- Date Kayaked: May 16, 2020
- Total miles Tracked: 3.54 miles
- Type of paddle: Ocean inlet
- Best Features: Easy access, 24 hours
- Put-in/Take-out: Drive right up to the water's edge
- Worst Features: No facilities at landing, tide dependent
- Wildlife spotted: cannonball jellies, egrets, herons, oysters
- Vegetation: Marsh grass
- Associated Website: none
- Primary Author: Cheryl
Before we owned kayaks, we had a canoe. It was a great starter boat, but it was heavy and awkward to load on the car. Back on our honeymoon in 2011, we rented a kayak at a state park in Florida and tooled around on the Rainbow River. It was much easier to maneuver, but it was still a tandem boat. We knew single kayaks would be a lot of fun to try out, and also to transport. One summer when down at the beach with James' family, we went to Woody's in Garden City Beach and rented ocean kayaks for 3 days. That was it! We were HOOKED! The next spring we invested in our own kayaks and sold the canoe and began our paddling adventures. The following summer, we hauled our kayaks down for family vacation and James' sisters rented kayaks from Woody's and we became a boating family. We've upgraded ours and other family members now own kayaks, and we love the adventures that we have together.
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| Our kayaks lined up ready for adventure |
We spent many of summer in Garden City Beach, SC with the family, and rented a house on the canals that feed into Murrell's Inlet. So much of our early paddling was in the inlet exploring the different creeks that branch off the main channel. But if you don't rent a house with water access, there are multiple public access on the Murrell's Inlet where you can put in.
One of our favorites we refer to as Oyster Shell Recycling. It's an unofficial boat launch just north of Huntington Beach State Park, down a dirt road where you recycle your oyster shells. You put in a little south of the main channel of Murrell's inlet, into Oaks Creek. Other launch points along the inlet include Morse Park Landing and the public boat ramp next to Crazy Sister Marina. The closer to the marina, the bigger the channel - and the bigger the boats.
We had a group of 7 in our flotilla including me, James, his sisters Joy and Gina, niece Madeline, Cousin Carrie and Uncle Chuck.
I like putting boat in at the Oyster Shell recycling because there is less traffic down in Oaks Creek. You avoid many of the jet skis, head boats and the banana boat riders that zip through the main channel. The marsh is full of birds. On this day, we saw egrets, a hawk, ducks and snowy egrets.
And of course our favorite: blue herons.
Oaks Creek narrows into channels that become a maze, twisting through the marsh grasses. Oysters are revealed when the tide is low.
If you play the tides correctly, you can paddle all the way down to the causeway leading into Huntington Beach State Park. We are always looking for gators, but so far we have not encountered them paddling in this area.
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| Huntington Beach State Park Causeway |
If you get too shallow, the pluff mud will stop you! It creates a suction under your boat making it impossible to paddle, and you can't get out either or you will sink to your knees. I struggled for a bit to get back to flowing water.
Did I mention the tides? While it is super easy to unload and load your boats here because you can pull right up to the water, keep an eye on the incoming tide. We almost had to move the car before we finished tying up the boats.
If you're in the area and just looking for a good, easy paddle, check it out. Just watch the tides! The area to the right of the launch is wide and pleasant during high tide, but quickly turns impassible when the tide starts going out. It's not the end of the world, since the main channel of Oaks Creek keeps enough water to follow it back to the launch. Still, if you head into this area and start bumping bottom, you might want to turn back. It's a long slog through muck if you get stranded! Don't let that hold you back, however. This is a great place to kayak any time of day or year.
nice
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