Nine miles of Atlantic strand from Cherry Grove to Windy Hill — Carolina Shag's birthplace on Main Street, the rebuilt Cherry Grove Pier, and Barefoot Resort's four championship golf courses.
The northern nine miles of the Grand Strand — North Myrtle Beach is four stitched-together beach sections (Cherry Grove at the inlet, Ocean Drive's historic Main Street, Crescent Beach in the middle, Windy Hill on the south end), the rebuilt 985-foot Cherry Grove Pier reopened after the 2020 storm rebuild, the Carolina Shag dance halls along Main Street's two-block historic district, and Barefoot Resort's four championship courses (Fazio, Love, Norman, Dye) lining the Intracoastal Waterway across the bridge.
Walk the rebuilt Cherry Grove Pier on the inlet, learn the Carolina Shag at Fat Harold's on Main Street, kayak the salt marsh at Cherry Grove, and tee off on one of Barefoot Resort's four championship courses.
The 985-foot Cherry Grove Fishing Pier reopened in May 2022 after the 2020 storm rebuild — the Grand Strand's only pier at the inlet end, with a tackle shop, snack counter, and the only public observation deck on the north strand. Day-pass fishing runs around $10; the deck is free to walk. King mackerel, Spanish mackerel, and red drum work the pilings from April through October. The 1953 original pier is long gone; this is the third rebuild since.
The two-block historic Main Street district in Ocean Drive is the spiritual home of the Carolina Shag, South Carolina's official state dance since 1984. Fat Harold's Beach Club, Duck's Beach Club, and the OD Pavilion run the dance floor most weekends; the SOS (Society of Stranders) Spring Safari in April and Mid-Winter Classic in January pack the strip with several thousand dancers. Free shag lessons most weeknight evenings — show up at Fat Harold's around 7.
The Cherry Grove inlet at the north end of the strand opens into a tidal salt-marsh estuary that runs back into Tilghman Point — calm, glass-like water at low tide and a maze of spartina creeks. Kayak rentals from Coastal Scuba and the Cherry Grove Marina; the most-photographed paddle on the Grand Strand, especially at sunrise. Bottlenose dolphins follow the channel on the rising tide; ospreys nest on the channel markers. Allow two to three hours.
Across the Highway 17 bridge from Ocean Drive, Barefoot Resort & Golf is the only US property with four signature-design championship courses on one campus — the Greg Norman, Davis Love III, Tom Fazio, and Pete Dye courses, each routed along the Intracoastal Waterway. The Fazio is the most photographed (mature pines, wide fairways); the Love course features the rebuilt-from-Confederate-plantation-ruins clubhouse. Tee times $80–$160 in season; multi-course Stay-and-Play packages are the local play.
North Myrtle Beach's nine miles of Atlantic strand run continuously from the Cherry Grove jetty south to the Windy Hill line — flat, walkable, and with the lowest beachfront density of any Grand Strand section. The morning low-tide window before 10 a.m. is the locals' walking hour. Crescent Beach in the middle is the widest stretch; the dunes north of Sea Mountain Highway are the quietest. Beach access points are numbered 1–24 from the inlet south.
The granite jetty at the north end of Cherry Grove protects the inlet and shapes the Grand Strand's only consistent surf break — overhead on a north-northeast hurricane swell, knee-to-shoulder on most summer days. Village Surf Shoppe in Garden City rents soft-tops; the Surf the Earth shop on Sea Mountain Highway has the local crew. The jetty break works best on a rising tide; the shore-break to the south is friendlier for beginners.
Two weekends every year when Main Street in Ocean Drive closes for the city's two biggest street parties. Mayfest on Main runs the second Saturday in May with 100+ vendors, three live-music stages, and a 5K through the OD historic district. The SOS Fall Migration in September packs Main Street's beach clubs with shag dancers from across the Carolinas for nine straight days. Free entry; book lodging four months out for either event.
North Myrtle is the Grand Strand's quiet half — you can shag dance at Fat Harold's at midnight, walk to Hoskins for the same breakfast they've served since 1948, and tee off on Greg Norman's Barefoot course before noon, all without ever crossing the Highway 17 bridge into Myrtle Beach proper.
Barefoot Landing's House of Blues and Alabama Theatre, the 700-alligator Alligator Adventure, the OD Pavilion arcade, the Carolina Opry at Restaurant Row, and the Conway riverwalk thirty minutes inland.
The 985-foot fishing pier on 19th Avenue North in Cherry Grove — rebuilt in 2022 after the 2020 storm. Tackle shop, rod rentals, snack counter, and the strand's only inlet-side observation deck. Day-pass fishing $10; walk-on $2. The early-morning king mackerel run is the local ritual.
Four championship courses (Fazio, Norman, Love, Dye) on the Intracoastal Waterway across the Highway 17 bridge — the only US resort with four signature-design layouts on one campus. The Yacht Club at the marina holds the largest outdoor pool in South Carolina (free for guests of Barefoot rentals). Pro shop, on-site golf academy, and a free hourly shuttle to the beach.
The tidal estuary at the north end of the strand — a maze of spartina creeks running back into the marsh from the Cherry Grove inlet. Public kayak launch at the end of 53rd Avenue North; rentals at Cherry Grove Marina. Dolphins, herons, ospreys, and the most-photographed sunrise on the Grand Strand. Two-to-three-hour paddle.
The 22-acre city park between Crescent Beach and Ocean Drive — three lighted tennis courts, four pickleball courts, a half-mile walking loop around the lake, picnic shelters, and the city's biggest playground. The locals' rainy-day plan B and the morning runners' track.
The 15-acre reptile park at Barefoot Landing — 700+ alligators (including Utan, the four-ton saltwater croc), live alligator-feeding shows three times daily, and a snake house with a mounted python skeleton. The strand's most-asked-about kid stop. Tickets around $30 adult, $20 kids; allow three hours.
The 27-acre outdoor shopping-and-entertainment village on the Intracoastal — boardwalks over the swamp, the House of Blues concert hall, the Alabama Theatre's nightly variety show, fifty-plus shops, and the open-air dining row at Greg Norman's Australian Grill, Lulu's, and Wild Wing Cafe. Free parking; alligator-pond walkway is the after-dinner ritual.
A small, pay-as-you-ride family arcade-and-rides park at Main Street and Ocean Boulevard in the Ocean Drive historic district — bumper cars, a Ferris wheel with the strand's best beach view, mini-golf, and the Pavilion Diner. Open March through October. The walk-up after-dinner ritual for OD families.
The Carolina Shag institution on Main Street since 1989 — the dance floor is sprung wood, the soundtrack is beach music exclusively, and free shag lessons run most weeknights at 7. Fat Harold himself was inducted into the Shag Hall of Fame; his daughter runs the floor now. Cover $5–$10. The most authentic single thing you can do in North Myrtle.
Calvin Gilmore's variety-show institution at Restaurant Row, fifteen minutes south on Highway 17 — country, gospel, comedy, and patriotic finale, six nights a week most of the year. Tickets $35–$70. The Time-Warp '50s/'60s revue at the same complex is the more-recommended sister show.
Seven minutes north on Highway 17 — the small fishing village that gave its name to a style (Calabash-fried seafood, served family-style) and runs eight oversized fried-fish-and-hush-puppy houses on a single half-mile of waterfront. The Calabash Seafood Hut and Ella's of Calabash are the long-standing institutions. The ritual Friday-night dinner for half the strand.
The colonial port town of Conway sits twenty minutes inland on the Waccamaw River — a half-mile boardwalk along moss-draped cypress banks, a working drawbridge, the Horry County Museum, and the Crady's-on-Main farm-to-table room. The local-favorite half-day off the strand.
The largest collection of American figurative sculpture in the country, set inside a 9,000-acre former rice-plantation landscape — a nationally registered historic site with formal gardens, a Lowcountry Zoo, butterfly house, and seasonal night-of-a-thousand-candles light show. The most-recommended cultural day trip on the Grand Strand.
The 90-store outlet center at the Robert Edge Parkway exit just south of the Cherry Grove turnoff — Polo, J.Crew, Nike, Under Armour, and the only Williams-Sonoma between Wilmington and Charleston. The classic rainy-day stop. There's a second Tanger location at Highway 501 in Myrtle Beach proper.
Hoskins Restaurant on Main Street since 1948, Filet's Seafood at Cherry Grove, Greg Norman's Australian Grill at Barefoot Landing, the Calabash-style platters at Boulevard Grill, and Café Endless Summer for sunrise breakfast on the strand.
The white-tablecloth steak-and-seafood room on the Intracoastal at Barefoot Landing — built around an open kitchen, an Australian-leaning wine list, and floor-to-ceiling waterway windows that watch the boats go by. Wagyu and dry-aged steaks, fresh seafood, and the Strand's most-ambitious wine program. Reservations recommended in summer.
Twenty minutes south on Ocean Boulevard, the Sea Captain's House holds the Strand's longest-running fine-dining oceanfront room — a 1937 stone-cottage building, lump-crab cakes, she-crab soup that's been on the menu since 1962, and a glass porch over the dunes. Worth the drive for any anniversary or special-occasion dinner.
Main Street's diner-counter institution since 1948 — eggs, cathead biscuits, country ham, and pancakes at the Formica counter, exactly as they've made them for three generations. Cash-only into the 2000s; the line wraps around the building most summer mornings before 9. The single most authentic meal in North Myrtle.
The Cherry Grove seafood-house institution on Sea Mountain Highway — fresh local fish, the Calabash-fried platter, broiled flounder, and the always-busy raw bar. Family-run since the 1980s; kids' menu, paper-towel rolls, and a deck overlooking the salt marsh. The default Cherry Grove sit-down dinner.
Two locations on Ocean Boulevard — the Cherry Grove store at 19th Avenue North and the Crescent Beach store at 17th Avenue South. Calabash-fried seafood platters, low-country boil, hush puppies, and the strand's classic kid-friendly room. Open lunch through 9 p.m.
The casual oceanfront fish-house on Ocean Drive's Main Street block — open-air deck, fried-shrimp baskets, fish tacos, and the only sit-down room with a direct sand view in the OD historic district. Live beach music most summer evenings; kid-friendly through 9 p.m.
Two locations on the Cherry Grove and Ocean Drive lines — paper-towel-roll seafood shack with steamed shrimp by the pound, snow crab legs, low-country boil, and pitchers of beer. Loud, busy, walk-in-only most summer nights. The strand's classic group-dinner fall-back.
Crescent Beach's small breakfast-and-coffee shop on 17th Avenue South — sunrise breakfast, hand-pulled espresso, fresh-baked muffins, and the locals' surf-report board. The walk-up morning ritual for the Crescent Beach renters. Also runs a beach-supply rental rack out the back door.
The 1947 ice-cream stand on Highway 17 in the Crescent Beach section — homemade in-store, peach-of-the-week in summer, and the largest soft-serve cone on the Grand Strand. Cash-friendly; the line wraps around the building from June through August. The walk-up after-dinner ritual.
A small, wood-rooted tiki bar on Cherry Grove's Sea Mountain Highway — Painkillers, Mai Tais, Caribbean small plates, and a covered patio with live reggae most summer evenings. The locals' shoulder-season hangout; kid-friendly until 9 p.m.
The Ocean Drive Italian standby on Main Street — hand-tossed pizza, baked ziti, calzones, and a delivery driver who knows every condo block in OD. Open late by Strand standards. The default pool-day or rainy-night dinner for OD renters.
When to go, the Myrtle Beach International (MYR) drive, neighborhoods (Cherry Grove, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach, Windy Hill, Barefoot Resort), shag-festival dates, and what a North Myrtle week actually costs.
Every property in our North Myrtle Beach collection is hand-checked, hand-photographed, and backed by twenty-four-hour concierge support. The guide is the warm-up. The home is the trip.
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