I grew up camping at the beach. My family had an RV and we stayed in Ocean Lakes Family Campground. Literally, the best times of my life were spent in a camper by the sea. Or riding on a golf cart with teenage boys we barely knew…
Leave me alone.
Anyway, as much time as we’ve spent on the coast of South Carolina, I have never been to the State Parks.
Crazy, right?
When we sold the camper, my parents bought a time share in Surfside. As you know, we spent our first week of Christmas break at the beach. We gladly accepted a FREE South Carolina State Park pass and spent our last day exploring the grounds.
I thought I would share a few thoughts on each park for those of you who spend time or vacation in the area.
MYRTLE BEACH STATE PARK:
Their playground was pretty amazing. Both boys loved it and the grown ups enjoyed sitting on one of the many benches and listening to the ocean – because you can hear the ocean from the playground.
We carried a picnic lunch. They also have the cutest shelters for you to use.
These shelters, that look like little cottages, line a boardwalk that leads to the Myrtle Beach Pier.
And then there’s the pier…
I love, love, love the Pier gift shop and the fact that they serve YUMMY ice cream is a bonus!
If you ask Preston and JP what they liked best about MBSP, they’ll tell you it was the Nature Center.
HUNTINGTON STATE PARK:
I like both parks, but for very different reasons. They are completely different. Myrtle Beach State Park has the pier, a nice playground and absolutely precious picnic shelters while Huntington Beach State Park seemed to focus more on nature and wildlife. We had a wonderful time on the boardwalk that stretches out across the marsh.
Naturally, JP had fun reading about all of the swamp life. It was a lot of fun looking for alligators. Unfortunately we didn’t see any, but we did see lots of tracks!
Since Huntington Beach was our last stop, we spent our remaining time on the beach there.
I snapped this pic of the sunset on the way out of the park…
As you can see, both parks are beautiful. You won’t go wrong visiting either one. If you were to ask my opinion (and I know you want my opinion) I would have to say I favor Myrtle Beach State Park. Mainly because I felt there was more for the kids.
We had a blast.
My only regret is that it took me 39 years to discover them!
Andrea Beam 