Ok just asking. We visited Myrtle beach last summer late July early August. I am thinking of going back this summer but adding north myrtle beach in the mix. We didnt visit that part last summer. What are the differences? And is there alot to North Myrtle worth seeing. Thanks.
Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach
The Cherry Grove and Ocean Drive sections of North Myrtle have a real beach town flavor that you don%26#39;t get from Myrtle anymore and that I personally really love.
Check out the Cherry Grove pier (in my opinion the best pier in the area)...visit the famed Bolineau%26#39;s and some of the little stores and businesses in the Sea Mtn Highway area.
On Main Street in Ocean Drive explore some of the little shops and shag clubs like Fat Harold%26#39;s or the Ocean Drive arcade.
Windy Hill has Barefoot Landing with lots of restaurants and stores...Alligator Adventure...House of Blues.
Further south in the Briarcliffe section is a Bass Pro Shop.
There%26#39;s a lot of new stuff built up on the intercoastal waterway that we haven%26#39;t explored yet.
Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach
tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g54371-i198-North_鈥?/a>
www.myrtlebeachskytour.com/2006/swf/p4_14.htm
Scroll back through both the MB and NMB Trip/advisor boards(several pages back) you%26#39;ll find a couple other similar threads of North vs South beach comparisons.
Use the SkyTour link to scroll along and compare NMB layout to MB.
Not that there is a lot to see in NMB itself but not that bad of a drive down to MB to attractions you saw last year. If you drove north from MB to Barfoot Landing you were at south end of NMB there.
Plus short hop north to Calabash.
Where ever you stay you%26#39;ll be in car to get to things. An extra five minutes here and there isn%26#39;t that bad.
We love NMB and own a home in Cherry Grove where myself and the kids spend the summer and spring break. We have been visiting that area for years and enjoy not being right in the center of MB with all the traffic and crowds, but we are still just a short ride (maybe 15mins) to Barefoot Landing and 20 to 25 mins. to Broadway (which I must mention I have NEVER seen any evidence of gangs, crime or violence while visiting the numerous times we have gone)If you want to bypass the lights and congestion on RT 17 to go south, taking the 31 interstate can make the short trip even quicker.
There%26#39;s a wonderful winery (La Bella Amie) off of Sea Mountain Highway a few miles from Cherry Grove that hosts festivals on some weekends throughout the year. There are some great restaurants in Little River NC which is minutes over the bridge (especially the ';Parson%26#39;s Table'; where we ate last week) Little River is also where the fishing excursions run out of and the casino boats. My son did the nighttime shark fishing excursion which was a blast. Cherry Grove fishing pier is the best, a nice observation deck at the end of the pier. To walk the pier it might be $1.00. The fireworks on the 4th of July are shot off from there and our house is two blocks off the beach and we sit on the porch to watch them perfectly. At the very north end of Ocean Blvd in Cherry Grove is a dead end-find a place to park (heed no parking signs, you will get a ticket!) and cut through the beach access to the most wonderful point to spend the day. Go during low tide when the beach is wide and you can almost walk across the inlet to the wildlife refuge. There will be about 10 yards (maybe) that you have to swim, but we wear life vests and take boogie boards to get across if you have small kids and/or not a good swimmer. Once we get to the island we always find wonderful shells and sand dollars. There are warnings posted about the currents, but use common sense and go during low tide. Last summer we found starfish there also. In the same area (a little before you get to the dead end on the right) is a public boat landing (free of charge) with observaton decks on the marsh and walkways to view wildlife.
Where Sea Mountain Hwy ends into Ocean Blvd. is where the little business section of Cherry Grove is. Bolineaus is the big white building on the corner with the red lighthouse on the roof. It%26#39;s a grocery/bakery,cafeteria,everything store that%26#39;s wonderful. There is also a post office, video store, two pizza joints, giant hardware, gift shops, tanning and hair salon, laundry, bike rentals, antique/junk shop, pancake house, ice cream shop, water sports rentals (parasailing and banana boats) and Duffy St Crab shack. All of this is around the 2000 block of Ocean Blvd, so if you want to walk to these places you can kinda search the addresses of the condos for location. Just about two miles down Ocean Blvd is the Windy Hill Area where Main St is located. Another great area with more of the same things I mentioned above.
Hope this gives you some ideas, even staying in NMB, we still go to Murrells Inlet and if we take the bypass it really does not take that long to get anywhere south. Staying off of 17 business cuts out a lot of congestion also. Calabash, NC is only about 10 mins north of Cherry Grove and has a lot of places to eat and a great giant gift shop that is worth visiting.
Have fun, can%26#39;t wait to go back this summer. Renting a golf cart is fun also, just don%26#39;t drive at night!
Great post Beachgirly.
I%26#39;m jealous that you found starfish! All my years of going to the beach and I have only found one starfish ever. I still remember where and when! (1977, while walking through the Atlantic Beach section of NMB).
Really? My 6 year just found another starfish this past week. We%26#39;ve probably found a dozen in the last couple years (w/out really looking). We usually find them in the wade pools at low tide (north of the pier at about 40th ave section). That area mentioned at the tip (furthest point north) is really and amazing area during low tide as well.
There%26#39;s no particular ';season'; to find starfish, sand dollars or any other type shells. Although, I have found that when you find them you will find more than one. I was sitting on the beach last spring break (freezing) and a sea gull flew by low in front of me with a starfish in his mouth and I yelled ';drop it'; and he did! Too funny, I made my husband wade in the cold water to retrieve it. One summer a few years ago I found many nice shells in the little tide pools during low tide all up and down the beach from 25th street all the way to the cove (Cherry Grove Inlet) We found a perfect giant horseshoe crab (not alive) on the beach last week and cleaned it out and have kept the shell. One of the secrets of finding whelks- I might be incorrect on the name (the conch looking shells) is to not ';expect'; to find them just washed up on the shore waiting for you to snatch up. Walk slowly in the wet sand near the tide and look for a little ';point'; sticking up and that will be the end of the shell. I have found many that way and again, once you find one there will be more lurking around.
