Brookgreen Gardens

Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, approximately 25 miles south of Myrtle Beach along the Grand Strand, is the first public sculpture garden established in the United States, opened in 1932 by Archer Milton Huntington and his wife Anna Hyatt Huntington on the site of four former rice plantations. The 9,100-acre property is a National Historic Landmark and encompasses formal garden rooms, a live oak allée, a 450-acre wildlife preserve, and the largest outdoor collection of American figurative sculpture in the world — more than 2,000 works by over 500 sculptors spanning the 19th century to the present day. The formal garden is organized as a series of enclosed outdoor rooms, each devoted to different planting themes and sculpture groupings. The Diana of the Chase by Anna Hyatt Huntington, positioned at the end of the main allée, is the collection's centerpiece. A spring-fed freshwater lake reflects the surrounding live oaks and azaleas. The Cypress Bird Sanctuary — a 500-year-old grove of bald cypresses — serves as a nesting colony for great blue herons, egrets, and ibis visible at close range from an elevated boardwalk. A tidal creek boat tour (seasonal, additional fee) traverses the plantation waterways explaining the region's rice cultivation history and ecology. In December, Brookgreen hosts Nights of a Thousand Candles, one of the most acclaimed holiday events in the Southeast, featuring 35,000 candles, luminaries, live carolers, and illuminated sculptures throughout the garden. Admission is priced for a two-day return visit within the same calendar week. The Garden Café and a gift shop are on-site.