Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach has been a vacation destination for decades, but the construction of its attractive boardwalk in 2010 brought the area to new heights. Completed at a cost of nearly $6.5 million, the boardwalk and promenade cover a 1.2-mile-long stretch of oceanfront from 14th Avenue to Second Avenue. The boardwalk features attractions such as Ripley’s Believe It or Not, the Myrtle Beach SkyWheel, Adrenaline Adventures and the Sling Shot Thrill Ride. During the summer months, the boardwalk serves as home to festivals and special events, with one of the most popular being Ocean Boulevard’s Hot Summer Nights, located at Plyler Park in the heart of the downtown area.
Boasting impressive oceanfront views of a well-maintained beach line, the boardwalk features a variety of shops and restaurants. Those who traverse its path can enjoy three different sections. The northernmost portion extends from the 14th Avenue North Pier to Plyler Park. The midsection, which runs from Plyler Park to the former Pavilion Amusement Park site at Eighth Avenue North, features more of a carnival-like atmosphere with oceanfront dining and businesses. At the southernmost end, which leads up to the Second Avenue Pier, visitors may enjoy a meandering oceanfront park. Warm-weather boardwalk activities include art shows and fireworks, and there is also other entertainment.
Venice Beach, California
Colorful: That’s one way to describe the boardwalk at Venice Beach, which has long been known as a place where visitors might encounter anything from poets and fortune-tellers to skateboarders and street performers. Also to be seen are people with a wide range of clothing, hairstyles, tattoos and other features at the more outlandish end of the spectrum.
Located in what was founded in 1904 as a seaside resort, the boardwalk later grew into an artery for an important cultural center frequented by early beat poets and other artistic types. The local area is now considered a neighborhood of Los Angeles, bordered by the Pacific Ocean, Marina del Rey to the southeast, Culver City to the east, Mar Vista to the northeast and the city of Santa Monica to the north.
“The boardwalk is still a focal point and a destination for many visitors,” said Donna Lasman, executive director of the Venice Chamber of Commerce. “It has a unique combination of artists and other attractions.”
Extending for approximately two miles, the boardwalk features a variety of shops and eateries, as well as rentals of skates, roller blades, bicycles, skates and boogie boards.
Visitors can take advantage of nearby features as wide-ranging as boutique hotels and the Venice Canal Historic District, known for its man-made canals built in the early 20th century.
