About the Myrtle Beach Area

Surfside Beach and Garden City Beach

These South Strand communities have been family favorites for generations. Surfside Beach, in fact, proudly calls itself "the family beach." Incorporated as a town in 1964, Surfside Beach (population 4,425) is an active residential community and thriving vacation destination. Along its lovely beachfront, you’ll find beach houses, hotels, condominiums, and a popular fishing pier. To the south is Garden City Beach (population 9,000-plus), an unincorporated community that straddles Horry and Georgetown counties and ends on a peninsula at the mouth of Murrells Inlet. The majority of Garden City’s vacationers stay in beach houses, with condos coming in a close second. With access to the ocean and inlet, Garden City Beach is a hot spot for fishing, crabbing, and other water sports. The community has a fishing pier, marina, amusements, restaurants, and other businesses. Contact the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, 1200 N. Oak St., Myrtle Beach, SC 29577; (843) 626-7444 or (800) 356-3016; www.surfsidebeach.org.