One of the blessings we have in the adaptive sports world here in the Grand Strand area is a spirit of cooperation. If you’ve read the blogs over the last several months, you’ll notice the improvements to access and opportunity for people with disabilities are not Coastal Adaptive Sports acting in a vacuum. Many wonderful people and organizations have rallied with vision and conviction to share their labors, resources, and support with us. Through this collective effort, one of the successes is gaining beach accessibility for those who need modifications. In addition to Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach has made similar progress in expanding beach access.
Surfside Beach has, in places, redesigned their access points to include better parking, advanced features, and specialized equipment.
Parking
Thanks to legislation, the state of South Carolina now allows free parking for people with disabilities. In addition to being free with a proper license plate and tag, more spaces are designated and widened for ease of loading and unloading. Surfside Beach has public parking in these locations from south to north:
- Melody Lane
- 13th Avenue South
- 13th South and Ocean Boulevard
- 6th Avenue South
- 5th Avenue South
- 4th Avenue South
- 3rd Avenue South
- Yaupon Drive
- Surfside Pier
- 3rd Avenue North
- 6th Avenue North
- 16th-17th Avenue North
Features
In order to accomplish the goal of accessibility, beaches are often designed with wheelchair ramps, paths, and pads, in addition to infrastructure engineered to reduce stairs and the steepness of the descent toward the water. These three locations offer wheelchair accessibility:
- Melody Lane
- Surfside Pier
- 3rd Avenue North
Adaptive Equipment
Surfside Beach provides beach wheelchairs - designed for sand and uneven terrain - through their police department at 811 Pine Drive or (843) 913-6368. The Wheel to Surf events and The Adaptive Surf Project can provide opportunities to use their modified surfboards and other surf tech, much of which is being designed right here in the Grand Strand. Samaha Surfboards and Island Inspired Surfboards, for example, have developed adaptive tech that are used in many places around the world, but they started in this region, and you will see some of it at the always-awesome Wheel to Surf events. BTW, you can sign up to participate in those as a surfer or volunteer.
At Coastal Adaptive Sports, we write these so you’ll know what’s up. We don’t want you to assume there aren’t options for people with disabilities. If you are planning a trip to Surfside Beach, or willing to, don’t let accessibility stop you. Contact us with any questions!
Caution! Shameless Plug Coming!
In addition to modifications to accommodate surfing, we similarly have modifications for athletes in basketball, cycling, kayaking, and paralympic games. Plus, we have activities year round. Check our calendar.
Wanna get involved? You may also volunteer to help out with a Coastal Adaptive Sports event by clicking here.