right along the coast, close to the heart of town, and it was actually South Carolina's very first state park. Admission runs about eight dollars for adults, with discounts for kids and seniors. What you get for that price is a wide, uncrowded stretch of beach that feels noticeably calmer than the public beaches a few miles up the road, a fishing pier that's genuinely popular with locals, a nature center, walking trails through maritime forest, a playground, and supervised splash areas for little ones. There's also camping here, over three hundred sites plus a handful of cabins just a couple hundred yards from the water, and those cabin reservations go fast.
If you're picturing a low-key family beach day with a shorter walk to the sand and fewer crowds than the boardwalk area, this is your park.
Huntington Beach State Park: The Wild, Quiet Cousin Seventeen Miles South
This is a completely different animal. Huntington Beach sits down near Murrells Inlet, and it trades the family-friendly amenities for raw, undeveloped coastline. We're talking roughly three miles of beach backed by salt marsh, maritime forest, and a freshwater lake that regularly has alligators sunning themselves in plain view along the causeway. (If that sentence made you flinch, here's what you actually need to know about alligators.)
It's considered one of the best birding sites on the entire eastern seaboard, with more than three hundred species recorded over the years, everything from egrets and herons to the occasional painted bunting. Loggerhead sea turtles nest on this beach from May through August, and the park runs guided turtle programs during that season if you time it right.
And Then There's the Castle
Atalaya is a genuinely strange and beautiful Spanish-Moorish style castle sitting right on the property, built in the 1930s as a winter home by Anna Hyatt Huntington and her husband Archer. The land was leased to the state in 1960, and that's what created this park in the first place. You can walk through it, and every fall it hosts a juried arts and crafts festival that draws thousands of people. Admission is the same eight dollars as Myrtle Beach State Park, with a couple of dollars more to go inside Atalaya, and honestly, it feels like a completely different coastline once you're inside.
If Myrtle Beach State Park is a great Saturday with the kids, Huntington Beach State Park is the place you take a camera, a pair of binoculars, and a slower afternoon.
The Two Parks, Side by Side
| Myrtle Beach State Park | Huntington Beach State Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Along the coast, close to the heart of Myrtle Beach | Near Murrells Inlet, about seventeen miles south |
| The feel | An easy, calmer beach day | Raw, undeveloped coastline |
| Worth the trip for | The fishing pier, nature center, splash areas and trails | Alligators on the causeway, birding, loggerhead nesting season |
| Something unusual | South Carolina's very first state park | Atalaya, the Huntingtons' 1930s castle |
| Adult admission | About $8 | About $8, plus a couple of dollars for Atalaya |
Which One Should You Actually Visit First?
Depends entirely on what kind of day you're after. Want a classic beach day close to town with a shorter drive and calmer water? Myrtle Beach State Park wins. Want to see alligators from a safe distance, spot birds you've never heard of, tour a castle, and feel like you left the tourist strip entirely behind? Huntington Beach State Park is the one.
My honest recommendation, especially if you've just relocated here and are still figuring out your new backyard: do both, on two different weekends, and bring the camera both times. And whether you're a regular or it's your first visit, you can now reserve guaranteed parking ahead of time on the busiest days, which is a genuinely useful thing to know before you find yourself circling a packed lot on a Saturday in July.
Seventeen miles apart, and about as different as two beaches on the same stretch of coast can possibly be. That, to me, is one of the more underrated things about living here.
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:
