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10+ Things To Do On The Myrtle Beach Boardwalk

If you’re taking a vacation to Myrtle Beach, you’ll want to check out the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk for the shops, music venues, and more.

For more help planning your trip to the Grand Strand, check out all our posts about Myrtle Beach.

A sign pointing to the boardwalk next to people walking towards a beach and the words "10+ Things To Do On The Myrtle Beach Boardwalk" digitally written on top.

Myrtle Beach is the quintessential beach town, which is filled with tourists during the summer months. It’s a great place for them to visit between the beach, the boardwalk, Broadway at the Beach, and a ton of other spots for entertainment.

That’s good if you’re looking for a lot of things to do while you’re on vacation. But, honestly, it can also get really overwhelming. So, we’re here to help.

This post is focused solely on the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk and Ocean Boulevard, which is one block up from the boardwalk. You have to pass Ocean Boulevard on the short walk from the paid parking lots to the boardwalk, so you’re not walking out of the way for the activities on that street.

A ferris wheel at the Pavilion at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach with the words "Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Travel Guide" digitally written on top.

The boardwalk is so much fun, but it’s only one section of Myrtle Beach. For more ideas to help you plan your Myrtle Beach vacation, check out our Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Travel Guide.

10+ Things To Do On The Myrtle Beach Boardwalk

An exhibit of the Long Neck Woman inside Ripley's Believe It Or Not in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Learn at Ripley’s Believe It Or Not

Believe it or not, I’ve never been to a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not before the one in Myrtle Beach. I used to read the comic in the newspaper every Sunday, and I’ve walked past them a few times in Atlantic City and Gatlinburg, but I never went in.

If you’ve done the same thing, definitely plan to visit the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not (901 N Ocean Blvd) in Myrtle Beach. It’s filled with weird and wacky stuff, like a life-size replica of the World’s Tallest Man. Believe it or not, he was over 9 feet tall. Comparing him next to my 5-foot-2 cousin was a lot of fun.

I’m not sure how often the exhibits change, but when we were there, we saw displays of art made out of pennies and another from staples, the longest gum wrapper chain (which was from my county in New York!), torture devices, Erik Sprague (The Lizardman), some interactive exhibits, and more.

You could lose track of time if you actually walked around and read every description card and ending up spending a full day there.

A woman inside the Ripley's Marvelous Mirror Maze in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Get lost in Ripley’s Marvelous Mirror Maze

In the description for Ripley’s Marvelous Mirror Maze (913 N Ocean Blvd), it says search parties are sent in every 30 minutes. And I laughed … until I went into the maze. 

It is not as easy as you would think. And it’s super disorienting.

You get a pair of gloves before you enter so you don’t get fingerprints on the mirrors. There are two curtained doorways to enter through. You walk in one curtain with the goal of walking out the other. You then go back through that curtain and try to walk out where you started. So you basically do the maze twice.

The amount of times we thought we made through, only to realize that we were just back at the first curtain, was comical. And when we finally made it through the second curtain and were on our way back, we thought it would be so easy. I mean, we just came from that way. Nope. Not easy. But definitely a lot of fun.

A woman in a mirror maze.

If you do love a good mirror maze, there’s another at the Hollywood Wax Museum Entertainment Center at Broadway at the Beach, about 10 minutes away from this one. We’ve done both and I think that one is a little bit better because this one is solely mirrors while that one two moving walkways to disorient you more.

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Go out to eat

When it’s nice out, all you want to do is enjoy the sunshine. At least, that’s all I want to do. But sometimes, you have to stop and eat. So why not combine the two and eat outside?

There are a ton of dining options on the boardwalk with outdoor seating. Most also have indoor seating, so you can sit inside if you need a break from the sun.

If you just want snacks, you can find a bunch of shops with ice cream, Italian ice, and other goodies on the boardwalk. And if you just want a drink, there are a bunch of bars that you can drop into.

What’s nice is that there aren’t any typical chain restaurants on the boardwalk. There aren’t any fast food restaurants either (but you can go a couple blocks up and find one). When I’m out of town, I always like to skip anything I can get at home. But, at the same time, sometimes you just want to run into a fast food joint for a $1 cheeseburger. So you have both options within walking distance.

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Watch a movie at Ripley’s 5D Moving Theater

If you’re going to see a 5D movie, my suggestion is to wear a jacket. Oh my goodness. At the Ripley’s 5D Moving Theater (915 N Ocean Blvd.), you get to experience two 5D movies. That means 3D with the glasses, plus a seat that rocks and vibrates, and bursts of air blown at you. In fact, during our second movie Santa’s WHATEVER, “snow” actually fell on us.

Thank goodness I put on a sweatshirt between the first and second movies because I was so cold during the first one. Every time the air would blow, I would cringe. I couldn’t focus on or enjoy the movie. I just kept waiting for the cold air.

The movies change quite frequently, so if you’ve gone before, you may be able to see different movies. However, we went in May and saw a Christmas movie, so although the movies do rotate, I’m not sure how often new movies are created.

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Shop at Gay Dolphin Gift Cove

There are a lot of gift shops on the boardwalk, but if you need souvenirs, the Gay Dolphin Gift Cove (916 N Ocean Blvd.) is my personal favorite. Located one block off the boardwalk, the East Coast’s largest souvenir shop is five floors of stuff to buy. There’s a front section and a back section, and more knickknacks than you can imagine.

There’s also a nearly life-sized Elvis status, Big Foot … and a huge dolphin fountain that spits water. That’s a crazy thing to see in the middle of a store.

Gay Dolphin Gift Cove sells everything you need, like Myrtle Beach keychains, and everything you don’t, like seashells. I don’t understand why souvenir shops sell shells a block away from their native habitat (the beach!), but I think I’ve bought them when I was young.

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Go to the beach

The beach and boardwalk go hand in hand. So if you’re going to hang out on the famous Myrtle Beach boardwalk, you need to visit the even more famous beach.

Pack a towel, pack your sunscreen, and enjoy a whole day on the beach. The beach itself is free, but if you rent beach chairs and umbrellas, it will cost you. Those are available from March until October, and, of course, are based on availability.

If you don’t go to the beach often and need just a little more help planning your time there, we have a list of The Best Family Beach Vacation Tips with a lot of ideas, from what to pack for kids to snacks to pack. Those tips will really assure you have a great time at the beach.

The Bowery in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is like a step back in time. Find out about Myrtle Beach's oldest music bar on www.drugstoredivas.net.

Catch live music at The Bowery

Pete’s favorite spot on the Myrtle Beach boardwalk is The Bowery. It’s South Carolina’s oldest music bar (it opened in 1944!). The rock back Alabama was its house band for seven years before the band got its big break.

Now, The Bounty Hunters are the house band, as they’ve been for 20 years. They play every night except Sunday, from 11 pm until everyone leaves. We left once at midnight and got heckled for leaving early.

We have a full The Bowery review with a ton of history and more info.

A man and a woman looking out the windows of the Orlando Eye ferris wheel.

Ride on the Myrtle Beach SkyWheel

The Myrtle Beach SkyWheel (1110 N Ocean Blvd) is actually one of two Ferris wheels in Myrtle Beach. The other is located at Broadway at the Beach.

This one is similar to the Sky Wheel in Orlando, if you’ve ever rode that one. Each cage of the observation wheel is completely enclosed by windows with enough room for you to stand and check out the view (as opposed to a carnival-like Ferris wheel where you sit the entire ride).

You are able to see all of the boardwalk when you’re at the top. What’s very cool is you’re positioned in a way where you can also get really scenic views of the Atlantic Ocean that you can’t get on the ground.

Get scared at Ripley’s Haunted Adventure Laser Strike

Ripley’s Haunted Adventure Laser Strike (913 N Ocean Blvd.) is another of the Ripley’s attractions near the boardwalk. Yes, there are a lot.

It’s like a haunted house with lasers, except you’re more in control. For 30 minutes, you walk through a scene with special effects, opening doors, and looking for live actors who jump out to scare you. If you’re quick enough, you can shoot them with a laser gun. If you’re not quick enough, well, you’re in trouble.

So it’s part haunted house and part live action video game.

I’ll be honest, I’m not sure this is a family friendly attraction if your whole family includes young kids. Just because of the scare factor, I would keep this to kids over 10 (but you know your family, so do what you think is best).

A man in a zombie haunted house.

If you do like the adrenaline of being a little scared, you should also try Outbreak: Dread The Undead, the zombie-themed haunted house-ish activity at Broadway at the Beach.

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More Things To Do On The Myrtle Beach Boardwalk:

Of course, we couldn’t include everything from the Myrtle Beach boardwalk in this post because it would be too long. So we kept it to the things we’ve experienced and really enjoyed. We have heard great things about the Family Kingdom Amusement Park and Splashes Oceanfront Water Park, which is the same family but different attractions. The former has thrilling rides like two coasters, a Tilt-A-Whirl, and a log flume. The latter is the town’s only oceanfront water park and has a lazy river, water slides, and even a kids zone.

There’s also Free Fall Thrill Park, with a sling shot, air strike, and more extreme rides if you’re looking for a thrill.

Which of these Myrtle Beach boardwalk attractions is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.

Maddie

Thursday 7th of November 2019

Great info as we’re heading there next week!

Ceci Rey

Friday 9th of August 2019

We love Myrtle Beach! From your list...we have never done the sky wheel or water park...but we want to. Great suggestions...they are all ones you should not miss! Thanks for sharing!

Chas

Wednesday 23rd of May 2018

Such great information, I hope to go there someday. Thanks for sharing on To Grandma's House We Go!

Alissa

Wednesday 23rd of May 2018

I had a roommate that talked about going there. She love it. I've never been. It looks wonderful though!

Maureen

Wednesday 23rd of May 2018

I haven't been to Myrtle Beach but these 12 things all look like fun! Thanks for such an extensive review and recommendations.

Maureen