If you have lived inside Wachesaw Plantation for more than a season, you already know the MarshWalk. You have your table at Wicked Tuna, your sunset spot on the Claw House deck, and you know which weeknight is quietest. That is not what this post is about.
The interesting thing about Murrells Inlet this summer is happening around the MarshWalk, not on it. Four restaurants opened on Highway 17 Business between February and May of this year. Brookgreen is running its strongest summer exhibit in recent memory, and it ends August 22. If you have not made a plan yet, this is the version of the plan worth making.
The four openings you probably drove past
All four of these are within a ten-minute drive of the Wachesaw gate. None are on the MarshWalk itself. That is the point.
- Inlet Shipwreck Bar & Grill — 4139 U.S. 17 Business, opened February 25, 2026 in the space previously used by Sloppy Jose's Cantina. Pirate-themed, waterfront-adjacent, with a pirate ship playground on the property that makes it the easiest sell of the season when you have grandchildren visiting. All-day happy hour and a signature Pirate Punch cocktail built on multiple rum blends.
- Palm 33 — Steak and seafood on U.S. 17 that opened May 1. Owner Lisa Blackwell bakes the pastries herself. The name is partly a tribute to a racecar driver and partly an homage to Key West, which tells you exactly what the room feels like.
- Francesco's — 2520 U.S. Highway 17 Business, owned by 21-year-old Nikko Genova, his second store in the area after opening Genova Pizza & Pasta in Socastee last year. The two crust styles are traditional Sicilian and thin-and-crispy Grandma's, and the Tri-Color pie is worth ordering once for the visual alone.
- Bohemian Bull Tavern & Beer Garden — 2859 Hwy 17 Business, leaning into burgers, craft beer, cocktails, and casual tavern food. This is the one to try when you want a Tuesday night out without a wait or a reservation.
If you have written off the strip along Highway 17 Business as chain restaurants and gas stations, that map is now out of date.
Brookgreen's summer window closes August 22
This one is easy to miss because Brookgreen runs so many events that they blur together. Do not let this one blur.
Brookgreen Gardens is hosting Summer Light: Art by Night every Wednesday and Saturday night through the summer from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The centerpiece is Gardens of Glass: The Art of Craig Mitchell Smith, an exhibition of thirty larger-than-life glass sculptures throughout the Gardens. During the day the pieces read as color and detail. On select summer evenings they are illuminated, creating a magical atmosphere. Different exhibit entirely.
The season ends Saturday, August 22. Between now and then, the remaining dates are:
| Month | Nights |
|---|---|
| July | Wed 15, Sat 18, Wed 22, Sat 25, Wed 29 |
| August | Sat 1, Wed 5, Sat 8, Wed 12, Sat 15, Wed 19, Sat 22 |
Tickets are $30 for adults and $14 for children, with children under three free. The Gardens close for general admission at 5 p.m. and gates reopen at 6 p.m. for Summer Light; a separate ticket is required for the evening event, with a discount available if you buy both at once. If you want dinner without leaving the property, Austin's Harvest Restaurant is open 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. and takes reservations.
The reason this matters for Wachesaw residents specifically: you are seven minutes from the front gate of Brookgreen. There is no other neighborhood on the Grand Strand where a world-class light installation is closer than the nearest grocery store.
The MarshWalk itself, in one honest paragraph
75 Days of Summer runs June 1 through August 31 across the MarshWalk with specialty summer cocktails and featured drinks crafted by the participating restaurants. If you have done the eight-restaurant crawl before, this year's version is not meaningfully different. The reason to walk down there in July is the same reason it has always been: Bovine's, Creek Ratz, Dead Dog Saloon, Drunken Jack's, Inlet Shipwreck, The Claw House, Wicked Tuna and Wahoo's Fish House lined up along the water at sunset. The Inlet Shipwreck slot is the one thing that has actually changed from last summer.
The pattern for a resident is inverted from the pattern for a visitor. Visitors work the MarshWalk from one end to the other. Residents pick one MarshWalk stop and pair it with something the tourist itineraries do not include. That is where the summer is this year.
Two dates worth blocking off now
Both of these fill up quickly. Both are inside a fifteen-minute drive.
- Atalaya Festival, September 25 to 27. Annual arts and crafts festival at Huntington Beach State Park with 100+ artisans, local food, and local musicians. The setting inside the Atalaya castle courtyard is the whole point. Go early Friday morning if you can. Saturday afternoon is the worst crowd window.
- Murrells Inlet Oyster Roast, November 7. Annual oyster roast at the Wicked Tuna parking lot with all-you-can-eat oysters and other foods, live music, and local craft vendors. This is the first Saturday when the light finally softens into fall along the inlet, and it is one of the tickets that longtime residents guard closely.
If you have visiting family in October or early November, one of these is your itinerary. You will not have to think about it again.
A Wednesday evening, done right
For the residents reading this who want an actual sequence rather than a menu of options, here is the one worth stealing this July or August:
- Leave the gate at 4:45 p.m. Head north on U.S. 17 Business.
- Early dinner at Francesco's or Bohemian Bull, depending on whether you want a slice or a full sit-down. Neither takes more than an hour on a Wednesday.
- Arrive at Brookgreen for the 6 p.m. gate opening. Walk the Gardens of Glass installation while the light is still soft, then loop back through as it goes dark near 8:30.
- If you still want a nightcap, the Claw House deck is a nine-minute drive south. The MarshWalk crowd thins meaningfully after 9 on a weeknight.
That sequence has three named venues, none of which existed in this configuration eighteen months ago. That is the version of the neighborhood a lot of longtime residents have not caught up with yet.
The point of all this
There is a version of every summer where you do the same three things you did last summer, and that is a perfectly good summer. But the reason people move to Murrells Inlet in the first place is that a small coastal town keeps quietly rearranging itself around you. Four new restaurants in six months on one stretch of highway is a rearrangement worth walking outside for. So is a thirty-piece glass installation that ends in five weeks and does not come back.
The MarshWalk will still be there in September. Craig Mitchell Smith's sculptures will not.
If you have been thinking about what your Wachesaw home is worth in a summer where Murrells Inlet is drawing new restaurants and new attention, or if you know someone eyeing a move down here and asking what daily life actually looks like, the Taylor Keenan Team at The Litchfield Company would welcome the conversation. Start your Lowcountry search — contact our team today.
