WRTTEN BY Paul Grimshaw

There’s more to the Grand Strand than just the Atlantic Ocean. Plenty of hiking, biking and nature walks are easy to find. Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet is one such place, and is a historic jewel of the South Strand; Much of the Grand Strand is a bird-watching paradise, and the area is dotted with parks open to the public.

Parks

Myrtle Beach State Park, the oldest state park in South Carolina, has been a source of refuge and renourishment since 1936. Here, you’ll find camping, hiking, picnicking, beach-going, fishing, a children’s playground under a canopy of maritime hardwoods, a nature center, pier and much more. A small admission fee is required for all-day visitation. Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet offers unadulterated beaches with windswept trees and massive dunes reminiscent of what the entire Grand Strand oceanfront once looked like. A bird-watching paradise, trails can get you up close to their favorite habitats, while the brackish and freshwater lagoons near the causeway are home to large alligators that love to bask in the sun. An interactive nature center helps you make heads or tails of the flora and fauna, and naturalists offer expert observations during guided tours of the park’s most interesting features. Atalaya was once the winter home and art studio of famed American sculptress Anna Huntington, of Brookgreen Gardens’ fame. The vacant structure’s shell and interior rooms and hallways are open to the public. A small admission fee is required for all-day visitation.

Photographs by Tony Gatlin; viator.com; Auatin Bond Photography; shutterstock users maryna g and ehrlif

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