Historic Georgetown and the Harborwalk

Georgetown is the Grand Strand's historic anchor and the most rewarding day trip south of Pawleys Island. South Carolina's third-oldest city, it became an official port of entry in 1732 and grew rich on rice and indigo from the plantations along the Waccamaw, Pee Dee, Black and Sampit rivers that meet at Winyah Bay. That history is still legible in its streets. The historic district covers about 37 blocks of the original town grid along and north of the waterfront, with dozens of properties on the National Register of Historic Places, from colonial-era homes to grand antebellum houses under live oaks. Front Street is the downtown spine, a row of colorful shops, restaurants and aged brick facades, and behind it the Harborwalk, a wooden boardwalk, runs along the Sampit River waterfront past shrimp boats, sailboats and waterside decks. Georgetown counts five history museums for a town its size. The Rice Museum tells the story of the rice culture that shaped the region, built on the labor of enslaved Africans, and displays the Brown's Ferry Vessel, an 18th-century merchant ship recovered from the Black River in 1976. The Gullah Museum covers the crafts and history of Gullah Geechee culture, and the Kaminski House Museum, the South Carolina Maritime Museum and the Georgetown County Museum round out the list. Walking the Harborwalk and the historic district is free; the visitor center on Front Street has maps for a self-guided walking tour. Georgetown has repeatedly placed in USA Today 10Best's readers' choice for best coastal small town, winning in 2018.

How to spend the day: start at the visitor center on Front Street for a walking-tour map, then wander the residential streets of the historic district in the morning, when the light is soft and the streets are quiet. Visit the Rice Museum before lunch to understand what built the town, eat at a restaurant with a deck on the Harborwalk, and spend the afternoon on the water or in a second museum. The Harborwalk is especially pretty in late afternoon, when the shrimp boats return.

Getting on the water: Winyah Bay and the barrier islands beyond are part of the appeal. Boat tours run from the waterfront to North Island and its historic Georgetown Lighthouse, with shelling stops on the island's empty beach, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources offers free guided tours of the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center, a protected area reached only by guided tour; reserve these well ahead, as space is limited and schedules are seasonal.

Pairing and logistics: Georgetown is about an hour's drive south of central Myrtle Beach on US-17, just past Hobcaw Barony and Pawleys Island, so it combines naturally with either. A complete South Strand day might be a morning tour at Hobcaw Barony, lunch on the Georgetown Harborwalk and an afternoon in the historic district, with dinner on the Murrells Inlet MarshWalk on the way back north.