This guide favors the Strand's unhurried, seated, story-rich side — gardens, history tours, theaters that families attend across three generations.

BROOKGREEN GARDENS Full Tour & NEW Conservatory in Murrells Inlet near MYRTLE BEACH, SC!

Carmen and Brian

The newest full tour of Brookgreen Gardens, built around the brand-new conservatory that opened this year. Carmen and Brian tour the conservatory first, then the sculpture gardens and the Lowcountry Zoo — the complete current state of the grounds in Murrells Inlet, just south of Myrtle Beach.

Key takeaways
  • Features the new conservatory, opened the year of filming
  • Full circuit: conservatory, sculpture gardens and Lowcountry Zoo
  • Brookgreen is in Murrells Inlet, just south of Myrtle Beach

Huntington Beach State Park Atalaya

MyrtleBeach.com

Interpretive ranger Jocelyn Steiner leads a guided tour of Atalaya: Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington built the Moorish-style winter home from 1931 to 1933 with all-local labor (teaching residents construction skills they kept for life) after Anna's tuberculosis diagnosis sent them looking for a warmer winter climate — while Brookgreen Gardens rose across the highway at the same time. Inside, the herringbone brickwork marks the public rooms (library, breakfast room, dining room, sunroom, foyer); Archer modeled the place on the Spanish and Moorish forts of his youthful travels.

Key takeaways
  • Built 1931–1933 by local labor during the Depression
  • Anna Hyatt Huntington's health drove the move to a warmer winter home
  • Herringbone brick floors mark the rooms where guests were received

Sea Captain's House - Oceanfront Dining In Myrtle Beach, SC

NCMemoryMakers

NCMemoryMakers profiles Sea Captain's House, the historic oceanfront landmark at 3002 North Ocean Boulevard. The film recounts its start as a beach house that became a restaurant in 1962, covers the breakfast buffet and full menu served daily, and tours the manicured grounds above the Atlantic.

Key takeaways
  • ["The restaurant began as a beach house and opened as a restaurant in 1962","Address: 3002 North Ocean Boulevard, Myrtle Beach","Breakfast buffet plus a full menu, served every day","Grounds sit directly on the Atlantic Ocean"]

Gardens and a castle

Brookgreen Gardens' newest full tour covers the new conservatory, sculpture gardens and Lowcountry Zoo at walking pace. Across the highway, a ranger leads Atalaya: built 1931–33 by local labor during the Depression, herringbone brick marking the rooms where guests were received, Brookgreen rising at the same time.

The theaters as tradition

The Carolina Opry's own history film explains its draw: running since 1986, audiences who were brought as children now bring their own. An Alabama Theatre backstage tour adds the theater built by the band Alabama's team — and stresses the resident show spans Broadway, big band, rock and gospel, not just country.

The History of The Carolina Opry Theater, Myrtle Beach's Original Live Variety Theater

The Carolina Opry

The history of the Carolina Opry Theater told by its longtime musicians and cast: the show has run since 1986, starting in the original building in Surfside Beach before moving to the Calvin Gilmore Theater, and has become a family tradition — parents who were brought as kids now bring their own children.

Key takeaways
  • The Carolina Opry has been running since 1986 and outlasted most Broadway runs
  • The show began in a smaller original building in Surfside Beach before the current theater
  • Cast members describe the company as a family whose camaraderie shows on stage

Historic Conway South Carolina Walking Tour | Downtown Sights & History with Retro Myrtle Beach Guy

Retro Myrtle Beach Guy

The Retro Myrtle Beach Guy gives the definitive walking tour of Conway, the historic river town about 20 minutes from Myrtle Beach that he compares to Mayberry. The film roams the walkable, picturesque downtown's historic sites and hidden details, the Waccamaw River riverwalk and the town's live-oak streets, and argues a day in Conway is a must on any Myrtle Beach trip.

Key takeaways
  • ["Conway is about 20 minutes inland from Myrtle Beach","One of America's oldest towns, with a walkable historic downtown","The Riverwalk runs along the Waccamaw River","Historic sites and details are tucked throughout downtown"]

MYRTLE BEACH WARBIRD PARK TOUR | FREE THINGS TO DO IN MYRTLE BEACH

Carmen and Brian

Carmen and Brian's full tour of Warbird Park, off Farrow Parkway by Market Common. The film covers the displayed aircraft, the airport viewing area across from the park, and the history behind the site: the Air Force base that once operated here and the military presence that remains around the airport.

Key takeaways
  • ["The park sits off Farrow Parkway by Market Common","An airport observation area faces the park","Displayed aircraft carry the base's history"]

Easy days

Sea Captain's House (since 1962, breakfast buffet daily) covers the celebratory lunch. Conway's flat, walkable historic downtown and Riverwalk make the gentle day trip. Warbird Park is free and level; Myrtle Beach State Park's full tour notes the practical layer — quiet inner campground loops, limited nature-center hours.

Sources: the 8 videos on this page.

Watch: Myrtle Beach For Seniors Over 60, guided

2 videos · summaries from the actual guides

Is Myrtle Beach State Park Worth Visiting? Full Tour!

Carmen and Brian

Carmen and Brian's 2025 full tour answers their title question — is Myrtle Beach State Park worth visiting? Entrance lanes for passholders and day visitors off Kings Highway, check-in at the ranger station, the nature center, the campgrounds (outer loops hear road and air traffic; the inner loops are quiet), the trail network, the fishing pier and the beach — a complete walk of the 312-acre oceanfront park just south of the city line.

Key takeaways
  • Day visitors and passholders use separate entrance lanes
  • Campground loops nearer the nature center are the quiet ones
  • Nature center hours are limited — check before you go

Alabama Theatre, N.Myrtle Beach, Backstage Tour with Greg Rowles

Alabama Theatre, North Myrtle Beach, SC

Emcee Greg Rowles leads a backstage and lobby tour of the Alabama Theatre, starting with the question every visitor asks: the theater is named for the country supergroup Alabama, who got their start playing for tips at the Bowery in Myrtle Beach in the 1970s — their longtime manager Dale Morris and investors built the theater and named it for the band that put Myrtle Beach on the map. Rowles shows the Southern-mansion-style lobby and stresses the surprise inside: the show covers Broadway, big band, rock and gospel, not just country.

Key takeaways
  • The theater is named for the band Alabama, who began at Myrtle Beach's Bowery in the 1970s
  • Alabama's manager Dale Morris co-founded the theater; the band later launched a reunion tour on its namesake stage
  • The lobby is designed like an old Southern mansion to make a big room feel warm

More Myrtle Beach essentials

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