# Bike week in Myrtle Beach - should we go with kids?



## DG001 (Mar 20, 2014)

Hi all,

I need some advice. I was generally browsing my Hilton HGVC account and noticed an Oceanfront 3-BR available the Memorial Day long weekend - and I booked it thinking it would make a nice break for the extended family - my kids are 8 and 5, and their cousins are 5 and 2. 

However, I just found out that it might be Bike week that weekend, and its "generally adult oriented". I appreciate that HGVC sent me the email, but I am not sure what that means. 

Is this a definite indication that the entire Myrtle Beach area will be taken over by drunk party animals balanced on motorbikes, and I should avoid taking my kids there? Or is it just that there would be a lot of people on bikes around so it might get loud?

Help - would you go? We are just looking for a nice relaxing vacation on the beach! (Well - one where we can use our Hilton points and drive to! - but who is being picky?)

Thanks!


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## pedro47 (Mar 20, 2014)

There are two (2) bike weeks. Here are the dates: May 9-18, 2014 and September 26 - October 5, 2014. Personally, we always will skip these weeks in MB.


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## Sandy (Mar 20, 2014)

And there are two different bike weeks: May 9-18, and Black Bike weekend this year May 23-26. I wouldn't go during either, but I have not been there during this time. I just heard/read the horror stories from the restaurant folks talking about it. Of course, they make lots of money on these events. Just not child friendly. 

Not sure if Mem Day time you are thinking about will overlap with some of these latter days. If you have a full week, you can avoid at least some of it because it is only 3 days/nights.


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## bdh (Mar 20, 2014)

DG001 said:


> I need some advice. I was generally browsing my Hilton HGVC account and noticed an Oceanfront 3-BR available the Memorial Day long weekend - and I booked it thinking it would make a nice break for the extended family - my kids are 8 and 5, and their cousins are 5 and 2.
> 
> However, I just found out that it might be Bike week that weekend, and its "generally adult oriented". I appreciate that HGVC sent me the email, but I am not sure what that means.
> 
> ...



Not sure what your check in date is (and you didn't say if you'd be there for the full week or just the 3 day weekend), but BBW activities are concentrated on Fri and Sat, 5/23 & 5/24.  Ground zero for BBW is the Atlantic Beach area (that is one 4 block area of North Myrtle Beach), however, Highway 17 will be jammed with traffic a mile or two north and south of Atlantic Beach - the traffic tie up typically starts around 5 pm and last all night long (due to the tie up, it could take you 45 mins to go a 1/2 mile on HW 17). 

With the location of HGVC in MB (12 miles away from Atlantic Beach), I would not expect you would be seriously affected by BBW.  Unless of course you want to go to shopping or to dinner in the NMB area Fri or Sat evening - then you'll be in the thick of it.  While there are side and back roads to get around the traffic jamb on HW 17 at Atlantic Beach, but with 60 miles of beach and literally a 1000 restaurants on the Grand Strand, why head into to a traffic jamb.  The majority of the BBW participants will head out of town on Sun, 5/25, so I expect you'll barely know there was a BBW event on Sunday evening.

BBW participants enjoy showing off their bikes in the evening and late into the night, so they ride/clog the main roads of HW 17 and Ocean Blvd or just congregate in some of the large shopping/restaurants/mall parking lots.  BBW is not an adult themed event like Mardi Gras, but a few passengers on the back of bikes can bring a different meaning to the phrase "there's a crack in my windshield".  The BBW participant does not really spend time on the beach and a lot of properties do not allow bikes on the resort grounds - no bikes on the property means there wouldn't be BBW participants staying onsite - so call HGVC and see what their bike policy is and ask them how much BBW activity they see at the 2600 block of Ocean Dr MB.

FWIW  Having been in the MB and NMB area during BBW in the past, it would not stop me from returning during the event.


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## Sandy (Mar 20, 2014)

*Good points Bdh*

And I am hopeful that your more detailed insight on the realities of this activity will not deter the OP from getting the week s/he wants for the family escape.


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## lweverett (Mar 21, 2014)

I've been there 3 times on Memorial day weekend.  The bikers all stay in North Myrtle Beach and there is so much police presents we never were bothered.  They will be noisey on the main roads but I don't think they will be frequenting eateries that you would take your children to.


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## momeason (Mar 22, 2014)

Sandy said:


> And there are two different bike weeks: May 9-18, and Black Bike weekend this year May 23-26. I wouldn't go during either, but I have not been there during this time. I just heard/read the horror stories from the restaurant folks talking about it. Of course, they make lots of money on these events. Just not child friendly.
> 
> Not sure if Mem Day time you are thinking about will overlap with some of these latter days. If you have a full week, you can avoid at least some of it because it is only 3 days/nights.



Traffic is horrible. Went last year!


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## csxjohn (Mar 22, 2014)

momeason said:


> Traffic is horrible. Went last year!



For me, traffic is horrible any weekend during the summer in MB.  I can see how it would be worse with all the bikes.


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## bdh (Mar 22, 2014)

momeason said:


> Traffic is horrible. Went last year!



Since generalizations don't get much broader than that, I'll provide some specific info. 

Our Friday night experience was that headed south on HW 17 from the Barefoot Landing area at 5 pm was the typical summer time traffic - headed north at 7 pm things were backed up on HW 17 starting were Veterans Highway (SR 22) connects to HW 17 and running north about 4 1/2 miles.  We intentionally got in the traffic jamb so we could see what it was all about (and we only had to travel about a 3/4 mile to get to our destination).  Since we'd entered the fray Fri night, we elected to go around it Sat night (which is really a no brainer if you can read a map.)  

A lot of bikes travel to The Strand for Harley Bike Week and Black Biker Week (seems kind of odd they call it a week when BBW is only 3 days) - the Harley crowd congregates at the south end of The Strand while the BB crowd congregates at the southern end of NMB (NMB is 9 miles long and its the southern most 3 miles of HW 17 that gets clogged - the other 1 1/2 miles of the clog is actually in Horry County).  

Combine The Strand's various N-S roads/limited access highways with today's smart phones with the multitude of map & social media apps, if you can't navigate the 60 miles of the Strand to avoid the traffic, you should probably not venture out in it.


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## JPD (Mar 22, 2014)

There is a bypass to the west of highway 17, not sure of the what the number is. My wife took the grandkids there during Harley week, they really enjoyed seeing, as they say, cool bikes. If you have ever been to MB in the summer, the crowds are no different. We did go there during BBW, and it's true, there was a huge crack in my windshield.


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## Bourne (Mar 22, 2014)

I lived in Myrtle Beach before moving to Chicago area. 

Will you see a lot of bikers. Yes. Traffic issues. Yes but its always bad. 

Given the fact that you would be limiting yourself to activities/locations/restaurants "appropriate" for a 8 & 5 yr old, you would end up practically avoiding them. Stay away from bars, night clubs, adult entertainment joints, etc and you would be fine.


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## Sandy (Mar 24, 2014)

JPD said:


> There is a bypass to the west of highway 17, not sure of the what the number is. My wife took the grandkids there during Harley week, they really enjoyed seeing, as they say, cool bikes. If you have ever been to MB in the summer, the crowds are no different. We did go there during BBW, and it's true, there was a huge crack in my windshield.



I agree.  The bypass road gets you around quicker, then you just come towards the beach road when you are near your destination. We did this a lot when staying in NMB and trying to get to the Surfside/Murrells Inlet area. Completely avoided the stip entirely. In fact, I went on the strip to see what all the fuss was about and couldn't believe the traffic!!

Quickly got off of that road!


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## mjkkb2 (Mar 24, 2014)

We went last year during BBW.  We had no clue this event was scheduled that time.  We have stayed at the Marriott at grande dunes, so North of the city.  More of the action happens towards the boardwalk, south of MB.  There are bikes everywhere, and a lot of them carry a skimpy clad young lady on the back.  .  I gotta say it's a different kind of experience.  We had a lot of fun cruising in our minivan and watching all the cool bikes with our three boys, 7, 5 and 4 yrs old.  Some owners let my kids sit on their customized bikes so we could take pictures.
 There is a ton of police on the road but it is overwhelming with all the speed bikes everywhere.  The eateries are packed with bikers and lines are longer for all attractions.  I would go again for sure.


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## pedro47 (Mar 25, 2014)

Here are two views of bike week from two different stays from at two different resorts. At the Sheraton Broadway Resort there were some bikers actually staying at the resort. But at the Broadway Shopping Center the whole parking lot was fill with bikes of all makes and sizes. The whole weekend.  Everything in this area you could see and hear the roar of bikes.

At the Marriott @ Grand Dunes there were also some bikers at the resort. But they were the very expensive high end Harley Davidson owner bikers. Also the bikers stying here were older and were accomplish by their spouses. There were no traffic problems around this area until you venture out to the two main highways arteries.  Then you would  see the bikers riding in groups. 

Our stays at the Sheraton was for the grandkids now we will only stay at the Grand Dunes because the grand kids are in college and high school. 

After the weekend MB was quite. This is my opinion only. I would avoid Friday, Saturday and Sunday during bike week.


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## mjkkb2 (Mar 25, 2014)

pedro47 said:


> At the Marriott @ Grand Dunes there were also some bikers at the resort. But they were the very expensive high end Harley Davidson owner bikers. Also the bikers stying here were older and were accomplish by their spouses. There were no traffic problems around this area until you venture out to the two main highways arteries.  Then you would  see the bikers riding in groups.



this was also my experience.  I only counted (3) bikes parked at any time on the resort parking lot/garage during the course of the weekend.  The only one negative thing was one group of bikers (4 or 5) of them came down to the pool area with a huge bottle of vodka (like a several gallon one) but I only saw it once.  Never saw them again.

If the OP is concerned about exposing the children to excessive party scene, barley clothed women on bikes everywhere, loudly revved engines and traffic backups, I would vote against going.


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## Carol C (Apr 5, 2014)

lweverett said:


> I've been there 3 times on Memorial day weekend.  The bikers all stay in North Myrtle Beach and there is so much police presents we never were bothered.  They will be noisey on the main roads but I don't think they will be frequenting eateries that you would take your children to.



Ditto the above. Plus Murrells Inlet gets alot of bikes on the waterfront so you may want to avoid that area. Stay at your resort, order pizza or other take-out if you find traffic difficult, and dine and play near your resort. Bikers I've found to be polite but they actually drive too slow sometimes, imo...thus the congestion. (They tend to err on the side of caution and safety...good for them!)


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## gnipgnop (Apr 8, 2014)

If your on vacation and especially with young kids and have to avoid certain areas, restaurants and traffic, not to mention the noise .....I'd say.....STAY HOME ....... GO ANOTHER TIME.  Locals told us it's crazy down there.


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## DG001 (May 28, 2014)

Hello all,

I did not realize that I had not replied and thanked everyone - so thank you! It was great reading everyone's experiences.

We did decide to go, and we stayed in the resort, ordered in and generally avoided the crowd and traffic. It went fine - the resort is gorgeous, full ocean front, the weather was great and the water was just the right amount of cool.

There were a lot of bikes, and we had fun ogling the Lamborghini and Harleys that the valet left out. We went out for lunch early on Saturday, and similar to what others have said, had fun looking at all the variety of colorful bikes, dresses and people. There were (personal) fireworks at the beach at night, which was fun too. Some PDA action, but I guess that is to be expected at a beach vacation. 

The biggest shock was on the drive back, when we read this. A little too close! 


Thanks again everyone!


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## Bucky (May 29, 2014)

DG001 said:


> Hello all,
> 
> I did not realize that I had not replied and thanked everyone - so thank you! It was great reading everyone's experiences.
> 
> ...



That occurred towards the end Bike Fest, formally called Black Biker week. We came into town one day before Bike Week was over and all was well. By Tuesday of the next week the Bike Fest participants had started to roll in and traffic really got ugly so we went home Wed morning.

I really thought this episode would bring an end to Bike Fest, much to the local residents relief, but it appears not to be. Below is the Mayors response:

http://www.wbtw.com/story/25625561/myrtle-beach-mayor-responds-to-bike-fest-backlash


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## pedro47 (May 29, 2014)

To the OP, I am very happy you and your family are safe.. Your resort is still a very nice place to be in my humble opinion.


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## DG001 (May 29, 2014)

Thank you! I agree its a great resort, but we will probably try some time of year other than May to come back to it!


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## xnavyss (Sep 21, 2014)

*Myrtle Beach in May and Bike Week and Black Bike Week*

Was planning on going to Myrtle Beach in May 2015.

Just found out there will be Bike Week between May 8th to May 17th and Black Bike Week May 22nd to May 25th.

Will one area of Myrtle Beach be better than the other (Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Surfside etc.)  Or should we avoid it totally during this time?

We are not Bikers, and in our mid 60's.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Joe
_(Proud Military Veteran and Retired Navy Submarine Sailor)_


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## Free2Roam (Sep 21, 2014)

Checkout this thread... http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208168


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## Bucky (Sep 22, 2014)

If you have to go Joe, stay as far south as possible! We were staying near the old AF base last year during black bikers week and there were still tons of them coming and going. Surfside and Murrells Inlet area would probably be the most quiet areas. Thought it was funny but the MB area had all the side streets closed off to the bikers and were trying to contain them to the main roads only.


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## lprstn (Sep 22, 2014)

No! Lol! I went with my kids and got tired of explaining all the behavior and scantily clad ladies around. This was almost as bad as when I decided to take them to Las Vegas...


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