This popular North Myrtle Beach recreation site will soon include hourly parking costs

Visitors to North Myrtle Beach’s popular Cherry Grove Park will begin seeing hourly parking rates Saturday, April 30, city officials announced this week.

Between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., it will cost $2 an hour, though city residents are eligible for free year-round parking by registering through North Myrtle Beach’s website.

The levy comes as renovations to the site off Ocean Boulevard continue — a $400,000 upgrade package including construction of a larger parking lot and addition of a new kayak ramp supporting commercial rental companies — with work expected to be wrapped up by May .

That comes after city leaders gave early approval April 4 to an ordinance allowing for fee-based activities inside public parks, a move that sparked outrage among Cherry Grove regulars, who launched a petition opposing the change.

“These private commercial activities interfere with the uses for which the boat ramp was designed, thus denying our citizens the use and enjoyment of an amenity paid for by their tax dollars,” the petition states.

The city’s Planning Commission voted March 22 to recommend approval.

This story was originally published April 29, 2022 at 12:10 PM.