Here’s your guide to avoid parking pain in the Myrtle Beach area during spring break 2023

Eleanor Nash
·3 min read

An essential part of a spring break in the Myrtle Beach area is a trip to the beach. You’ll want to visit the Grand Strand’s boardwalks, piers and beach accesses.

But beach parking can be more annoying than sand in your socks. With the right information, you can park with ease.

Learn where and when you need to pay to park, if you can pay by the hour or get a day pass, whether dogs are allowed and how to park with handicapped plates.

This guide has everything you need to know about beach parking for spring break 2023.

Hourly beach parking

Horry County

  • Parking is free at the Garden City and Nash Street beach accesses. Other parking lots cost $1.25 per hour, including the Sands Ocean Club North, Sands Ocean Club South, Cottage Beach, Maison Drive, and behind the Garden City Pier, said Horry County Police spokesperson Mikayla Moskov in a text.

  • Visitors to Horry County can pay at the nearby parking kiosks or with the Park Smarter app. Directions can be found on nearby parking kiosks or in an instructional video.

  • Animals are not permitted on the beach from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from May 1 through Labor Day. (Reptiles and exotic animals are completely banned.)

Myrtle Beach

Students play games and hang out on the beach in the downtown section of Myrtle Beach, S.C. Thousands of students visit the Grand Strand from late February to early April from Spring Break every year. March 17, 2022.
Students play games and hang out on the beach in the downtown section of Myrtle Beach, S.C. Thousands of students visit the Grand Strand from late February to early April from Spring Break every year. March 17, 2022.

  • The City of Myrtle Beach charges for parking in designated areas from 9 a.m. to midnight. After hours, parking is free. There are also a number of privately-run parking lots that serve the Myrtle Beach boardwalk and other areas.

  • Visitors to Myrtle Beach can pay with coins or by card at a pay station or through the ParkMobile app or Text2Park on their phones. Directions can be found on nearby parking kiosks or signs.

  • Animals are not permitted on the beach from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from May 1 through Labor Day. (Service dogs allowed).

Parking rates vary by location

  • Beach accesses & street ends: $3 per hour or $15 daily.

  • Core Business District: Cost is $2 per hour (no all-day rate). This area covers metered parking on 6th to 16th Avenues North, in between Ocean Boulevard and Kings Highway.

  • Other locations: $2 per hour or $10 daily. This includes, according to the city’s website, “All metered or signed parking on streets from 29th Avenue South to Sixth Avenue North, between Ocean Boulevard and Kings Highway. All metered or signed parking on streets from 16th Avenue North to 67th Avenue North, between Ocean Boulevard and Kings Highway.”

North Myrtle Beach

  • Go to the city’s interactive parking map for details about where to find paid and free parking.

  • Parking at city-owned lots, beach access points and designated side streets is $3 per hour from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. After hours, parking is free.

  • Visitors to North Myrtle Beach can pay for parking either at a nearby kiosk or through the Passport app or Text2Park on their phones. Find how-to instructions on the town’s website.

  • There are two free parking lots on the north and south sides of Main Street near Hillside Drive.

  • Animals are not permitted on the beach from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from May 15 through Sept. 15.

Surfside Beach

  • Parking is $2 per hour or $10 per day at Surfside Beach access parking lots and on Surfside Drive, Mayor Bob Hellyer confirmed by text. The Surfside Beach Pier parking lot is $3 per hour.

  • Paid parking lasts from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. After hours, parking is free.

  • Visitors to Surfside Beach can pay through the ParkMobile app or Text2Park on their phones. Directions can be found on signs or on the Surfside Beach parking website.

  • Pets are not permitted on the beach from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from May 1 through Labor Day.

Handicapped parking

If you have a disabled parking placard or license plate, you can park at any metered parking spot for free, according to South Carolina state law. Find out if nearby beach accesses are accessible with this interactive map.