Myrtle Beach Boardwalk

The Myrtle Beach Boardwalk & Promenade, located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, officially opened in May 2010 at a cost of nearly $6.4 million and runs 1.2 miles along the oceanfront from the Pier 14 at 14th Avenue North to the 2nd Avenue Pier at 2nd Avenue North. National Geographic has ranked Myrtle Beach Boardwalk number three in the United States, while Travel and Leisure ranked the boardwalk number two.

The northern section, 8 feet wide with a raised wooden deck design, runs from Pier 14 to Plyler Park, the location of "Hot Summer Nights", with live music twice a week during the summer, and weekly attractions that include a "Kids Carnival", bagpipes, and a Dixieland band. The middle section, from Plyler Park to the former site of Myrtle Beach Pavilion, has "a carnival atmosphere accompanied by restaurants, bars and gift shops". The Southern Promenade, from the former Pavilion to 2nd Avenue Pier, city officials describe as a "meandering oceanfront park" with benches and landscaping. The city contributed 600 palmetto trees and 50,000 beach grass seedlings.

Myrtle Beach had a wooden boardwalk in the 1930s. All that remained was a concrete walkway between 9th Avenue North and 11th Avenue North, later renamed Mr. Joe White Avenue. The city was considering several payment methods. Opponents of the tax district wondered if small businesses could pay. The boardwalk was finished from 14th Avenue to 4th Avenue early in April. On December 1, 2011, the Myrtle Beach Community Appearance Board saw plans for a new restaurant and park north of 14th Avenue North, which could include an extension of the boardwalk, but it was not known who would pay to add to the boardwalk. The city would ask companies and organizations to contribute the money. If the city approved the plan, the boardwalk would start two miles further south at Springmaid Pier, and it would end one mile farther north. Also, boardwalk designer Mike Wooten stated his interest in widening the boardwalk, which would require action by the South Carolina legislature. The Myrtle Beach Downtown Redevelopment Corporation voted on April 16, 2014 to plan for a municipal improvement district in which extra property taxes would be paid. Buchanan Motels LLC planned a 23-story hotel at 17th Avenue North which would begin construction in 2015, and among their planned improvements for the area was a $500,000 extension of the boardwalk to 18th Avenue North.

Even during the boardwalk's construction, the national media showed interest in the boardwalk. Travel and Leisure named Myrtle Beach Boardwalk the number two boardwalk mainly because of the entertainers, and The Today Show featured the report. Visitors have given overwhelmingly positive reviews to the boardwalk.