Ocean Lakes

  A special playground in Myrtle Beach is giving children with special needs a place to play alongside everyone else – and has a special connection to Ocean Lakes Family Campground. Savannah’s Playground, at Grand Park near The Market Common, is designed to accommodate children of all abilities, including those with special needs, so all children can play together. It also gives parents with disabilities the chance to play with their kids in a way that other playgrounds don’t accommodate. The sprawling playground features swingsets, a harmony musical park, climbing areas, slides and a challenge ropes course with a zipline. Various sections cater to different ages. The $1.2 million Americans with Disabilities Act-approved park opened in Myrtle Beach – about five miles away from Ocean Lakes – late in the summer and has quickly become a hit with families and a model for other cities that want to provide a similar playground, officials said. The inspiration for ...

Campfire season is on its way with cooler temperatures arriving in the Myrtle Beach area. But before you bust out all the campfire gear, brush up on our rules and get tips for making sure your fire doesn’t get out of hand. Ocean Lakes allows campfires on sites in the campground, but they must be contained in a ring or an elevated fire pit. Guests must stay with the campfire, ensure that it’s completely out and clean up any debris from it. In addition to the general safety anywhere you have a campfire, guests should take extra precautions here because of the ocean breezes. “I would just encourage your folks not to have huge ones,” said Kathy Nieuwenhuis, public education officer with Horry County Fire-Rescue. “With any wind those embers can be picked up and deposited somewhere else.” Reminder: While Ocean Lakes allows campfires at sites in the campground, campfires are NOT allowed on the beach. Here are a few tips for guests building a fire at their site: ...

We were fortunate not to have major damage from Hurricane Matthew, but the storm left a mess – lots of downed tree limbs, sticks and leaves. Our team has been making the rounds to collect all the debris as quickly as possible – and we have extra outside crews arriving today to help. A teammate drops off a load of debris in the new drop-off area south of the South Gate entrance Thursday morning. If the debris is creating issues with parking at your site, here are some options: TEMPORARY STORM DEBRIS DROP-OFF AREAS  We’ve designated special drop-off areas near the South Gate entrance for owners/guests to bring bulk debris such as big limbs, sticks and stumps, and bagged yard debris with leaves. (NO bagged trash ). Bulk debris should be dropped in the area south of the South Gate entrance. This is the area north of the South Gate entrance where guests can drop off bagged debris. Bagged debris should be dropped in the area north of the South Gate ...

Talk about scary. Less than a week before our first Halloweekend was set to start, Hurricane Matthew made an unwelcome visit to the Myrtle Beach area – knocking out power, tossing limbs and debris throughout the campground and leaving several inches of water in our Recreation Center – the hub of our Halloween activities. But our team snapped into action to get everything ready. Just days after the storm, the Recreation Center is cleaned up and decked out for all the Halloweekend fun kicking off today (Oct. 14). “Our team hustled all week to clean up from the storm and to get ready for an awesome Halloweekends,” said Salle Horner, Sandy Harbor and Recreational Activities Coordinator. Ocean Lakes has three Halloweekends: Oct. 14-15, Oct 21-22 and Oct. 28-29. It’s a busy time, with only a handful of campsites left those weekends. Halloweekends consume the campground, and the lineup of activities is non-stop, starting Friday evening with the Karaoke Carnival at the Cen...