Two state parks guard the Grand Strand's wildest coastline — one at each end of the strip — and between them they hold the coast's best alligator viewing, its quietest beaches and a Moorish castle.

Outdoor Things to Do in Myrtle Beach: Gardens, State Parks & Wild Places | Myrtle Moments Ep 4

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

A Visit Myrtle Beach 'Myrtle Moments' documentary on the wild side of the Grand Strand: five places most visitors drive straight past — Brookgreen Gardens' 9,000 acres of sculpture, zoo and botanical gardens, both oceanfront state parks, and the longleaf pine and salt-marsh preserves inland — told through the rangers and conservationists who protect them.

Key takeaways
  • The episode tours five natural places within minutes of the resort strip
  • Brookgreen Gardens alone covers 9,000+ acres of a former rice plantation
  • Both Myrtle Beach and Huntington Beach state parks appear as the coast's protected wild places

Huntington Beach State Park - Murrells Inlet, South Carolina

Exploring the Grand Strand

A full day at Huntington Beach State Park: driving the moss-draped entrance road and the causeway (alligators in the freshwater lagoon beside it), the never-crowded beach where groups spread 40–50 feet apart, the campground, the gift shop, and a walk over to Atalaya Castle's walls — a relaxed, watch-it-like-you're-there visit filmed with an annual state parks pass.

Key takeaways
  • Day entry was $8 per person, or $99 for the annual SC state parks pass, when filmed
  • Alligators are commonly seen in the lagoon along the entrance causeway
  • The park limits entry, so the beach stays uncrowded even in July

Huntington Beach State Park Tour! A Myrtle Beach Area Hidden Gem!

Carmen and Brian

Carmen and Brian tour Huntington Beach State Park, the 'hidden gem' just south of Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet: the causeway over the salt marsh — their pick for the best alligator viewing in the park, with observation stations on both sides — the birdlife (hundreds of species recorded here), and the wide, uncrowded beach that runs more than two miles toward the jetty, one of their favorite stretches of sand on the Grand Strand.

Key takeaways
  • The marsh causeway is the park's best alligator-viewing spot
  • Hundreds of bird species have been recorded in the park
  • The beach runs over two miles toward the jetty

Huntington Beach State Park

Two full tours cover it: the causeway over the salt marsh is the best alligator viewing in the park (observation stations both sides), the beach runs two uncrowded miles toward the jetty, and hundreds of bird species are on record. Day entry was $8 a person when filmed. Atalaya Castle, the Huntingtons' 1930s winter home inside the park, gets its own tour — $2 admission as filmed.

Myrtle Beach State Park

South Carolina's first state park (1936) is 312 acres of maritime forest — the only public beachfront green space in Horry County. Its manager explains the balancing act; the full 2025 tour covers entrances, trails, pier and beach; and a Cabin 4 film shows the stay-inside option, screened porch and fire pit, directly across from the beach path.

Myrtle Beach State Park: South Carolina's First State Park | Myrtle Moments

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

An interview with Troy Crider, park manager of Myrtle Beach State Park, on what makes this 312-acre oceanfront forest unique: South Carolina's first state park (1936) is the only publicly accessible green space on the beach in Horry County — a quiet, tree-covered counterpoint to the high-energy Grand Strand around it — and how the park balances heavy visitor use with preserving the maritime forest for the future.

Key takeaways
  • Myrtle Beach State Park was South Carolina's first state park, established in 1936
  • Its 312 acres are the only public beachfront green space in Horry County
  • The tree canopy noticeably muffles the sounds of the surrounding resort strip

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

Myrtle Beach State Park Cabin 4 Tour & Review in South Carolina! New Updates!

Carmen and Brian

Inside Cabin 4 at Myrtle Beach State Park, with family actually staying in it: the screened porch, fire pit and grill outside, an outdoor shower, and how the cabins differ — each is a little unique and they sleep different numbers. Cabin 4 sits directly across from the beach path, and the film times the short walk to the sand; their relatives give their verdict on staying in the park's cabins.

Key takeaways
  • The park's cabins each differ in size and sleeping capacity
  • Cabin 4 is directly across from the beach-access path
  • Screened porch, fire pit, grill and outdoor shower included

The map

The CVB's wild-places documentary frames both parks among five protected places minutes from the strip, told by the people who protect them.

Sources: the 7 videos on this page — the catalog's genuine supply for exactly two parks, unpadded.

Watch: Myrtle Beach State Parks Guide, guided

1 videos · summaries from the actual guides

Atalaya Castle - Huntington Beach State Park

I Love RV Life

I Love RV Life tour Atalaya Castle, the Moorish-style winter home of Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington inside Huntington Beach State Park: the carriage house exhibits, the courtyards, the water tower, the horseshoe-shaped residence with Anna's sculpture studio, and the servants' wing — a $2-admission walk through one of the most unusual historic homes on the Carolina coast, which also served as a WWII radar station.

Key takeaways
  • Atalaya admission was $2 per person when filmed — 'worth much more,' per the hosts
  • Archer Huntington, heir to a railroad and shipping fortune, built Atalaya as a winter home in the 1930s
  • Anna Hyatt Huntington, a renowned sculptor, worked in the castle's studio

More Myrtle Beach essentials

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