Aug 19, 2026

8 Places Dogs Cannot Go in Myrtle Beach, and Where to Go Instead

The closed doors in Myrtle Beach are not the ones visitors guess. The beach is open to dogs for seven months of the year, while the city's largest attraction complex admits service animals only and a botanical garden will not let you leave a dog in the car park.

Luis ZamoraCo-founder of PetCompass; Dog Dad to Banzo and Tuck

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina11 min readPet Care & Services

Myrtle Beach is a good dog destination with some hard closed doors, and the closed doors are not the ones most visitors guess. The beach is open to dogs for more than seven months of the year. The largest attraction complex in the city is not open to them at all. A botanical garden forty minutes south will not even let you leave the dog in the car park.

This is the list of no, taken from each operator's own published words, with a substitute for each one.

The eight, at a glance

#	Where	The rule
1	Broadway at the Beach	Service animals only
2	Brookgreen Gardens	No pets, and none left in cars
3	Myrtle Beach sand, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.	1 May to Labor Day
4	North Myrtle Beach sand, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.	15 May to Labor Day
5	Surfside Beach sand, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.	1 May to Labor Day
6	The Oceanfront Boardwalk, most of the day	Dogs only 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. in summer
7	Within 75 yards of any pier, in the water	All year, all beaches in the city
8	Indoors at any pet-friendly restaurant	Statewide rule, outdoor areas only

1. Broadway at the Beach

The rule, in the operator's own words: the Broadway at the Beach FAQ states "Broadway at the Beach only allows pets for those needing assistance."

That is service animals only, and it is the single biggest closed door in the city. Broadway at the Beach is a large lakeside complex of shops, restaurants, attractions and theatres, and the assumption that an open-air shopping and dining area must be dog friendly does not survive contact with the policy.

A note worth reading. Visit Myrtle Beach lists Broadway at the Beach among its "Best Bets" on its pet-friendly page. A best-bets carousel is a directory of businesses appearing in a pet-friendly context, not a guarantee that each one admits dogs. When a directory and an operator disagree, the operator's own page wins. That principle will save you a wasted drive more than once on this trip.

Instead: the board's own pet-friendly restaurant round-up names ten places that do take dogs on their patios, including Tidal Creek Brewhouse with a "large, fenced-in outdoor area" and South Coast Beer Project with a "huge outdoor grass area."

2. Brookgreen Gardens

The rule, twice on the same page. Brookgreen's visitor information answers the question directly: "No, for your pet's safety and the safety of our zoo collection, we do not allow pets in Brookgreen Gardens. Pets also cannot be left in cars."

And again in its hours section: "For their safety and the safety of our animal collection, pets are not allowed, nor can they be left in vehicles inside Brookgreen. Service animals that have received special training to assist disabled persons are welcome."

Read the second sentence of each. There is no car-park workaround here. This is not a garden that tolerates a dog waiting outside. Brookgreen contains the Lowcountry Zoo, which is why the policy is written that firmly.

The practical detail: general admission is good for seven consecutive days, at $25 for adults 13 to 64, $23 for seniors 65 and over, $14 for children 4 to 12, and free for children 3 and under. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily with gates closing at 4:30 p.m. for daytime admission. It is at 1931 Brookgreen Drive, Murrells Inlet.

Instead: Brookgreen itself lists local day-cares "for your convenience" while stating "We do not have a relationship with these businesses." One of them, A Dog's Way Inn at 5225 Berkeley Court in Murrells Inlet on (843) 357-4545, also appears on the tourism board's own list of facilities requiring proof of vaccinations. Two independent sources naming the same place is about as good as this kind of recommendation gets.

3, 4 and 5. The beach itself, in the middle of a summer day

The Grand Strand crosses several municipalities and each one closes the sand to dogs for part of the summer day, on its own clock.

Myrtle Beach. City ordinance section 5-13, published in chapter 5 of the beach regulations: "Animals are not allowed on the beach between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., from May 1 up to and including Labor Day."

Surfside Beach. The same clock, in its own words: "Dogs or other domestic pets are not permitted on the public beach between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. from May 1 through Labor Day."

North Myrtle Beach. A different clock, from the city's beach laws: "May 15 to Labor Day: No dogs allowed on the beach 10 am to 4 pm."

One honest complication. Visit Myrtle Beach publishes North Myrtle Beach as 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from 15 May to 15 September, which contradicts the city on both ends of the day and on the end date. The ordinance is the law, so follow the city. If you want to be certain either way, treat 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as closed there.

Instead: the same beaches, before or after. And for more than seven months of the year, from the day after Labor Day to 30 April, there is no time restriction at all. Our guide to beaches and national parks with dogs covers how to plan around a patchwork like this.

6. The Oceanfront Boardwalk, for nineteen hours a day in summer

The boardwalk is stricter than the sand it runs beside, which catches people out.

From 1 May through Labor Day, dogs are allowed on the Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Boardwalk and Promenade "only between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m." Five hours, all of them early. The beach reopens to dogs at 5:00 p.m. The boardwalk does not.

From the day after Labor Day through 30 April, dogs are allowed on the boardwalk at any time.

Instead: walk it at dawn. A boardwalk at 6 a.m. in July is one of the better experiences the city offers a dog, because it is quiet, the air is still cool and the surface has not been baking. Or come in October and walk it whenever you like.

7. The water within 75 yards of any pier

This one is not a dog rule and it applies to dogs completely.

Ordinance section 5-21: "No aquatic activity of any kind may occur within 75 yards of any pier." Any kind, any pier, all year.

Piers are also where the surf fishing concentrates. The same ordinance chapter regulates fishing in detail rather than banning it, and goes as far as making it unlawful to bait or fish for sharks or other marine animals that may endanger the public within a mile of the beach. So the water near a pier holds hooks, cut bait and line.

Instead: pick a stretch of beach with no pier in sight and let the dog swim there. Then rinse the salt off, and offer fresh water so the dog is not drinking sea water out of thirst.

8. Indoors, at every pet-friendly restaurant in South Carolina

There is a statewide rule behind this, and knowing it turns a vague hope into a plan.

South Carolina Regulation 61-25, section 9-3, governs outdoor pet dining. In the state's own published regulation, the construction requirements say: "Pets shall be restricted to the outdoor pet dining area and shall not be allowed in the retail food establishment." And: "Outdoor pet dining areas shall have an outside entrance."

The tourism board's own restaurant list carries the same note in plainer language: "The listed restaurants only allow dogs in outdoor dining areas."

So the indoor dining room is closed everywhere, by regulation rather than by preference. And you should never expect to walk a dog through a dining room to reach a patio, because a compliant patio has its own outside way in.

Instead: look for the sign. The regulation requires a compliant establishment to "post signs at the entrance of all dining areas stating the facility is pet dining friendly and has an outdoor pet dining area." The sign is the tell. Our guide to finding pet-friendly restaurants covers the rest of the approach.

Two places we could not check, and will not guess about

Myrtle Beach State Park and Huntington Beach State Park. The South Carolina state parks website would not load from any route we tried, including a residential connection in a normal browser. Visit Myrtle Beach lists both parks among its pet-friendly best bets and publishes an article about them, which is board-level support for dogs being welcome in some form. Call the park before you go.

That is the honest version.

Where to go instead, in one list

For a walk: the beach outside the closed hours, or the boardwalk at dawn in summer, or anywhere on the sand between the day after Labor Day and 30 April.

For a run off leash: Barc Parc South at 676 Mallard Lake Drive in Market Common, or Barc Parc North at 5000 Claire Chapin Epps Drive off 62nd Avenue. Both are free, fenced, with drinking fountains and separate areas for large and small dogs. The North Myrtle Beach dog park at 150 Citizens Circle in Little River is the best documented of the three, open 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., with proof of a current rabies vaccination required at the gate.

For a meal: any of the ten patios the board names, on the patio, entered from outside.

For a day when the dog cannot come: one of the four boarding facilities the board lists, all of which require proof of vaccinations.

Where to stay

The board's pet-friendly directory holds 75 listings across hotels, rentals, restaurants and attractions, which is a reasonable pool to search. It does not attach a policy to each individual property, so confirm directly with any hotel before you book.

The PetCompass hotel directory covers the region, our questions to ask before booking a pet-friendly hotel list is the one to run through on the phone, and our pet-inclusive versus pet-friendly guide explains why the wording on a hotel page matters.

Conclusion

The closed doors in Myrtle Beach are specific and knowable. Broadway at the Beach is service animals only. Brookgreen Gardens will not take a dog even in your car. The sand closes for part of a summer day on three different clocks. The boardwalk gives you five morning hours. The water near a pier is off limits year round. And indoors is off limits statewide, by regulation.

Everything else is open, including seven months of unrestricted beach. Learn the eight and the trip works.

Frequently asked questions

Can I take my dog to Broadway at the Beach?

No. Broadway at the Beach states in its own FAQ that it "only allows pets for those needing assistance," which means service animals only. It appears on the tourism board's pet-friendly best-bets list, but the operator's own policy is the one that applies.

Are dogs allowed at Brookgreen Gardens?

No. Brookgreen states it does not allow pets, for the safety of its zoo collection, and adds that pets also cannot be left in cars or in vehicles inside Brookgreen. Service animals trained to assist disabled persons are welcome.

Can I leave my dog in the car at Brookgreen Gardens?

No. The policy specifically covers this. Brookgreen states pets "cannot be left in cars" and, separately, that they cannot "be left in vehicles inside Brookgreen."

What hours are dogs banned from the beach in Myrtle Beach?

Between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., from 1 May up to and including Labor Day, under city ordinance section 5-13. Outside that season there is no time restriction.

Why is the boardwalk stricter than the beach?

The published rule allows dogs on the Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Boardwalk and Promenade only between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. from 1 May through Labor Day, while the beach itself reopens at 5:00 p.m. From the day after Labor Day through 30 April the boardwalk has no restriction.

Can my dog swim near the piers?

No. Ordinance section 5-21 states no aquatic activity of any kind may occur within 75 yards of any pier. That applies all year and to every pier in the city.

Sources

Rules, hours and facilities change. Confirm with the managing agency before you rely on any of it.