Myrtle Beach

You could easily fill your days alternating between the beaches and boardwalk amusements along the 60-mile Grand Strand of South Carolina’s Atlantic Coast (think the SkyWheel, shopping malls, barbecue restaurants, the nostalgia-inducing Family Kingdom amusement park, and some 90 golf courses). But don’t forget to explore Myrtle Beach’s adventurous side, too. The 64,000-acre Cape Romain Wildlife Refuge and nearby Francis Marion National Forest showcase the wildlife found along the coast, and fossil hunts on Cat Island hint at who, or what, inhabited this part of South Carolina long before the sun-worshipping vacationers arrived.