Best Tent Camping near Myrtle Beach, SC

Little Pee Dee State Park is a quiet and clean campground on the banks of Lake Norton. Locals often come here for fishing and non-motorized boating.  We were fortunate to witness a mass crayfish event--the recent flooding had brought them out of the swamp and up the spillway, much to the delight of seafood lovers.

The campground had two different campground hosts, and they kept the restrooms and campsites immaculately clean.

Campsites have a fire ring/grate and a picnic table, but no trash cans, and you'll need to bring your trash to a large bin located at the edge of the campsites.

There are some nice sites right at the edge of Lake Norton, but the abundant water plants don't allow you to fish from the side of the lake, and it's not really a swimming lake. These sites accommodate RVs and have water & electric.  If you're on a budget, there are tent-only sites off the water.

The campground recently built a sleeping cabin, which is a cute structure with air conditioning/heat, bunk beds, and a free-standing bed (the cabin sleeps four, total). Guests can use a fire ring and Adirondack chairs, hammock, and grill.

The park also has a nice shelter for use.

There is no WiFi here, and cellular internet is spotty. There isn't a camp store, but the Ranger Station does have ice, firewood, and a small number of souvenirs for sale.

Campground Review:

Do you love people? Do you love the ocean? Do you love airplanes?

Then Myrtle Beach State Park is for you!

It's a great park--it's got lots of campsites, a beautiful beach, and amenities like a playground, a nature center with educational programs, and a fishing pier.

The campground is well-staffed with rangers, hosts, and volunteers.  The bathrooms are large and clean. (Hand soap is provided but there are no paper towels, just blowers). The campgrounds are well-maintained and tidy.  The trash and recycling stations are conveniently located.

The campground, particularly site 171, is directly under the flight path for planes departing from Myrtle Beach International Airport.  The flights start around 6 am and go until 11 pm or so.  The planes haven't gotten much altitude before they are roaring above your tent, hammock, or camper!

Sites are close together and there is little to no privacy.  Site 171, however, seemed to be the best one for tents, with a deep and wide site and a few trees--enough to hang our 4 hammocks.

Quiet hours were not enforced and traffic noise is easily heard, especially fire truck and police car sirens well into the night and early morning.  The park staff raced past our site frequently on tractors and golf carts once it was after 7 am.

Mosquitoes are in full force here.  The county had sprayed for them the night before we arrived.  Maybe they don't spray the tent sites, but the mosquitoes were insane.  Bring plenty of spray, wipes, and one of those bug zapper tennis rackets.  You will definitely need protection!  The camp store sells mosquito spray for twice as much as it costs across the street at Walmart.

Also, the raccoons were at our site both nights.  They are fearless and hungry.  Lock up your food, your coolers, and your trash.  They do know how to open up latches!!!

Bring a bike and/or a beach cart to get around and transport your stuff to the beach for the day.  The campground is about 300 yards from the beach and it's so nice, you'll want to spend the whole day there, then go out at night to look for creatures and enjoy the ocean breeze.

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Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time- today I am testing the Morsel Spork (mini and XL).

I was pleasantly surprised at the comfort of using the Sporks.  I was worried they'd be awkward and unwieldy, but the creators put thought into how they are being held by the eater.  My thumb rested nicely in a groove near the top of the utensil.  The rubbery edge worked as intended to completely scrape the sides of the bowl, but an added bonus was that the rubber made the spoon edges soft where it met the skin of my mouth.

The spoon holds much more (cereal and beans, in our case) than it looks like it would.  The fork works, but I'd like thinner tines to better stab food items.  The serrated edge?  Well, it crushes rather than cuts.

I love the different colors and unique shape of the Spork(s).  They will be going on every camping trip with us.  They are easy to tell which fork is whose, and won't be lost in the cutlery shuffle when we're camping with a group of friends.  They're good for kids and adults!

You are a sand dune away from the ocean, you pass over a causeway to get to the SP and Campground.  There are alligators on both sides of the causeway, multiple birds lurking and flying in and out along the causeway with viewing places.  The campground is very nice, most sites have NO sewer sites but they have water and electric.  There are a few sites with sewer sites and there is, of course, a sewer dump station.  The beach is gorgeous and LONG!!!  You are not far from Myrtle Beach, from Georgetown and about 2 hours away from Charleston SC.  Great place.

Campground Review:

When we pull into a free, national forest campground in the dark, it’s really hard to get a perspective of where you are – everything seems just a bit spooky. When I saw the sun rise, I popped out of Hamlet (our adventure rig) to take a look around. Wow…this remote dispersed campground was AWESOME! We parked under a gorgeous live oak dripping in Spanish moss which was backlit by the morning sun. We decided to stay for a few days and explore the area.

This campground has drinking water (still a bit rusty this time of year) and very clean pit toilets. There are no picnic tables or tent pads. Sites are not established, so you can park wherever there is space. The large lawn area in the back of the campground can accommodate a couple very large RV's, but keep in mind there are no hook-ups. There were just a few campers there in March, so plenty of space from which to choose. And, the best part…absolutely no mosquitoes this time of year. The only downside of this campground are the lack of established firepits, so people tend to build fires (and leave scars/remnants) all over the place. We had our new Primus Kamoto OpenFire Pit with us, and this was the perfect place to use it for a “leave no trace” fire. Hutch cooked me Belgian waffles for my birthday with our Amish waffle iron…what a treat!

We cycled through the national forest, stopping at both the Hampton Plantation (historic rice plantation) as well as St. James-Santee Church (beautiful 17th century church) – both within a few miles of the campground. The following day, we drove to the Sewee Visitor and Environmental Education Center on Hwy 17 and spent the afternoon learning from “Wolfman Rob” about the conservation efforts of the Red Wolf as well as touring the ancient native shell mounds in the area. In addition to all of this, there is a canoe put-in for Wambaw Creek just a few miles down the road from the campground.

Note: While there is a general store a few miles away, they didn't have much, so come prepared with groceries as it's about 20+ miles to the nearest grocery store in Georgetown! McClellanville is much closer, but only has a Dollar General.

It’s official folks, we’ve fallen in love with the coast that lies between Georgetown and Charleston, SC! Check out our blog on The Dyrt's Online Magazine about our experience on the coast of South Carolina.

Product Review:

As Rangers for The Dyrt, we’ve been testing out these products in various boondocking and beach locations around the southeast. We will admit that we are “foodie vegetarians” who love to cook over an open fire, but don’t often use campground or picnic stop grills to put our food on directly. They are often rusty, greasy, and somewhat gross. We had been using a propane grill (using the same propane connection that we use for heating our adventure rig), but found that it didn’t have quite enough power to cook things quickly especially for the amount of space it took up in the truck. Now, if we have access to a bit of dry wood, we can easily create a fire anywhere (that is legal and safe, of course!).

What we like about these products:

1. Firepits and grills in campgrounds are often so large that to build a fire big enough to cook over and/or add some warmth to your evening’s activities, you must have a lot of wood and spend a good deal of time maintaining the fire. This unit allows you to build a small, focused fire for cooking, or a slightly larger one for warmth. We were surprised how much warmth we got from the heat radiating off the metal sides. You, of course, can also use charcoal.
2. Firepits in campgrounds are often wet and soggy, filled with trash from not-so-leave-no-trace focused campers, and the grill is often quite rusty. This unit allows you to start with a dry pit and the airholes on the “V” shaped bowl and sides help to increase the amount of oxygen to the fire, while the bottom allows ash to drop out like a wood stove.
3. Robustly constructed overall. Grill top is sturdy enough to hold a pan without bending, and the tight “weave” is perfect for burgers, dogs, and even grilled pizza!
4. No need for propane, just collect some downed wood from your campsite and you have all the fuel you need for a nice cooking fire.
5. Great for use on backcountry canoe and rafting trips where there may not be an existing fire pit or grill. Also, great for tailgates, beach parties, or anywhere else you may want to cook with wood or charcoal.
6. Folds down to an easy to store size, whether you keep it in your vehicle or garage.
7. The spatula (sold separately) is a nice design. Sturdy, long enough to reach the food on the grill top without having your arms directly over the fire, and stores nicely inside the fire pit when it is in its folded down position.

What could be improved:

1. It’s a bit heavier than it looks, so it’s not something you are going to want carry very far.
2. We’ve used it about 6 times and left it out in the rain one night. There is already some rust developing on the non-enameled surfaces.
3. While perfect for a canoe trip or rafting trip, it doesn’t fit well in our sea kayaks. A smaller version for sea kayak camping would be a great addition to the line!

Product Link: https://primus.us/products/kamoto-fire-pit?variant=30578573842

Product Video: https://youtu.be/6ooC6kDfjKI

Myrtle Beach SP

Arrived in time to take a walk on the beach with my dogs before dark. Beach is off limits to dogs and bikes May 1 - Labor Day 10 am - 5 pm. We visited in October so no restrictions. Unfortunately some pet owners still haven’t figured out that they need to police their dogs poop from the beach :(

The campground was very close to the beach which was nice and the area is generally shaded. Surprisingly the sites are actually not tiny like in some other locations. You have a break between most sites of foliage which also helps keep the noise down. My site was on the edge of the campground with a sand dune right beside, the mosquitoes were still very active even in the 50 degree ranges. The WiFi and signal is lacking but you can go to the campground store area and pick it up….mostly, lol. The showerhouses were well maintained, no heat when I visited (maybe not on yet?)and I had crappy water pressure when trying to get any warm/hot water.

The one down side that I experienced is the proximity of the airport. It didn’t keep me up at night but the campground is on the edge of the incoming flights and you can definitely hear the out going flights. Sorta background noise after you get used to it.

Nice pavilions near the beach for large groups, reserve ahead. The trails are pretty well maintained. Wear shoes due to the copperhead population, save the flip flops for the beach. AND watch out for sand burs! Especially if you have your furry friends along. We stayed off the “grass” areas after we found the first patch and had no more problem with them.

Myrtle Beach, SC: Beach Access (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good

(70 yr olds in 17’ trailer with a desire for a campsite that has at least some visual privacy - after the trailer is in the spot.)

Overall Rating: 3 Usage during visit: 85% a few days before Thanksgiving. Site Privacy: Many sites have little to no privacy. Most of the best sites are along the perimeter. Our site, 155, is close to the beach access.
Site Spacing: Close Site surface: Sand Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Not bad along the perimeter. Road Noise: None.
Through Traffic in campground: No Electric Hookup: Yes Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: Yes Laundry: Yes Potable Water Available: At sites. Bathroom: Yes. Flush toilets Showers: Double curtain showers.
Pull Throughs: Available. Cell Service (AT&T): 1-2 bars Setting: Under many mature deciduous trees. Weather: Warm. Mid to upper 60s Bugs: None this time of year.
Host: Plenty of volunteers around.
Rig size: Large rigs will fit in many sites. Sites: Circle 1 and 2 are pretty congested for the most part. The best chance of a good site is the perimeter sites. Among the best sites are: 188, 190, 191, 194, 196, 294 , 298, 302, 304, 307, 319, 323, 331*, 332333,334*, 336*.,237*, 240*, 241. I liked the sites near the beach access. They are not all great sites, but better than the congested area: 152,153, 154,155 (our site which was very nice), 73,64,16,17,18,19.

This is a pretty big campground. RV's rule the roost here. Most of the tent sites are on the rightmost section of the park (with the exeption of the tent only site on a separate far left section of the park). There are also cabins available at this park There was a good cross section of people. Many different age groups, and walks of life. Really friendly and chill park. Some very nice decorated tents and one really cool old 'skoolie' (actually a retired Air Force transport bus) which was my favorite of the lot. The beach is only 200 meters away, and there are some nature trails and a nature center as well. The camp store stays open till 9pm and they have plenty of wood and most of the things you will need. And they dont charge you up on items either!

The campsites are clean and feature a water spigot AND a power outlet, even for the tent sites! Tent sites usually do not get power outlets. There is also wifi included, which is another plus. 

Now. This is a cool place, but the sites are really close to each other. You WILL get to know your neighbors. Also, you are on the approach/departure pattern for Myrtle Beach International, so planes will be 500 feet above you. Makes for nice photography, but just an fyi.

This is a great option for staying at Myrtle Beach, and if you are with a group and/or really social, you will enjoy this park.