Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand Sights

Shopping Nightlife Performing Arts

1. Brookgreen Gardens

One of the Grand Strand's most magnificent hidden treasures, the 9,100-acre Brookgreen Gardens is the oldest and largest sculpture garden in the United States, with more than 550 examples of figurative American sculpture by such artists as Frederic Remington and Daniel Chester French. Each sculpture is carefully set within garden rooms and outdoor galleries graced by sprawling live oak trees, colorful flowers, and peaceful ponds. The gardens are lush and full in spring and summer, and in winter splashes of color from winter-blooming shrubs are set off against the stark surroundings. The property was purchased as a winter home for industrialist Archer Huntington and his wife, Anna Hyatt Huntington, in 1929, but they quickly decided to open it to the public as a sculpture garden and wildlife sanctuary. You'll find a Lowcountry zoo (including native red wolves, introduced in 2021), an aviary, a cypress swamp, nature trails, an education center, and a butterfly house. Summer concerts under the stars and the garden's breathtaking Night of a Thousand Candles during the Christmas season are Brookgreen traditions. The gardens are just beyond The Fighting Stallions, the Anna Hyatt Huntington sculpture alongside U.S. Route 17.