Myrtle Beach: Best Photo Spots
None of these spots require special access, just the right time of day, and on a beach-facing coast that mostly means sunrise, not sunset.
The Boardwalk at sunrise
The Boardwalk & Promenade runs 1.2 free miles from the 2nd Ave Pier toward 14th Ave N, and it’s nearly empty at sunrise, a sharp contrast to its crowded evening self. Since the Atlantic side of South Carolina faces east, this is the sunrise coast, not the sunset one, so plan your early mornings around it rather than chasing a sunset that won’t happen over the water.
The SkyWheel
For height and a wide view down the Strand in one frame, the SkyWheel’s enclosed, climate-controlled gondolas run around 187 to 200 feet up, roughly $21 adult and $17 child, prices move so check current rates. Late afternoon light works best for the coastline shots; after dark, the wheel itself lights up as the subject.
Apache Pier
At 1,206 feet, Apache Pier is the longest wooden pier on the East Coast, and its length is the whole photo, a straight line running out into open water, best shot low and early before the fishing crowd sets up for the day.
Brookgreen Gardens
About 18 miles south, Brookgreen Gardens pairs America’s foremost sculpture collection, over 2,000 works, with live oaks, reflecting ponds, and Lowcountry plantings, giving you both art and landscape in the same frame without much effort.
Huntington Beach State Park
Across US-17 from Brookgreen, Huntington Beach State Park offers Atalaya Castle, the Huntingtons’ 1930s Moorish winter home, plus genuinely serious birding, 300-plus species recorded, for anyone shooting wildlife rather than architecture. Keep in mind this is a separate park from Myrtle Beach State Park in town, with its own gate and its own roughly $8 admission.
Murrells Inlet MarshWalk
Sunset is the right call here, not sunrise. The half-mile boardwalk over the salt marsh backs up to open water and marsh grass that catches evening light well, and dolphins occasionally surface in frame if you’re patient and have a longer lens ready.
Pace a photo-focused day the same way you’d pace anything else here, one or two of these per outing rather than all six; the nature spots guide covers Brookgreen and Huntington Beach in more depth if either becomes the centerpiece of your day.