Why are South Carolina state parks all the rage?

Once in a while in the RV community groups, word gets out about South Carolina state parks. They may not have as much hype around them as, say, Florida state parks, but those who have been lucky to grab a campsite, particularly at a park on the South Carolina coast, have many positive things to say. Might I say, they boast about the coast?

I was intrigued. What makes these South Carolina state parks so special? Is it the proximity to the ocean? Call us spoiled, but we grew up in beach towns, so the ocean doesn't quite do it for us. Surely there must be more to these beloved campgrounds, and I had to find out for myself. I took advantage of the slow month of January to book two coastal South Carolina state park campsites.

Myrtle Beach State Park:

If you read the last blog post, it's no surprise that we really enjoyed our stay at Myrtle Beach State Park. Beyond the ocean were the gifts of wooded nature trails, lovely botanics, and a spacious campsite. There was good energy, which we picked up on right after we parked. Southern hospitality was in full swing and we were able to enjoy the perfect balance of friendly neighbors who give you your space. Those are our kind of people!

From the very beginning, it was clear to us that South Carolina state parks do it right. Bathhouses and laundry facilities were placed conveniently throughout the campground, which was also where we could find dumpsters. The campground had both trash and recycling bins, which is a huge thumbs up in our book. Even though the day-use area of the state park has everything you could want: beach and trail access, a playground, lots of sitting areas (including the cutest bench swings!), and a gift shop, they don't skimp at the campground. There is a store, a playground, and a nature center that sits at the center of the park, accessible from both the campground and the main park road.

We loved our site. It was about the size we'd expect from a state park (which means quite large) and we had no trouble leveling our rig despite it being a sand site. We opted to use our levelers so that we could park closer to our hookups, but had we completely centered ourselves in the site, we would have been perfectly level from left to right. Our Koreshan State Park experience in Florida showed us how difficult it is to get a level site out of sand. This was impressive.

This particular park had full hookup sites, a rarity in most state parks elsewhere. The one downside we faced with our hookups is that the pedestal was not built for using a surge protector. We had no room to plug our surge protector into the 50amp outlet, so instead used our 30amp adapter and ran off of that instead of the full 50. Not a big deal to us, but as full-timers, we never plug in without a surge protector, no matter how much we're bullied to do so.

It seems nit-picky to note the downsides of this campground, because they really do 99% of things right. We had issues with connectivity. Forget the WiFi; even the park knows it's no good. Our cell service was barely enough to get us internet, though, and because our site had lots of tree cover, we couldn't use our Starlink. We were able to get just enough internet to do work throughout the week, but it was a struggle. Sometimes no matter how much research we do, we get duped. There was something about the campground itself. Driving through the state park, cell service seemed just fine, until we rounded the corner towards the campground, and we lost a couple bars. I guess that's proof of how wonderfully set back the campground was! Great privacy from the rest of the park.

It's also important to note that Myrtle Beach State Park is right in the flight path of planes taking off from the nearby airport. The commercial flights are loud, but nothing compares to the military jets, of which there were a lot. Those things were loud enough to rumble our entire RV. Definitely shook us from our tranquility whenever it happened, but the upside is, watching the planes and helicopters from the beach was pretty cool.

Myrtle Beach State Park wasn't what I had in mind when I heard RVers rave about South Carolina state parks. I pictured sites right on the beach with views of the blue ocean. No campground sites were on the beach, but in a lot of ways we like this better. We could walk to the beach and have the whole shoreline to enjoy without worrying about walking into campsites. After walking the beach, we could retreat to our oasis surrounded by sand and trees.

I'm pretty sure the sunrise and sunset photos are enough to lure anyone to this state park, so before you go, make sure you stop at the Myrtle Beach Welcome Center on your way in. It's about an hour from the state park, has RV parking, brochures, coupons, and free ice cream, yo!

Hunting Island State Park:

As we made our way down the South Carolina coast, our next stop was Hunting Island. Of all the state parks that dot the coast, I chose this one for one reason and one reason only: distance. Boring, I know. It was a good distance from Myrtle Beach and would position us to start our blitz west after our week there was up. What I didn't know was that South Carolinians and out-of-staters alike love Hunting Island. One lady on Google Reviews told the story that she had never seen the ocean, and when she was 40 years old, she saw it for the first time at Hunting Island and it was "perfect." Another reviewer said it was their favorite place in the entire country. TripAdvisor has named it one of the top 10 beaches in the US. High praise!

Situated about halfway between Charleston and Savannah, Hunting Island is one of the many islands and peninsulas that line the South Carolina and Georgia coast. While most people have heard of Hilton Head and Tybee Islands, Hunting Island is often kept under the radar. The coast is comprised of a bunch of islands in the St. Helena region. The drive in was outstanding, as we made our way over all the little bridges from one island to the next.

Our first impression of Hunting Island was that it's a huge state park. Myrtle Beach State Park is 312 acres. Hunting Island? 5000! The campground is separate from the rest of the park and requires a several-minute drive to get from one area to the next. The campground has 200 sites, some tent only and some with water and electric hookups. The rustic tent sites are just over the dunes from the ocean, which must be really amazing to fall asleep to. The RV area also allows tent camping, and some sites look like they wouldn't fit more than a tent or tiny trailer. Closer to the camp office are sites in a more open area. This area was packed, likely with RVers who want to be closer to all the amenities and the ocean. We chose a spot in the back of the campground in order to have more seclusion. Towing 56 feet of combined length through the narrow roads was something. This state park easily has the narrowest winding roads we've seen. We actually at one point had to do a hairpin turn as we entered our side of our loop.

The site itself was smaller than some state parks but still plenty of room. The toughest part was backing in. The entrance to our site was narrow and surrounded by palm trees. There was also a dip going from the street to our site. Backing in without hitting any palm trees was a challenge, but once we were in we had enough length to easily fit both truck and trailer, and we had a lovely little nook for our firepit. There were no sites immediately on our business side, which gave us extra "yard" space, and our pleasure side was lined with palmettos, giving us a little privacy from our neighbors.

We were situated across from the bathhouse. In SC State Park fashion, there were a lot of bathhouses, perfectly positioned throughout the campground. This bathroom was by far the best state park bathroom we've ever seen.

Hunting Island's campground doesn't have as many facilities as Myrtle Beach. There is no laundry and only one trash and recycling, near the entrance/exit. It was about a 10-minute walk for us, so we mostly opted to drive our trash over when we were on our way out. I'm fine not having nearby dumpsters, but a couple of pet waste bins would have been helpful. There were a couple of waste bag dispensers, but they didn't have a bin. It's tough being a dog owner and trying to figure out a temporary place to keep his waste bags that won't smell too much.

The campground is situated north of the rest of the park and sits adjacent to a shorebird preserve, which comprises part of the campground beach. It's still walkable, but dogs and vehicles need to keep south of the preserve border. Yes, vehicles! The beach allows bikes and golf carts, and the sand is perfectly packed to create safe terrain for these activities. My favorite part of the beach was the variety of shells and sea life. I saw multiple sand dollars, a horseshoe crab, shark teeth, and so many different color snail shells. The beach also seemed to house periodic shipwrecks. A canoe made its appearance one day, washed back out, and was replaced by a very worn half-boat. They must wash up from the other nearby islands.

The beach runs about 2.5 miles from the shorebird preserve, before a stream created for run-off divides the campground beach from the rest of the state park. It's passable, but only if you want to get wet up to your ankles, which I did not. So one sunny day, I drove over to the day-use side of the park to see what was up. Another winding maze of narrow roads surrounded by palms, but it's beautiful. There is a lighthouse and museum, a lagoon, multiple nature trails, a playground, and of course, tons of shoreline for the beachgoers.

Further south is a fishing pier and landing where you can take boat tours, but we didn't venture that far this time. Something to come back for, especially because one of the boat tours takes you to see dolphins and an eagle nest!

After our visit to these two SC State Parks, I have to say I'm hooked. I see the hype and am already thinking about how fun it would be to try the remaining coastal state parks in upcoming years. If we continue to head south in the winter as we have been, it's a great time to see these campgrounds, away from the crowds and instead immersing ourselves in the quiet natural beauty of South Carolina.

Campgrounds:

• Myrtle Beach State Park, Myrtle Beach, SC
• Site #215, 50amp FHU*, back-in, firepit, picnic table
• Campground recommended? Yes
• Site recommended? Yes

*We used 30amp because our surge protector wouldn't fit in the pedestal

• Hunting Island State Park, St. Helena Island, SC
• Site #188, water and 50amp electric, back-in, firepit, picnic table
• Campground recommended? Yes
• Site recommended? Yes