Planning the Drive and the Order of Stops
Murrells Inlet sits about 30 to 40 minutes south of Conway, which puts it comfortably within day-trip range without an early wake-up. The three main draws, the MarshWalk, Huntington Beach State Park, and Brookgreen Gardens, all sit within a few minutes of each other, so the order you visit them in matters more than the total drive time.
Starting with Brookgreen Gardens or Huntington Beach State Park in the morning, while temperatures are still manageable, and saving the MarshWalk for a late-afternoon or evening seafood dinner, makes for a full but comfortable day. Doing it in reverse means walking outdoor trails during the hottest part of the afternoon, which is a rougher way to spend a summer day trip.
Traffic along Highway 17 between Conway and Murrells Inlet is generally light outside of the Myrtle Beach commuter rush, which runs roughly 7:30 to 9 a.m. and 4:30 to 6 p.m. on weekdays. Leaving Conway by 9 a.m. avoids the tail end of that morning rush while still giving you a full day, and the return drive after dinner typically clears well before the evening commute traffic builds back up.
What to Pack
Sunscreen, water, and comfortable walking shoes cover the basics for the outdoor stops. If you’re planning to visit Huntington Beach State Park, bring a swimsuit and towel too, since the park includes a wide stretch of undeveloped beach that’s worth a swim if the day allows time for it.
Building a Rough Schedule
A workable schedule for a full Murrells Inlet day looks something like this: leave Conway by 9 a.m., spend roughly two hours at Huntington Beach State Park, cross the highway for two to three hours at Brookgreen Gardens, then head to the MarshWalk by 5 p.m. for dinner and sunset. That leaves enough buffer for traffic and a slower pace than expected, without pushing the return drive to Conway much past 9 p.m.
The MarshWalk: Restaurants and Sunset Views
The Murrells Inlet MarshWalk is a half-mile wooden boardwalk lined with waterfront seafood restaurants, most with outdoor decks looking directly over the marsh. It’s one of the more concentrated seafood dining stretches on the entire Grand Strand, which makes it worth timing your visit around a meal rather than treating it as a quick walk-through.
Getting a Table Without a Long Wait
Weekend evenings, especially in summer, bring long waits at the most popular MarshWalk restaurants, sometimes over an hour for a table with a water view. Arriving by 5 p.m., ahead of the main dinner rush, or aiming for a weekday visit instead of a weekend, cuts that wait dramatically. Several restaurants also offer bar seating that doesn’t require the same wait as a table.
The MarshWalk isn’t a place to rush through before dinner. It’s the whole point of the evening.
Sunset over the marsh is one of the more reliably scenic moments on the Grand Strand, and most restaurants along the walk have deck seating positioned to take advantage of it. If timing allows, aim to be seated by 7 p.m. in summer to catch the last hour of daylight over the water.
What to Order
Given the concentration of seafood restaurants along a half-mile stretch, most MarshWalk menus lean heavily on local shrimp, oysters, and fresh catch options rather than a broader general menu. If you’re traveling with picky eaters who want something other than seafood, it’s worth checking a specific restaurant’s full menu ahead of time, since a few offer more variety than others while still keeping the same water view.
Huntington Beach State Park and Brookgreen Gardens
Huntington Beach State Park sits just across Highway 17 from Brookgreen Gardens, and the two make a natural pairing for the earlier half of a Murrells Inlet day trip. The park includes a long, relatively undeveloped beach, salt marsh boardwalks good for bird watching, and Atalaya Castle, a Moorish-style former winter home that’s open for self-guided tours.
Brookgreen Gardens
Brookgreen Gardens combines sculpture gardens, a wildlife preserve, and butterfly and nature trails across a large, shaded property. According to the National Park Service, Brookgreen Gardens holds National Historic Landmark status as one of the most significant collections of figurative sculpture in an American garden setting, which gives the visit some real substance beyond a pretty walk.
Budget at least two hours for Brookgreen Gardens if you want to see more than a fraction of the property, and closer to three if you’re including the wildlife areas. Combined with an hour or two at Huntington Beach State Park, that fills most of a morning and early afternoon before you head toward the MarshWalk for dinner.
Admission and Timing
Both Huntington Beach State Park and Brookgreen Gardens charge separate admission fees, and a combination ticket is sometimes available covering both. Check current hours before you go, since Brookgreen Gardens’ closing time can come earlier than expected in certain seasons, which affects how late you can push the morning portion of the trip.
Wildlife and Bird Watching
Both stops draw serious bird watchers, particularly during spring and fall migration when the marsh and maritime forest habitats along this stretch of coast see heavier traffic. Huntington Beach State Park’s boardwalk trail through the salt marsh is a reliable spot for wading birds like herons and egrets even outside peak migration, and it costs nothing extra beyond park admission to walk it slowly with a pair of binoculars.
Alligators are also a regular sight in the freshwater sections of Huntington Beach State Park, usually visible from a safe distance along the boardwalk rather than close to walking paths. It’s worth mentioning to kids ahead of time so it’s a fun spot rather than a surprise, and it’s a good reminder to keep pets on leash and away from the water’s edge throughout the park.
Atalaya Castle
Atalaya, the Moorish-style winter residence inside Huntington Beach State Park, is included with regular park admission and takes about 30 to 45 minutes to walk through at a relaxed pace. Its open courtyard design and thick concrete walls, built to withstand coastal storms, make it noticeably cooler inside than the surrounding beach on a hot afternoon, which makes it a good midday stop to break up time spent outdoors in direct sun.
Combined, a full stop at Huntington Beach State Park covering the beach, the salt marsh boardwalk, and Atalaya realistically takes closer to two and a half hours than the two hours budgeted in a tighter schedule, so building in that extra buffer helps the rest of the day stay unrushed.
If You Only Have Half a Day
Not every trip allows a full day for Murrells Inlet, and the three stops do work as standalone half-day options if needed. A shorter visit built entirely around the MarshWalk, arriving by 4 p.m. for an early dinner and sunset, still delivers the single most distinctive part of the area even without the gardens or the state park. Save the fuller version of this trip for a day when the schedule genuinely has room for all three stops.