The “arrogantly shabby” beach town of Pawleys Island, South Carolina is a perfect place for families. Besides the beautiful (and somewhat private) beaches, there are lots of water activities, historical places to explore and great places for your family to gather.

Here are just a few of our favorite family-friendly activities to check out in and around Pawleys Island.

Brookgreen Gardens

Brookgreen Gardens is located just north of Pawleys Island. The gardens and sculpture exhibits stretch along more than 9,000 acres. Family highlights include a zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Enchanted Storybook Forest, Whispering Wings Butterfly House and pontoon boat cruises along the creek. Brookgreen hosts several annual events like Cool Summer Evenings, the Fall Harvest Festival, Nights of a Thousand Candles and special weekends.

Historical Homes

There are a number of houses on the historical homes list in Pawleys Island and several places to tour around if history is your thing. Check out All Saints Parish or Atalaya Castle at Huntington Beach State Park. Walk, bike or drive down to the historic district and see homes that date back to the 1800s in this quaint beach town. Some were nearly destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and then  perfectly restored to their original layouts.

The Hammock Shops

The Hammock Shops offer a different type of shopping experience than the typical outlets and shopping complexes at the beach. Tour through the Original Hammock Shop and pick up a hammock for your home. Pawleys Island Mercantile features gifts, beach wares, classic toys and yummy candies. When you’ve worked up an appetite pick up a hot dog and sweat tea from Island Dogs.

Boating

If your group loves the water then Pawleys is the place for you. Just a short drive to the north you can find Pirate Adventures where little ones can play Buccaneer for a day aboard the Sea Gypsy – with a curly mustache and all. Dolphin Tours are also available from the marina in Murrells Inlet. Rover Boat Tours are available out of Georgetown and offer some of the best bird watching and shelling opportunities around.

Huntington Beach State Park

Families come first at Huntington State Park where you can camp together, play together and learn together. The park has a variety of nature trails to explore as well as educational programs that focus on the area’s wildlife. Enjoy family-friendly events throughout the year like family camp outs, a Halloween festival and so much more.

Kayak Tours

There’s even more water fun to be had when you take a kayak fishing tour along the creeks. Black River Outdoors can take you to the best fishing spots where even the power boats can’t get to. Even if you’re not into fishing you can join in an eco tour through swamps and nature preserves to check out the abundance of wildlife in our area.

Hobcaw Barony

Hobcaw Barony is a 16,000 acre wildlife refuge located south of Pawleys Island near Georgetown. The historical site offers a number of unique tours – by boat, horse or bus – and programs throughout the year. If fly fishing is your thing you’ll find ample opportunity throughout the salt marsh creeks. Fishing trips are limited to two people at a time. Take time to tour the Hobcaw House, the home of Wall Street Financier Bernard Baruch.