The Grand Strand

Hiking 2019 Week 33
Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand area of South Carolina is probably one of the most popular parts of the state. People have been flocking to the area for over 50 years to enjoy the beaches. Even though I grew up in Florida, my family would meet other family members in the summer at Pawleys Island. I remember staying on the beach, playing putt-putt golf, and setting off fireworks. Since moving to South Carolina, my family doesn’t visit Myrtle Beach as often. Since it’s about three hours from Columbia and Charleston is only about an hour and a half, we tend to go to Isle of Palms or other Charleston beaches. But there are two state parks in the Grand Strand area and one plantation state park just south of the area. We decided to do a day trip to visit all three.
Myrtle Beach State Park

Our first stop was Myrtle Beach State Park. It is an oasis in the middle of all the tourist areas of Myrtle Beach. You have a glimpse of what the area must have looked like before all of the houses, high rises, and hotels on the beach. There are high sand dunes, which have pine trees, cedar trees, and other beach plant life. There are many parking areas with walkways to the beach, as well as a pier for fishing. Currently the pier is closed for renovations but they hope it will be open again soon. They also have camping areas and trails to explore. It was neat to walk on the beach and see tall buildings on each side of the park but green where the park is located. The beach at Myrtle Beach park had a steep drop off towards the water and when we were there, they said to be cautious of rip currents and a strong current. They did have bathroom areas and you could rent beach chairs and umbrellas while you were there. For $5.00 a person, I think it’s a good deal for beach access. But I am sure it gets really busy during the summer season. We were there on a Friday after Labor Day and it was busy but there was still plenty of parking. 
Atalaya Castle
Our next stop was Huntington Beach State Park. This park is only 14 miles down Hwy. 17 but it was surprising at how different the two parks are. When driving into Huntington Beach State Park, you cross a marsh area before you get to the beach. The other park didn’t have a marsh area. Also Huntington Beach park didn’t have the same high dunes that Myrtle Beach did. There were dunes but it had a different feel. Also the beach was much wider and had a gradual slope. They didn’t have any cautions about the water either. Huntington Beach park is larger than Myrtle Beach park. It also has campgrounds, trails, and a gift shop, but one attraction is the Atalaya Castle. This place used to be home to the people who owned the park property as well as Brookgreen Gardens property. It’s a neat castle that you can take a tour of for an extra $2.00 per person (park admission is $5.00 per person). We visited once before when we had come to Brookgreen Gardens. During our time at Huntington Beach, we stayed and enjoyed the beach. The waves were rough but it was nice. There are two main parking areas for beach access. We spent our time at the northern end but it looks like there are more amenities at the south parking area. 
Huntington Beach State Park


Another feature of Huntington Beach State Park are the birds. There were a lot of different birds who make the area their home. While there we saw your usual beach birds (pelicans, seagulls, herons, and sandpipers) but we also saw an osprey diving for fish, roseate spoonbills, and ibis, who were enjoying the marsh low tide. It was amazing. We weren’t even looking for birds, they were just everywhere. Many were roosting in the trees near the marsh area.

Hampton Plantation
After our beach time and a stop for lunch, we drove south on Highway 17, through Georgetown, and visited Hampton Plantation State Historic Site. We didn't end up staying very long because the mosquitoes were pretty bad. The property is pretty large and has a few trails with information about the enslaved persons who worked on the rice plantation and what life was like there. (Admission is free, house admission cost a few dollars.)There seem to be a lot of plantations in the area that you could visit. One that is on the way to Hampton is the Hopseewee Plantation. I had thought about stopping there because they also have a restaurant and offer high tea to customers. I think the area is worth returning to when the weather is better just to explore the plantations and history in the area.
Location: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA

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