Myrtle Beach State Park | |
---|---|
Location | Horry County, South Carolina , USA |
Nearest city | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina |
Coordinates | 33°38′52″N78°55′39″W / 33.64778°N 78.92750°W Coordinates: 33°38′52″N78°55′39″W / 33.64778°N 78.92750°W |
Area | 312 acres (1.3 km2) |
Established | 1935 [1] |
Governing body | South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism |
Myrtle Beach State Park is a 312 acre state park located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on land donated by Myrtle Beach Farms in 1934. The park was the first South Carolina State Park to open in 1936. It was developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal Program created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The program was designed to provide employment during the Great Depression while addressing national needs in conservation and recreation. The CCC was instrumental in the development of many of South Carolina’s state parks. A number of buildings built by the CCC in the 1930s are still in use there.
The park includes one mile of undeveloped beach in Horry County. The park's maritime forest has been declared a Heritage Trust Site. The maritime forest includes live oaks and southern magnolias. Other unique features include sea oats located on the dunes and an expansive sand dunes system along the beach. The Myrtle Beach State Park Nature Center features interactive natural history displays, saltwater aquariums and live animals. Programs about coastal habitat and native wildlife are offered throughout the year. The park also has two nature trails: the Yaupon Nature Trail and the Sculptured Oak Nature Trail.
Myrtle Beach State park is open from 6 am to 8 pm with extended hours from March to November. A fee is charged for admission to the park. South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism offers annual Passports that can significantly decrease admission fees based upon usage.
Camping
The campground has 140 standard sites with individual water and electrical hookups and an additional 138 sites with full hookup. All sites are convenient to hot showers, restrooms and laundromat facilities. All sites also have complimentary wi-fi access. The main campground is located approximately 300 yards from the beach. The overflow campground is for tents only, does not provide electricity and has central water. The 30-site overflow campground is open Easter weekend through Labor Day.
The Ranger Station (store/registration located at the campground entrance) includes limited grocery items, camping supplies, souvenirs, drinks, snacks, and firewood.
Six cabins, located 200 yards from the beach, are completely furnished, heated, air-conditioned, and supplied with bath and bed linens, basic cooking and eating utensils and TV.
Prices vary throughout the year.
The Pier
The park has a fishing pier that stretches out into the Atlantic Ocean for prime fishing. A South Carolina fishing license is not required to fish from the pier; however, you do have to pay for daily fishing. An annual pass for the calendar year is available. Fishing for sharks is prohibited from the fishing pier. [2]
Surf fishing is allowed; however, it is not allowed on the beach where lifeguards are on duty and a South Carolina saltwater fishing license is required. [3] Typical fish caught include flounder, king mackerel, sheepshead, whiting, spot, spanish mackerel, drum and blues.
The Beach
Horry County lifeguards are stationed on the north section of Myrtle Beach State Park from mid-May through mid-September. Umbrellas and beach chairs are available to rent from the lifeguards. The beach at Myrtle Beach State Park falls within the jurisdiction of Horry County, and therefore abides by Horry County Ordinances and Regulations. Horry County also has ordinances that prohibit pets and bicycles on public beaches from May 1 through Labor Day between the hours of 10 am and 5 pm. [4]
Equestrian Trails
Beach access is available beginning the third Saturday in November and continues through the last day of February for horseback riding. A permit is required for each horse that enters the park. Horses are not allowed in the park overnight. Riders must have current Negative Coggins papers for each horse brought into the park (per SC Code of Laws, Act 13, 1976, Sec 1, Chapter 13, Title 47). [5]
Cape Henlopen State Park is a Delaware state park on 5,193 acres (2,102 ha) on Cape Henlopen in Sussex County, Delaware, in the United States. William Penn made the beaches of Cape Henlopen one of the first public lands established in what has become the United States in 1682 with the declaration that Cape Henlopen would be for "the usage of the citizens of Lewes and Sussex County." Cape Henlopen State Park has a 24-hour and year-round fishing pier as well as campgrounds. The remainder of the park is only open from sunrise to sunset, and includes a bathhouse on the Atlantic Ocean, an area for surf-fishing, a disc golf course, and bicycle and walking paths. The beach at Herring Point is a popular surfing spot. The park is a stop on Delaware's Coastal Heritage Greenway.
Coles Creek State Park is a 1,800-acre (7.3 km2) state park located on the Saint Lawrence River on the west bank of Coles Creek. The park is in the Town of Waddington in St. Lawrence County, New York.
Chickasaw State Park is a state park located in Chester County, Tennessee, in the Southeastern United States. The park consists of 1,280 acres (5 km²) amidst a 14,384 acres (58 km²) state forest, and includes Lake Placid, Lake Lajoie, and some of West Tennessee's highest areas.
The Grand Strand is an arc of beach land on the Atlantic Ocean in South Carolina, United States, extending more than 60 miles (97 km) from Little River to Winyah Bay. It is located in Horry and Georgetown Counties on the NE South Carolina coast.
Indiana Dunes State Park is an Indiana State Park located in Porter County, Indiana, United States, 47 miles (75.6 km) east of Chicago. The park is bounded by Lake Michigan to the northwest and is surrounded by as well as within the authorized boundaries of Indiana Dunes National Park, a unit of the National Park Service; the NPS owns the water from the ordinary high water mark to 300 feet (91 m) offshore. The 1,530-acre (619.2 ha) Dunes Nature Preserve makes up the bulk of eastern part of the park, and includes most of the park's hiking trails and dune landscape. This was one of the first places Richard Lieber considered when establishing the Indiana State Park system. Like all Indiana state parks, there is a fee for entrance. Indiana Dunes State Park was established in 1925 and designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974.
Gulf Islands National Seashore offers recreation opportunities and preserves natural and historic resources along the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands of Florida and Mississippi. The protected regions include mainland areas and parts of seven islands. Some islands along the Alabama coast were originally considered for inclusion, but none are part of the National Seashore.
Assateague Island National Seashore is a unit of the National Park Service system of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Located on the East Coast along the Atlantic Ocean in Maryland and Virginia, Assateague Island is the largest natural barrier island ecosystem in the Middle Atlantic states region that remains predominantly unaffected by human development. Located within a three-hour drive to the east and south of Richmond, Washington, Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia major metropolitan areas plus north of the several clustered smaller cities around Hampton Roads harbor of Virginia with Newport News, Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. The National Seashore offers a setting in which to experience a dynamic barrier island and to pursue a multitude of recreational opportunities. The stated mission of the park is to preserve and protect “unique coastal resources and the natural ecosystem conditions and processes upon which they depend, provide high-quality resource-based recreational opportunities compatible with resource protection and educate the public as to the values and significance of the area”.
New Brighton State Beach is a 95 acres (38 ha) beach park on Monterey Bay in Santa Cruz County, California, consisting of a beach and campgrounds. The park is located east of Santa Cruz in Capitola, on Park Avenue off of Highway 1. The park is adjacent to Seacliff State Beach, which is known for its fishing pier and sunk concrete freighter, The Palo Alto. The beach overlooks Soquel Cove and Monterey Bay.
Lake Wissota State Park is a 1,062-acre (430 ha) Wisconsin state park near the town of Chippewa Falls. The park is situated on the northeast shore of Lake Wissota, a reservoir on the Chippewa River. Camping, boating, and fishing are the most popular activities. Park lands are covered in a mix of pine/hardwood forests and prairie. Visitors can access the Old Abe State Trail and bike or hike 17.5 miles (28.2 km) to Brunet Island State Park.
Brunet Island State Park is a state park of Wisconsin, USA, featuring a 169-acre (68 ha) island in the Chippewa River. The remainder of the park's 1,225 acres (496 ha) are on the east bank of the river. It is noted for its numerous white-tailed deer and large eastern hemlock trees. The park is located just north of Cornell in Chippewa County in the Northern Highland region of Wisconsin. The Old Abe State Trail begins in the park and follows the riverbank south to the town of Chippewa Falls, with access to Lake Wissota State Park.
Greenleaf State Park is located near Braggs, Oklahoma, and is situated around the 930-acre (3.8 km2) Greenleaf Lake. Greenleaf Lake was built in 1939. There is an 18-mile (29 km) hiking trail that begins inside the park and makes its way around Greenleaf lake and into the adjacent government land of Camp Gruber.
Santee State Park is in the Sandhills of South Carolina on the western edge of the 110,000-acre (445 km2) Lake Marion. It is located off SC 6, three miles (5 km) northwest of the town of Santee and I-95.
Riverside State Park is a Washington state park located 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Spokane in the community of Nine Mile Falls. The park protects 11,162 acres (4,517 ha) of Okanagan dry forest along the Spokane and Little Spokane rivers. It is the second largest state park in Washington after Mount Spokane State Park and is a popular recreation area for locals.
Brushy Creek State Recreation Area is a state park in Webster County, Iowa in the United States. With an area encompassing over 6,000 acres (24 km2), the facility is one of Iowa's largest public outdoor recreation areas.
Waterloo State Recreation Area is the third-largest park in Michigan, encompassing over 21,000 acres (85 km2) of forest, lakes and wetlands. Located in northeast Jackson County and parts of Washtenaw County, the park is the largest in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and features 4 campgrounds, 11 lakes, a nature center, and over 50 miles (80 km) of trails - some for horses, bicycles, hiking and cross-country skiing. Waterloo SRA includes the Black Spruce Bog Natural Area, a National Natural Landmark and borders the 11,000-acre (45 km2) Pinckney Recreation Area on the east and the 950-acre (3.8 km2) Phyllis Haehnle Memorial Audubon Sanctuary to the west. The land preserved by the park is not all contiguous and numerous private landholdings and roads run through the park area. The area is characterized by moraines, kettle lakes, swamps and bogs left by retreating glaciers after the last ice age. The park was created by the federal government during the Great Depression and is long-term leased to the state.
Kohler-Andrae State Park comprises two adjacent Wisconsin state parks located in the Town of Wilson, a few miles south of the city of Sheboygan. They are managed as one unit. Terry Andrae State Park, established in 1927, and John Michael Kohler State Park, established in 1966, total 988 acres (4.00 km2). The parks contain over two miles (3 km) of beaches and sand dunes along the shore of Lake Michigan, with woods and wetlands away from the water. The Black River flows through the parks.
Scusset Beach State Reservation is a state-operated, public recreation area located in the town of Sandwich in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, at the east end of the Cape Cod Canal on land formerly part of Sagamore Hill Military Reservation. In addition to its beach and campgrounds, prominent features of the park include Sagamore Hill, a one-time Native American meeting ground and site of World War II coastal fortifications, and a 3,000-foot (910 m) stone jetty that separates the canal and beach. Unlike most of Sandwich, this section of the town is on the mainland side of the Cape Cod Canal. The state park is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation under a lease agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Deam Lake State Recreation Area is an Indiana State Recreation Area in Clark County, Indiana in the United States. The park is 1,300 acres (530 ha) and sits at an elevation of 535 feet (163 m). Deam Lake State Recreation area is open for year-round recreation, however the campground closes each year from the Sunday before Thanksgiving to March 1 of the following year. Much of the recreation is centered on Deam Lake. It is named for Charles C. Deam, the first state forester of Indiana.
Stillwater State Park is a state park located on Lake Groton in Groton, Vermont. The park is located in Groton State Forest close to the Groton Nature Center, Boulder Beach State Park and Big Deer State Park. The park offers camping, picnicking, and access to water-related activities on Lake Groton. The park was developed in the 1930s by crews of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It is open to the public between Memorial Day weekend and Columbus Day weekend; fees are charged for day use and camping.
Good Spirit Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park on the eastern side of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Founded in 1931, the park surrounds the western and southern shores of Good Spirit Lake and is one of Saskatchewan's six founding provincial parks. The park is in the RM of Good Lake No. 274, 48 km (30 mi) north of the city of Yorkton. Highway 47 runs along the western boundary and Highway 229 provides access to the park's amenities.