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The best free things to do in Myrtle Beach with kids are Warbird Park, Savannah’s Playground, the boardwalk and the river aquarium at the Horry County Museum, with four more below. Warbird Park is the one to plan the week around. Three Cold War jets from the old air force base stand in the open, and it costs nothing. We travel slowly with kids, one thing a day and a long afternoon in the water, and a town whose free things are real outings rather than filler makes that easy. Every item was checked against the park, city or county’s own page on September 26, 2026, and where a small fee sits beside a free thing it says so. By the end you will have a week of days that cost nothing and know which one carries a small charge.
How We Chose These
Free means the thing itself costs the family nothing to do. We left out anything that is only free for one age group, anything that is really a free walk past a paid attraction, and the tips-based tours. Where a free place charges for one part of itself, or charges for parking, that fee is printed in the item rather than left for you to discover at the gate. Seven of the eight carry no charge at all. The other one is the beach itself (the sand is free, street-end parking is $3 an hour in season).
Hours and fees change. Every item links to the page the operator maintains, and the dates and prices here were read from those pages on September 26, 2026. If a line below disagrees with the official page on the day you go, the official page wins.
The 8 Best Free Things to Do in Myrtle Beach with Kids
1. Warbird Park
An outdoor display of jets that flew from the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, among them an F-100 Super Sabre, an A-7 Corsair II and an A-10 Thunderbolt II, with a Wall of Service honoring the veterans who served there. Real fighter jets in the open air hold children who would never sit through a museum, and the signs by each plane give parents the story. The Market Common has a fenced playground in the middle of its shopping center for afterwards.
Where: 150 Farrow Parkway, at The Market Common on the old air force base. When: Sunrise to sunset. Cost: Free. The park’s own words are that admission is free of charge. Check the official page before you go.
2. Savannah’s Playground
A city playground built for children of all ages and abilities, with soft surfaces, accessible restrooms with changing stations and a fenced pond, beside the lake and walking paths of Grand Park. It is designed so every child can play on everything, which also makes it one of the easiest playgrounds in the area for toddlers. Warbird Park is a few minutes away, so the two make one morning.
Where: 1010 Crabtree Lane, behind Crabtree Memorial Gymnasium at The Market Common. When: Open all year, with seasonal hours posted at the playground. It opens at noon on Tuesdays for weekly maintenance. Cost: Free. Check the official page before you go.
3. The Myrtle Beach Boardwalk and Promenade
A 1.2-mile walkway through the dunes and along the sand, open around the clock, passing Plyler Park, where the summer Hot Summer Nights events are held. Walk it early in the morning or in the evening, when the sand is cool and the ocean is the whole show. In summer, Hot Summer Nights adds family entertainment and fireworks along the way.
Where: The oceanfront from the 14th Avenue Pier to the 2nd Avenue Pier. When: Open 24 hours. Hot Summer Nights runs through the summer. Cost: Free to walk. The SkyWheel and the rides along it charge. Check the official page before you go.
4. Horry County Museum
The county history museum, home to a custom freshwater aquarium of the fish that live in the local rivers and lakes, built for Animal Planet’s Tanked. The aquarium is the draw for children, and the museum is small enough to see in an hour. Pair it with the Riverwalk and the living history farm for a full free day in Conway.
Where: 805 Main Street, Conway, about half an hour inland. When: Tuesday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday. Cost: Free. The museum lists free admission. Check the official page before you go.
5. L.W. Paul Living History Farm
A working farm run by the Horry County Museum as it was between 1900 and 1955, with mules, cattle and hogs, a farmhouse kitchen, a gristmill, a blacksmith and tobacco curing. Children see a farm that actually works, animals and all, and the demonstrations change with the seasons. The guided tour on Saturday mornings is the best way to see it.
Where: 2279 Harris Short Cut Road, Conway. When: Tuesday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Guided tours every Saturday at 10 a.m., except on farm event days and county holidays. Cost: Free, including the guided tours. Check the official page before you go.
6. The Conway Riverwalk
A mile and a half of boardwalk and paved path along the Waccamaw River to Riverfront Park and the Conway Marina, with a playground and parking. A dark blackwater river, a boardwalk over it and a playground on the way make an easy walk with a stroller, and a good way to finish a morning at the museum.
Where: Trailhead on 2nd Avenue, just off US 501, Conway. When: Dawn to dusk. Cost: Free. Check the official page before you go.
7. Chapin Memorial Library storytimes
The city’s public library, with storytimes for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, music and movement sessions for the little ones, and a children’s section. Storytime is the rainy-morning plan for under-fives, and the children’s section fills the rest of the hour. Days and times change with the seasons, so check the library calendar before you go.
Where: 400 14th Avenue North. When: Monday and Wednesday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Closed Sunday. Cost: Free. It is the city’s public library. Some storytimes ask families to register. Check the official page before you go.
8. The beach itself
The public beach, which is free. In season the cost is parking, and from October to February the downtown meters are free. Use the street-end accesses near where you are staying rather than driving to the busiest blocks, and go early while the sand is cool. An off-season visit gets the beach and the parking for nothing.
Where: Public beach accesses at the street ends along Ocean Boulevard. When: Paid parking runs 9 a.m. to midnight, March 1 to September 30. From October 1 to the end of February, city-metered spaces downtown, from Sixth Avenue South to 21st Avenue North, are free. Cost: Free. Street-end parking is $3 an hour or $15 for the day in season, and a seven-day visitor pass is $50. Check the official page before you go.
When You Are Ready to Spend
A free week still needs a bed and usually one paid outing. In Myrtle Beach the paid outings worth the money are the boat and dolphin trips from the marinas, and they book through GetYourGuide. For lodging, staying near the boardwalk puts the promenade and the beach within walking distance, and staying near The Market Common puts you next to Warbird Park and Savannah’s Playground. Our Myrtle Beach activities guide covers the paid side of the town, and the Myrtle Beach beaches guide covers every public beach access.
Myrtle Beach is one of the towns in our ranking of the best beach towns in South Carolina for families, which covers what a week here costs against the rest of the state.
FAQs About Free Things to Do in Myrtle Beach with Kids
Is the beach in Myrtle Beach free?
Yes, the beach itself is free. Parking is the cost in season, $3 an hour or $15 for the day at the street ends from 9 a.m. to midnight, March 1 to September 30. From October 1 to the end of February, city-metered spaces downtown are free.
Is Warbird Park free?
Yes. Warbird Park, at 150 Farrow Parkway by The Market Common, is free and open from sunrise to sunset, with Cold War jets from the old Myrtle Beach Air Force Base on display.
Where is the best free playground in Myrtle Beach?
Savannah’s Playground, at 1010 Crabtree Lane in Grand Park. It was built for children of all abilities, it is free and open all year, and it opens at noon on Tuesdays for maintenance.
What is free to do in Myrtle Beach on a rainy day?
The Horry County Museum in Conway is free from Tuesday to Saturday and has a freshwater aquarium built for the show Tanked. The Chapin Memorial Library runs free storytimes for young children, with days that change by season.