A wide, open beach, fishing pier full of anglers and stories, campgrounds in the oceanfront woods, all in the middle of it all in Myrtle Beach.

Since 1935, a trip to the beach has meant a stay at Myrtle Beach State Park each year for hundreds of thousands of families from across the United States and Canada.

Located in the heart of the bustling Grand Strand, one of America’s most popular and diverse vacation destinations, Myrtle Beach State Park also is a natural retreat, home to one of South Carolina’s last stands of easily accessible, oceanfront maritime forest.

Programming and a nature center offer visitors the chance to learn more about dolphins, sea turtles and the abundant bird and plant life that grace the leafy park.