Last year, I had the goal of walking the coast from Pawleys Island to Cherry Grove. I'm excited to share that mission is accomplished. With more than 60 miles of beaches stretching across Horry and Georgetown counties, it was amazing to see all of our beaches. We split our walks into sections of 5-8 miles and our part 2 article ended at Singleton Swash in front of the Dunes Club.
Singleton Swash to 17 Ave S North Myrtle Beach:
The walk from Singleton Swash to North Myrtle Beach took us past the Apache Campground and the Apache Pier in the Arcadian Shores section of Myrtle Beach. Due to geography and roads, this section of the beach is its own pennisula and includes Ocean Annies and the large Sands Ocean Club and Sands Beach Club. I have a new appreciation for Briarcliffe after walking past. Its almost as pristine as walking past the state parks. Even as a native, this is a part of the beach I had never visited and really enjoyed seeing. Next up was the Windy Hill section of North Myrtle Beach and Atlantic Beach. North Myrtle Beach is comprised of beach towns that combined into one including Windy Hill, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach, and Cherry Grove. Atlantic Beach remains its own town and has a rich history. This section of the strand includes mostly mid size resorts and condotels. There's a distinct difference in development as you walk past Atlantic Beach with its smaller budget compared to Windy Hill to the south and Crescent Beach to its north.
17th Ave S North Myrtle Beach to Cherry Grove Point
I was excited for this stretch of our walk. One, it would complete our original goal of walking from Pawleys Island to Cherry Grove. Two, Cherry Grove point is one of my favorite places. Starting at Molly Darcy's, we walked Crescent Beach and Ocean Drive Beach. This section contains more private residences and many public beach accesses. One thing North Myrlte Beach has done better than any of the other municipalities is provide public parking and facilities. At the far north end of the county and where Hwy 9 ends at the Atlantic Ocean, is Cherry Grove Beach. A tiger shark caught of the Cherry Grove pier held the world record for the largest shark caught on a rod and reel for 40 years! This section of beach has a fantastic shell shelf and is one of the best places to find shells and shark teeth. At the tip of Cherry Grove, Hog Inlet takes water in to the marsh and creates a gorgeous panorama perfect for viewing sunrises and sunsets. Our initial goal was complete!
Bonus Walk: Debidue
On our very first walk, we started with the south end of Pawleys Island. From the tip of Pawleys, we could clearly see the beaches in front of Prince George and Debordieu Colony further south. At this point, we knew we had left off a beach in our original plan. Thankfully, with the help of our dear friend Phillip Brady, we were able to gain access and take a bonus walk. The beach in front of Prince George and Debordieu is sparsely populated with dream homes. Walking south, Debidue beach extends into Hobcaw Barony and the Baruch Institue. This pristine strech of coast reminded me more of a barrier island than it did the rest of our beaches. It was truly breathtaking, and I'm so thankful we added this stretch to our adventure.
Thank you for tagging along! We hope to compile our pictures and videos and document our journey into a video. If you have any questions about where we parked, started and stopped, what worked well, what we would change, please reach out! I'd love to share and talk more about this amazing experience.
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