Huntington Beach State Park Campground

This park is a nice oasis from the crowds of Myrtle Beach nearby. The park has a lot of different site types from totally shaded, less private, tent sites and group camping - and all are really comfortable in size. There's no sewer, but you can get water and electric, and there are paths directly to the beach.

It is a very short walk from the campground to the beach. There are two beach access trails, and I was on the beach after a short, 5 minute, walk from my campsite. The restroom and showers were clean. To use the wifi I had to go and sit up by the shower building. Which was no big deal for me because I only used it once. Our campsite was nice and shady. The only bad thing about the park is that there is no traffic signal at the park's entrance. Highway 17 is very busy. It was nice to be away from all of the activity of MB, and there are places to dine nearby is one chooses to dine out.

Stayed here 7/21/2017 to 7/23/2017. Love this campground as always. It has the best in wildlife spotting with a huge pond in front on the entrance. Saw Alligator, Wood Stork, Pink Spoonbill, Barred Owl, numerous herons. Also saw turtle tracks and dolphins on the beach area.

Very convenient to Muriel's Inlet restaurant dining. Lots of long trails on the park to walk. Getting the beach is via two trails right from the camp area.

Everything was clean and functional. But the showers did need more clothing hooks as they have only one.

Although expensive, the sites here are very generous in size. Sites on the outside of the loop have more privacy. Restrooms and showers are clean. Multiple access points to a very walkable or runnable beach. No bike rentals on site but there is a local bike shop that will deliver to your site. Tours of Atalaya available plus other programs (although we didn’t take advantage of these). Large store. If you order three or more bundles of firewood, they will deliver to your site. Only negative is that they don’t allow dumping of any gray water; other parks we have been to have a sink by the restrooms that we have used to wash dishes in. Not everyone has a fully contained RV. Also, alcohol is prohibited.

Sites were close but did have foliage separation. Unfortunately, there was some kind of group on the loop over from us and they had set up a tent and held games for hours our first night. Lots of hooting and hollering. Probably 20 people. The second night they set up a band ... with a set of drums. Not joking!!! Played for over 3 hours. We complained to the Park Rangers but nothing happened. On our third night, our neighbours immediately beside us had “guests” ... 2 truckloads of people who came for cocktails & dinner .... we would give this park a try again because there was so much to do.... bike rides, walks, bird watching, beach going, close to some very pretty towns & good restaurants. We would try for a more private site next time. Wifi only worked at the bathhouses, but it was fast. Clean bathhouses too!

We made Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina the destination to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We were concerned about the condition the park would be in, but Hurricane Irma had not marred it at all. In fact, the only thing that we saw that might have been attributed to the storm was a beached cypress tree that had come in with a tide. We thought maybe it could have come from Savannah or even farther south where the storm was severe.

This state park has the feel of an RV resort. It is site specific so you reserve an actual site ahead of time. There is a lovely road in that winds you through live oaks and bald cypresses. There is a flag that tells you the safety conditions at the beach. You drive over a causeway between Oaks Creek and Mullet Pond. There are alligators in the pond! Many sites are out in the open. Those sites reminded us of the bulk of the sites in the nearby RV resorts that we drove through like Ocean Lakes Family Campground, Lakewood Camping Resort (our favorite one), and Pirateland Family Camping Resort. We stayed in the back area of Huntington Beach State Park, though. It is more private and wooded there. However, the mosquitos were bad. (In their defense, as we were departing we saw a company arriving that controls mosquitos, so it may be fine now.) Our site was #123. It was marshy back there and the view wasn't pretty. The power hookups were very high up, probably for safety during flooding situations. The road is one way and narrow so if anyone is walking or riding bikes they must get off the road for cars to pass. By the way, bikes really are a plus if you have them. You can see so many places by bike on the park roads and by path outside of the park. I wish we had brought ours. We thought they might rent them, but they did not.

The beach was not too far away but, it was not as close a walk as we noticed the Myrtle Beach State Park RV area was to their beach. The employees at Huntington State Park were helpful, the facilities were clean, and the elevated store was stocked with a lot of nice souvenirs, some of which were made by local artists. They had times posted when you could go hear talks about the local wildlife or go on guided nature walks. The animal life is extensive. We saw spoonbill cranes (and many other types of birds), turtles, sand crabs, a horseshoe crab, alligators, fish, and tiny frogs. We were told that sea turtles lay their eggs in the area, too.

Right by the beach is a ruined castle called Atalaya Castle. Archer and Anna Huntington had it built in the 1930's to be used as a winter home after Anna Huntington came down with tuberculosis. They wanted to help the depressed economy, so local workers were hired in the home's construction. The Huntingtons used pieces of apparatus called rice trunks to create rice fields so the brackish water could be changed into fresh water. The tides were perfect for growing rice. The fee to tour the castle is very low and reasonable. They even offer a guided tour to see an area full of alligators. Bring bug spray for the mosquitos.

The Huntingtons created a phenomenal place about a mile or so away from Atalaya called Brookgreen Gardens. DO NOT MISS a visit to these gardens! They are extensive and include priceless sculptures, fountains, a zoo with local animals, and a butterfly garden. The Pavilion Restaurant offered good food with beautiful views. A ticket is good for seven consecutive days.

I'll wrap this post up with some restaurant reviews. There are so many restaurants around and so little time when you are just passing through. We really loved the local seafood. My husband loved the haddock and I had the most delicious scallops ever at Captain John's Seafood Grill. (A huge shout out to my church friend Emily M. for the tip!) We also ate at Captain Jimmy's Inlet Crab House. The shrimp and grits was amazing. If ever back in the area, I would definitely go back to both restaurants.

Huntington Beach State Park
16148 Ocean Hwy.
Murrells Inlet, South Carolina  29576
Phone: (843) 237-4440
Sites: 133
Recent Rate: $46

Our lot was spacious, and close to the Beach. Beach was great and not super crowded. Public bathroom was not that nice or clean. We were lucky and had full hook up site.
WiFi was not good but had decent Att cell coverage.

We will definitely come back.

There is so much to do in this park and in the Murrell's Inlet area. Also, the beach is gorgeous! We had a great time riding bikes over to the causeway and watching the alligators cross the road to feed at low tide and all of the birds wading around - even a roseate spoonbill. It was incredible! Also, there are lots of bars, restaurants and stores nearby. We were in the newer South Campground and all of the facilities were really nice. However, the sites were a little close together and there aren't many trees on this side of the campground. The only downside was the poor internet. We had a hard time getting anything to work! We couldn't even take calls from inside our RV. Still a great week at the beach with lots to offer in the area and the park.

The newest section (south campground) had just opened in April. These sites are paved and have full hook ups. The wifi is good also. The facilities are new and clean, washers/dryers also.
It's a short walk to the beach or a bike ride out to view the abundant wildlife and water creatures.

Stayed in the South Campground which was new in Spring 2018. All sites in the South CG have full hookups. Very nice and clean with concrete pads and enough space between units, super clean bathhouse with laundry facilities, so much to see and do in the park and surrounding area. The marshes, birding, trails, and beach are the highlights of this beautiful park. Only negative was lots of little burrs that the dogs picked up in the pads of their feet and in their coats when not walking on the paved areas or beach. The south beach area is dog friendly. None of the lots in either campground have beach views because there is a berm with trees between the campgrounds and the beach, but the beach is an short walk on a boardwalk, and you can hear the waves at your site so you know you’re close. Wifi service wasn’t strong enough for us (we don’t have a booster). The North CG doesn’t have concrete pads, only some sites have full hookups, more trees for shade canopy.