Area Info

Places of Worship

Assembles of God

North Myrtle Beach Assembly of God
3646 Sea Mountain Hwy., NMB (399-8116)

Baptist

Bible Baptist Church
Hwy. 15 & 9h Ave. S., MB (448-7498)

Central Baptist Church
950 38th Ave. N., MB (626-5090)

First Baptist Church
500 4th Ave. N, MB (448-3155)

First Baptist Church of Surfside
711 16th Ave. N., Surfside (238-0206)

First Baptist Church
200 Hwy. 17 S., NMB (249-2448)

First Baptist Church of Murrells Inlet
3890 Hwy 17 Bypass, Murrells Inlet (65-2251)

First Free Will Baptist Church
67th Ave. N., MB (449-6711)

Garden City Baptist Church
501 Pine Ave., Garden City (651-3663)

Grand Strand Baptist Church
2280 Glory Blvd,. MB (236-2233

Lakeside Baptist Church
11th Ave. N., NMB (249-2162)

Ocean View Baptist Church
7300 N. Kings Hwy., MB (449-4321)

Sandy Grove Missionary Baptist Church
1008 Carver St., MB (448-3281)

Socastee Baptist Church
3690 Socastee Blvd., MB (293-2762)

Catholic

Our Lady Star of the Sea
100 8th Ave. N., NMB (249-2356)

St. Andrew Catholic Church
37th Ave. N. & Hwy. 17, MB (448-5930)

St. Michael’s Catholic Church
572 Cypress Ave., Garden City (651-3737)

Christian

The Christian Church
1226 Burcale Rd., MB (236-1121)

Christian Science Church
6600 N. Kings Hwy., MB (449-5496)

Surfside Christian Church
340 N. Azalea Dr., Surfside (238-4779)

Church of God

Covenant of Life
2706 Wiley Dr., NMB (272-6676)

First Church of God
700 35th Ave. N., MB (448-9069)

Episcopal

Episcopal Church of the Resurrection
8901 Hwy. 17 Bypass, Surfside (215-4500)

St Stephens Episcopal Chruch
813 Townsend Rd., NMB (249-1169)

Trinity Episcopal Church
3000 N. Kings Hwy., MN (448-8426)

Full Gospel

Coastal Christian Center
1100 33rd Ave. S., NMB (272-5718)

Living Faith Church
4513 Hwy. 17 Bypass S., MB (293-1000)

Lutheran

Holy Lamb (LCMS)
2541 Forestbrook Rd., MB (236-1344)

King of Glory Lutheran Church
805 11th Ave. N., NMB (249-3954)

Church of the Risen Christ (LCMS)
10595 Hwy. 17, Briarcliffe Sect, MB (272-5845)

Shepherd of the Sea
2637 S. Hwy 17, Garden City

St. Philips Lutheran Church (ELCA)
6200 N. Kings Hwy., MB (449-5345)

Methodist

First United Methodist Church
901 N. Kings Hwy., MB (448-7164)

Little River United Methodist Church
1629 Hwy. 17, Little River (249-2329)

St. Paul’s Waccamaw United Methodist
Hwy. 17, Litchfield (237-2294)

Socastee United Methodist Church
5575 Dick Pond Rd., MB (650-3373)

Surfside United Methodist Church
800 13th Ave. N., Surfside (238-2734)

Trinity United Methodist Church
706 14th Ave. S., NMB (272-5236)

Nazarene

Church of the Nazarene
612 4th Ave. S., MB (448-3290)

Non-Denominational

Garden City Chapel & Retreat
316 N. Dogwood, Garden City (651-2223)

New Harvest Church
9526 Hwy. 707, MB (215-3101)

Other

Faith Wesleyan Church
1280 Hwy. 90, NMB (399-22730

Pine Lakes Bible Church
4808 N. Kings Hwy., MB (449-5401)

St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox
3301 33rd Ave. N., MB (448-3773)

Seventh Day Adventist Church
900 62nd Ave. N., MB (449-9150)

Pentecostal Holiness

Lakewood Pentecostal Holiness
Hwy. 707, Socastee, MB (650-2818)

Northside Worship Cntr., Pentecostal
817 62nd Ave. N., MB (449-4627)

Presbyterian

Faith Presbyterian Church
805 79th Ave. N., MB (449-7972)

First Presbyterian Church
1300 N. Kings Hwy., MB (448-4496)

Ocean Drive Presbyterian Church
401 6th Ave. S., NMB (249-2312)

Surfside Presbyterian Church
8732 Hwy. 17 S. Bypass, NMB (650-2020)

Trinity Presbyterian Church USA
2061 Glenns Bay Rd., Surfside (650-0313)

Synagogues

Temple Emanu-El
406 65th Ave. N., MB (449-5552)

Did You Know?

Ocean water temperature along the Grand Strand beaches is about 20 degrees warmer than New York ocean water during the summer months and approximately 10 degrees warmer during the winter months.

Annual Averages
(Based on 30 years of data)

• Sunny Days – 215
• Days when maximum temperature is more than 90 Degrees Fahrenheit – 46
• Days when .10 inches of rain or more – 117
• Average air temperature in Fahrenheit – 64 Degrees
• Average water temperature in Fahrenheit – 66 Degrees
• Average relative humidity at 1:00 p.m. – 56%

Myrtle Beach, through private contractors, provides lifeguards on the beach from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. in season. Lifeguards use a flag system to inform swimmers on ocean conditions.

Green Flag- Safe Conditions
Yellow Flag- Caution, rough currents or unfavorable winds
Red Flag – Danger, swimming prohibited

Traditional Foods

Butter Beans
Flat beans, like lima beans, shelled before cooking, butter beans are often served with rice.Calabash-style Seafood
This name comes from the Southern method of dredging fish in cornmeal and frying.Chicken Bog
Strictly speaking, this is a rice pilau (pronounced per-loo) or pilaf, which combines rice, meats and chicken broth.

Country Style Steak
Thinly sliced or cubed round or sirloin steak which has been dipped in batter and fired.

Country-style Vegetables
Vegetables which are native to Southern soils, such as corn, okra, tomatoes, beans and peas that are cooked slowly with a bit of fatback or bacon to flavor and are also highly seasoned.

Grits and Maters
Coarsely ground corn cooked to a mushy softness and served with stewed tomatoes.

Hushpuppies or Corndoggers
Fried pieces of cornmeal dough seasoned with onion salt or minced onion and most often served with fried fish. Originally “hushpuppies” came from the leftover cornmeal used for frying the fresh fish at the campsite near the edge of the water. The name is derived from the original use of these morsels thrown to the dogs (puppies, to Southerners who never go into the wilderness without at least one “puppy”) to keep the animals at bay while their human counterparts ate the fish.

Pig Pickin’
The meat of a pig is slowly cooked over hot coals in a pit and basted until the meat, dripping with juices falls off the bones.

She-Crab Soup
A cream-style soup, not unlike bisque, always with crabmeat or crab row or red crab eggs, flavored with cayenne pepper and sherry.

Seashells and Fossils

More than 700 species of shells live in the waters of South Carolina. Among the most common are whelks, angel wings, arks, pen shells, augers, cockles, slipper shells, jingles, coquina, and olive shells. Starfish, sea urchins, and sand dollars also can be found on local beaches.

When sand dollars are alive, they have a dark, fu-like covering. When they wash up on the beach, the sun bleaches them white. Sand dollars are extremely fragile.

The most common fossils found on area beaches are sharks teeth, which are usually black or dark brown. Fossilized shark’s teeth are millions of years old. Other fossils found in the area include animal bones, horses’ teeth and fossilized shells.

The best times to look for shells and fossils are on an outgoing tide, during a new moon or full moon, and after a storm.

Shag Dancing

A dance described as “Southern tradition of style and grace.” the shag was born decades ago along this stretch of Carolina coastline. Here shagging is a phenomenon, transcending age and bringing together thousands of enthusiasts seeking to perfect its laid-back seemingly effortless moves. The shag is so much a part of the culture, it has been declared South Carolina’s official dance.

A close cousin of the 1930s craze called the Big Apple, the shag has been the subject of a movie, books, and countless magazine and newspapers articles. And although the jazz sounds of the 1930s helped to create the acrobatic Big Apple, we Southerners slowed it down and smoothed out a bit.

Much more than a dance, the shag is also a feeling – of friendship, and of sand, salt and surf combined with smoothly worn hardwood floors. It’s the unhurried moves of a dance that knows no age barriers, a way of life set to rhythm and blues, an opportunity to re-live youth.

Beach-Going Wheelchairs

In Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, and Surfside Beach, beach-going wheelchairs are available for use free of charge. These chairs are sturdy and come equipped with an umbrella and large ballon tires for maneuvering through soft sand.

In Myrtle Beach, beach wheelchairs are available at the following lifeguard stands: 77th Ave. N.; 72nd Ave. N.; 54th Ave. N.; 24th Ave. N.; 8th Ave. S.; 20th Ave. S. (sheel-chairs); 21st Ave. S. (handicap access) these locations also offer handicap parking. For more information, call 918-1000.

In North Myrtle Beach, wheelchairs are available M-F at the Recreation Center on Possum Trot Road. Call 280-5584 to reserve one. Handicap beach access at the following locations: Main St; Sea Mountain Hwy,; 4th Ave. N.; 6th Ave. S.; 9th Ave. S; 15th Ave. S.; 17th Ave. S.; 21st Ave. S.; 27th Ave. S.; 39th Ave. S. 46th Ave. S. In Surfside Beach, wheelchairs are available by calling 913-6368. Handicap beach access at the following locations: 3rd Ave. N.; Surfside Drive at Surfside Pier); Melody Lane.

Legends of the Grand Strand

The South Carolina coastal waters were especially productive for pirates, and the coves and inlets along the Grand Strand provided great hiding places for these marauders. Pirates who became local legends include: Edward Teach, called Blackbeard because of his coal-black beard, and Drunken Jack, who was left behind on an island with a huge stash of stolen rum (and died with a smile on his face.)

We love our ghosts – especially the good ones, which most of them are. The most enduring ghost stories are of Alice Flagg, ghost of the Hermitage, and the Gray Man. Alice roams beside the waters of Murrells Inlet, searching for a ring she received from a young man her family did not approve of. As she lay in bed ill with a fever, her brother discovered the ring on a ribbon around her neck, being enraged, and flung it into the inlet. The story of the Gray Man also involves a tragic love story, as a soldier returns home to marry his sweetheart. Riding on horseback, he has an accident and is killed. His spirit, however, lives on, and he is able to warm his lover of an approaching hurricane and save her life. Since that time, many people have reported seeing the Gray Man before a hurricane and heeded his ghostly warning to seek safety.

Local Laws
State Laws
  • Seat belts must be worn at all times in a moving vehicle.
  • Open containers of beer, win, or liquor are prohibited in vehicles or any public place
    including streets, sidewalks, and beach area.
  • Vehicle headlights must be on if operating windshield wipers due to rain or poor road conditions.
  • Motorcyclists are required to use headlights at all times.
  • Right turns may be made on red light throughout the state, except where a sign denotes
    “No Right on Red.” Remember, stop before turning and give way to traffic already in the
    intersection.
Fireworks

Discharging of fireworks is illegal within the city limits of municipalities along the Grand Strand.

Cruising

Cruising is regulated by the Myrtle Beach Police Department between 3rd Ave. S. and 21st Ave. N. on Ocean Boulevard from 2 a.m.-6 a.m. March 1-Oct. 1.

Driving

It is unlawful for any person to drive or operate any motor vehicle on the beach or in public marsh area.

SHEP

Established in 1996 by SCDOT (South Carolina Department of Transportation). SHEP (State Highway Emergency Program) now serves motorists traveling Interstates in the Charleston, Columbia, Myrtle Beach, Rock Hill, and Greenville/Spartanburg urban areas. Prepared to handle a variety of situations, SHEP responders make minor repairs to disabled vehicles , assist with traffic control and incident management, and provide first aid until emergency medical services arrive. For assistance dial *HP on your cellular phone, ask for SHEP.

Myrtle Beach

Dogs in public must be on a leash at all times. No animals are allowed on the beach or Ocean Boulevard from 13th Ave. S. to 21st Ave. N. in Myrtle Beach during any time of the year. No dogs are allowed on the beach 9 a.m.-5 p.m., May 15-Sept. 15. Pet owners are responsible for removing pet waste from any public property, including beaches. Horses and riders are allowed on the beach within the city of Myrtle Beach from the third Saturday in November until the end of February, in groups of six or fewer. No “staging” is allowed within the city limits (access to the beach is through Myrtle Beach State Park), and riders must clean up droppings west of the high tide line.

Sea Oats

It is illegal to cut, break, or otherwise destroy sea oat plants, beach grass, or sand fencing. Sea Oats provide nature’s first line of defense against shore erosion. They build up the dunes by trapping sand blown inland from the beaches. Please leave the beach as you found it.

Swimming

Swimming is not permitted beyond 50 yards from the beach or over shoulder depth, unless otherwise stated by the lifeguard. Jumping or diving from piers is prohibited. Swimming within 50 yards of a pier is prohibited. Only canvas rafts may be used in the ocean. Rafts must be equipped with safety ropes. It is illegal for anyone to wear a thong bathing suit.

Package Stores in SC are identified with large red circles. Hours are 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. daily, except Sundays and holidays. Legal drinking age is twenty-one.

Below are answers to some commonly asked questions about beach do’s and don’ts:
  • Only canvas rafts with ropes are allowed in the ocean.
  • Littering is punishable by a $200 fine. Offenders may be required to assist officials
    in cleaning up litter.
  • Sleeping on the beach is not premitted from 9:00 p.m. until sunrise.
  • No solicitation is premitted on the beach.
  • Boaters and wind surfers must refrain from operating in the swimming areas which extend fifty yards from the high tide line.