Myrtle Beach With Kids

[livelylittlecam]

We are heading to Myrtle Beach for the first time this April. We have five year old twins and and a toddler. Wondering if anyone can recommend the best kid-friendly activities in that area? Thanks in advance.

Best--Jeremy

[3_dog_nights]

Lantley wrote:

wbwood wrote:

Lantley wrote:
My experience has been Myrtle Beach is not in full swing in April. The weather is moderate and warm enough but it is not true beach weather.
Many attractions are closed or not in full swing. One of the big three CG's have a indoor pool. Maybe Lakewood? I would seek out the pool for the kids.
Myrtle Beach is still a worthwhile destination in April. The Gator Farm and other attractions will be available. You just won't get the full MB experience.
When my kids were younger like the OP's, we went to MB a few times in April simply for the warmer weather. We made the most of the activities available and had a great time.
For true beach weather I'd need to go further south which is too far to drive on a Spring Break schedule.
Now that my kids are older we travel to the Shenandoah Valley which is not as warm,but has lots of activities and is much closer to me than MB.
As my camping experience has developed I have learned to maximise my drive time vs. relaxation time ratio.
While the drive is generally enjoyable and part of the experience,the real goal is not driving but exploring,camping and relaxing.
If there is a choice, I now give more consideration to the closer destination.

Um in April, everything is open, especially for spring break. March is a crapshoot.

That has not been my experience I have been many times in April and Many times during the summer. Crowds are not the same in April and businesses adjust accordingly
I agree there are things open,however there are lots of soft openings
and businesses have limited hours. The weather is just not there yet to generate enough customers for everyone.
Nevertheless MB is a worthwhile destination in April,but you will not get the full MB experience that you get in July.
The area is called Myrtle Beach for a reason..the beach.....April while warmer than most places is not fully beach weather yet and the crowds and businesses are not fully up to speed.
I'm imagine the OP will have no problem getting a site at any of the private parks, however getting a reservation in July would be more difficult.

reservations in July should be no problem if you call now....um you are talking about 2015 arn't you??

[Lantley]

wbwood wrote:

Lantley wrote:
My experience has been Myrtle Beach is not in full swing in April. The weather is moderate and warm enough but it is not true beach weather.
Many attractions are closed or not in full swing. One of the big three CG's have a indoor pool. Maybe Lakewood? I would seek out the pool for the kids.
Myrtle Beach is still a worthwhile destination in April. The Gator Farm and other attractions will be available. You just won't get the full MB experience.
When my kids were younger like the OP's, we went to MB a few times in April simply for the warmer weather. We made the most of the activities available and had a great time.
For true beach weather I'd need to go further south which is too far to drive on a Spring Break schedule.
Now that my kids are older we travel to the Shenandoah Valley which is not as warm,but has lots of activities and is much closer to me than MB.
As my camping experience has developed I have learned to maximise my drive time vs. relaxation time ratio.
While the drive is generally enjoyable and part of the experience,the real goal is not driving but exploring,camping and relaxing.
If there is a choice, I now give more consideration to the closer destination.

Um in April, everything is open, especially for spring break. March is a crapshoot.

That has not been my experience I have been many times in April and Many times during the summer. Crowds are not the same in April and businesses adjust accordingly
I agree there are things open,however there are lots of soft openings
and businesses have limited hours. The weather is just not there yet to generate enough customers for everyone.
Nevertheless MB is a worthwhile destination in April,but you will not get the full MB experience that you get in July.
The area is called Myrtle Beach for a reason..the beach.....April while warmer than most places is not fully beach weather yet and the crowds and businesses are not fully up to speed.
I'm imagine the OP will have no problem getting a site at any of the private parks, however getting a reservation in July would be more difficult.

[wbwood]

Lantley wrote:
My experience has been Myrtle Beach is not in full swing in April. The weather is moderate and warm enough but it is not true beach weather.
Many attractions are closed or not in full swing. One of the big three CG's have a indoor pool. Maybe Lakewood? I would seek out the pool for the kids.
Myrtle Beach is still a worthwhile destination in April. The Gator Farm and other attractions will be available. You just won't get the full MB experience.
When my kids were younger like the OP's, we went to MB a few times in April simply for the warmer weather. We made the most of the activities available and had a great time.
For true beach weather I'd need to go further south which is too far to drive on a Spring Break schedule.
Now that my kids are older we travel to the Shenandoah Valley which is not as warm,but has lots of activities and is much closer to me than MB.
As my camping experience has developed I have learned to maximise my drive time vs. relaxation time ratio.
While the drive is generally enjoyable and part of the experience,the real goal is not driving but exploring,camping and relaxing.
If there is a choice, I now give more consideration to the closer destination.

Um in April, everything is open, especially for spring break. March is a crapshoot.

[wbwood]

JEBar wrote:
of all the very good campgrounds in Myrtle Beach, Ocean Lakes is our favorite .... it has a wealth of family amenities as does the Myrtle Beach area

Jim

ditto...lots of kids activities...

[ljpel]

There is so much to keep you busy at MB that you may not want to travel far, but remember you are just over an hour from Charleston if you are at the southern end of MB, which is where most of the campgrounds are. There you will find Fort Sumter and Patriots Point, downtown Charleston, several plantations, and the Hunley. Of those, Fort Sumter is probably the most kid friendly, with a boat ride to the Fort, an hour or so there and a boat ride back.

[livelylittlecam]

Thanks Terry for all of the history recs. Maybe we can have a day for some more scholarly sightseeing--but more importantly thanks for the donut recommendation! Lots of other good comments here. We always love a good zoo.

Best--JP

[3_dog_nights]

Can-AmDuo wrote:
If you are looking for activities for the little ones I would highly recommend Broadway at the Beach and there is also the Waccatee Zoo as well as small nature centers at both Myrtle Beach and Huntington Beach State Parks.

x2 on the zoo, it's a wonderful stop that most don't know about.

[Terryallan]

livelylittlecampers wrote:
Yes:) History will have to wait! I'll just read another CIvil War book!

NO you don't. Less than an hour North of MB, You will find more history than you can see in a day. Fort Fisher, "The Last Stronghold of The Confederacy" is at the end of Pleasure Island. Which you can Drive to, or ride the ferry to from Southport. Also at SouthPort, you can see the Ortan Plantation, and Brunswick Town. You can walk the town Of Southport as well, and see the old Cemetary, Plus Wilmington is the Last open Port of the South. Lots of things to see, Brick streets and all. Plus, and no it's not from the Civil War, But the USS North Carolina Battleship is moored there.

OK that is the History part. Hers is one of my favorite parts. On the same Island as Fort Fisher. From Easter on thru the summer. You can get the WORLD's BEST DONUTS. Britt Donut shop, on the Carolina Beach Bordwalk

[Crowe]

Myrtle Beach Travel Park has an indoor pool. It will be "splashing" weather more so than swimming weather most likely. We did the Dixie Stampede for dinner one night and it was a lot of fun. The NASCAR go-kart track will be fun for the 5 year olds (and probably dad!) plus it has other kiddie stuff there. Ripley's Aquarium is not huge and perfect for all the kids. Barefoot Landing and Broadway on the Beach have lots of amusements, shopping and one has an alligator park. There's endless miles of white sand beach to walk as well.

I'm a big Gettysburg fan but at this point MB is a better choice.

[Oaklevel]

Many activities in Myrtle Beach Ripley's Aquarium at Broadway, to the Putt Putts, to shopping, to the huge Ferris Wheel, ............ We like Ocean Lakes Campground the best they have really cracked down on the golf carts. Lakewood had too many restrictions on pets for us.

Where ever you do or stay Myrtle Beach is a great destination for all ages.

[crickeydog]

We've been empty nesters since 1994. We stayed at Ocean Lakes CG two years ago. Great campground...for kids and teenagers with golf carts. After our 2nd day there I started an IV drip of Valium and Oxycodone, wearing my best aviation "David Clarke" noise cancelling headset, and drinking heavilly.:S

Happy camping!!! See y'all down the road!!!:)

[Can-AmDuo]

If you are looking for activities for the little ones I would highly recommend Broadway at the Beach and there is also the Waccatee Zoo as well as small nature centers at both Myrtle Beach and Huntington Beach State Parks.

[RGar974417]

We loved Huntington Beach State Park.They have some full hookups and the rest are water and electric.Sites vary from open with no shade,to those in the tree that are very private. What is great for kids is the Nature Center programs or the nature walks.We were there over Christmas and they had things scheduled almost every day.It's a short walk to the beach and there's a neat large old home ,Atalaya that you can tour.
It's not too far from Murrel's Inlet where there's lot's of great places to eat.We very rarely stayed at commercial parks when our kids were young.Always state or federal parks.They never complained about not having things to do.

[dieharder]

With 5YO twins and a toddler, I'd probably lean more towards Myrtle Beach Travel Park than Pirateland.

In Pirateland, the pool and the beach are quite a hike from each other, which will make one or the other an issue to get to. In MBTP, there are plenty of sites close to both. Not sure about the configuration of any of the other parks.

For your first experience there, trying to keep track of the twins outside in a dense park can be quite an ordeal with some of the idiot go-carts zooming about, which is another reason why I'd lean to MBTP over others - one less thing to worry about.

As someone else said, many, many mini-putts around. Multi-levels on top of it. Will be quite an experience for the twins.