Grande Dunes Marina — Myrtle Beach Marina Guide
A practical guide to Grande Dunes Marina at Intracoastal Waterway mile marker 357 in Myrtle Beach: 126 wet slips, floating docks for vessels to 120 feet, fuel, transient dockage, the on-site 357 Raw Coastal Bar, and what visiting boaters can expect.
By BeachLoco Editorial Team
Most people experience Myrtle Beach from the sand side. Oceanfront towers, the boardwalk, the long flat run of the Grand Strand. The waterway side of the city is quieter, less photographed and almost invisible from the beach — a broad channel of protected water running parallel to the coast about two miles inland.
Grande Dunes Marina is the place where that second Myrtle Beach becomes obvious. It sits at mile marker 357 on the Intracoastal Waterway, and for a stretch of coast defined by tourism, it functions as a genuinely practical boating base: fuel, floating docks, transient slips, showers and laundry, and a restaurant at the end of the dock.
Why Grande Dunes Marina Matters
The Grand Strand has a geography problem for boaters. There is very little natural shelter along this coastline and no major harbor at Myrtle Beach itself, which makes the Intracoastal Waterway the working marine corridor for the whole area. Boats moving north and south along the East Coast pass directly through, and the marinas along it become the practical stopping points.
Grande Dunes is one of the most substantial of those stops. The marina describes itself as centrally located at ICW mile marker 357 and open to the public — a distinction worth noting, because it sits inside a large residential and resort community and could easily have been private. It has 126 wet slips and roughly 1,200 linear feet of lay-along floating docks in a protected harbor, with capacity for power or sail vessels up to 120 feet.
What that adds up to is straightforward. If you are cruising the waterway, this is a place you can actually stop. If you keep a boat in Myrtle Beach, it is one of the few facilities of this scale in the immediate area. And if you are simply visiting Myrtle Beach and want to see the other side of the city, it is a legitimate reason to leave the beach for an evening.
Mile Marker 357 and the Waterway Setting
The marina identifies its waterway position precisely: mile marker 357, also marked by Green Day Marker B-21. That kind of specificity is a small sign of who the property is built for — it is published for approaching boaters rather than for beach visitors.
The harbor itself is set back off the main waterway channel, which is the reason the marina can describe it as protected. For a cruiser used to exposed face docks, that matters more than any amenity list: wake from passing traffic on the ICW is constant, and a basin that keeps boats out of it makes for a considerably better night.
By road, the approach is equally simple. The marina is off US-17 at Marina Parkway, in the north end of Myrtle Beach, a short drive from the oceanfront and from the shopping and dining concentrated along the Highway 17 corridor.
Slips, Dockage and Vessel Capacity
The published figures are clear and worth taking at face value:
126 wet slips, including both transient and seasonal slips. The mix matters — a marina that keeps real transient capacity is a marina that expects cruisers, not just annual tenants.
Floating docks rather than fixed piers. On a tidal waterway this is a meaningful practical advantage: the dock rises and falls with your boat, so lines and fenders do not need constant adjustment, and stepping off is the same at any stage of tide.
Vessels to 120 feet, power or sail, with roughly 1,200 linear feet of lay-along dockage. Sailboats are explicitly accommodated, which is not universal on this coast and is relevant on a waterway that carries a steady flow of mast-up cruising boats.
Transient reservations are handled online through the marina's Dockwa listing, and the marina publishes a 48-hour cancellation policy for standard stays and 72 hours for holidays and special events. Rates and availability change, so confirm both directly rather than relying on any third-party figure.
Fuel, Services and Facilities
The service list is short but covers what a cruising boat actually needs on a stop:
Gas and diesel at the marina, which on this stretch of the waterway is the single most useful item on the list.
Pumpout available both at the boat and at the dock.
Water and Wi-Fi at the docks, plus restrooms and showers, a laundry room and a sundry shop for basic provisions.
Dock assistance on arrival and security gates controlling access to the docks.
Pet friendly policies and ample parking — small details that decide a lot for people traveling with a dog or meeting a boat by car.
The marina monitors VHF channel 16 and works on channel 12. Call ahead on approach; at a facility with dock assistance, arriving announced is always the easier arrival.
357 Raw Coastal Bar
The marina has an on-site restaurant, 357 Raw Coastal Bar, serving lunch and dinner with a full-service bar and happy hour. The marina describes it as the only restaurant in Myrtle Beach located on the Intracoastal Waterway — a claim worth attributing to the marina rather than stating as fact, but the underlying point is fair: waterway-side dining is genuinely rare here, in a city where nearly every waterfront table faces the ocean.
For visitors, this is the easiest way to experience the marina without a boat. You can park, walk the waterfront, watch the traffic on the waterway and eat within sight of the docks. It is a different evening from the oceanfront, and a noticeably calmer one.
Marina Inn, Ruth's Chris and the Surrounding Grande Dunes Area
The marina lists its neighbors plainly: it is adjacent to the Marina Inn and to Ruth's Chris Steak House. That combination — hotel, steakhouse, waterfront restaurant, fuel dock — is why the property works as well for a two-night stop as for an overnight.
The wider Grande Dunes community sits around it, and the marina emphasizes easy access to Myrtle Beach restaurants, provisions and attractions. The practical translation for a boater: you can tie up here, walk to dinner, sleep ashore if you want to, restock, and be back on the waterway in the morning without arranging much of anything.
For land-based travelers, the area reads as the quieter, more residential end of Myrtle Beach. If your picture of the city is built on the boardwalk, this end of town is a useful corrective — and a short drive from everything in our guide to things to do in Myrtle Beach.
Fishing and Getting on the Water
Grande Dunes Marina does not publish a charter fleet the way the big Gulf Coast charter marinas do, and we are not going to invent one. What it offers is access: protected dockage, fuel and a waterway position in the middle of the Grand Strand.
The fishing itself happens elsewhere. Myrtle Beach's charter scene runs on nearshore artificial reefs, the inlets and creeks around Murrells Inlet for redfish and flounder, and long offshore runs toward the Gulf Stream for mahi and king mackerel in season. If that is what you came for, start with our Myrtle Beach fishing charters guide and the Myrtle Beach charter listings, which cover trip types, seasons and departure points across the Grand Strand.
Boaters arriving under their own power will find the waterway itself is the attraction here — the run south toward Murrells Inlet and north toward Little River passes through some of the most pleasant cruising water in South Carolina.
Marina Information
Grande Dunes Marina
Intracoastal Waterway · Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
⌖ 8201 Marina Parkway, Myrtle Beach, SC 29572
✆ 843-315-7777
◷ Hours: 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. daily (in season); 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. daily (off season)
↗ Official Marina Website
Hours and marina operations can change seasonally. Verify current information before visiting.
The marina monitors VHF 16 and works VHF 12. Transient reservations are taken online through the marina's booking page; the restaurant keeps its own service hours.
Who Grande Dunes Marina Is Best For
Cruisers running the Intracoastal Waterway get the most obvious benefit. Fuel, a protected basin, floating docks, showers, laundry and a restaurant on site make this a complete overnight stop rather than a place to simply tie up.
Owners of larger vessels are well served by the 120-foot capacity and lay-along dockage, which is limited along much of this coastline.
Sailors are explicitly accommodated, which narrows the field considerably on the Grand Strand.
Myrtle Beach visitors without a boat can still use the marina as a destination — waterfront dining, a walk along the docks and a view of the city most beach visitors never see.
Who it is not for: travelers looking for a charter-fishing hub with boats lined up and mates selling trips. That is a different kind of marina, and a different part of the coast.
Practical Tips
Call on approach. VHF 16 to hail, then 12. Dock assistance is offered, and it is easier to use it than to explain your beam after the fact.
Book transient dockage ahead in season. Spring and fall bring the migratory cruising traffic that fills waterway marinas quickly, and the cancellation windows (48 hours standard, 72 hours for holidays and special events) reward planning.
Note the fuel stop. Gas and diesel at mile 357 is worth building into a passage plan on a coast where fuel docks are spread out.
Watch the wake. The waterway carries steady traffic; the basin is protected, but the approach is not.
Bring the dog. The marina is pet friendly and the surrounding community is easy to walk.
Use the laundry. On a long waterway run, a laundry room ranks somewhere near fuel in real-world value.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Grande Dunes Marina?
At 8201 Marina Parkway in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on the Intracoastal Waterway at mile marker 357 — also identified by Green Day Marker B-21.
Is the marina open to the public?
Yes. Although it sits within the Grande Dunes community, the marina states that it is open to the public.
How many slips does it have?
126 wet slips, including transient and seasonal slips, plus roughly 1,200 linear feet of lay-along floating dockage.
What size boats can it take?
Power or sail vessels up to 120 feet on floating docks.
Does the marina sell fuel?
Yes — both gas and diesel, along with pumpout service at the boat and at the dock.
Can I book a transient slip online?
Yes. Transient reservations are handled through the marina's online booking page, with a 48-hour cancellation policy for standard stays and 72 hours for holidays and special events.
What are the marina's hours?
The marina publishes 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. daily in season and 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. daily off season. Verify before arriving.
Is there a restaurant at the marina?
Yes — 357 Raw Coastal Bar, serving lunch and dinner with a full bar, on the marina property.
Where can I stay nearby?
The Marina Inn is adjacent to the marina, and Ruth's Chris Steak House is next door. Broader options are covered in our Myrtle Beach resorts guide.
Is the marina pet friendly?
Yes, and it offers ample parking, security gates to the docks and dock assistance on arrival.
Planning the Rest of Your Myrtle Beach Trip
Grande Dunes sits at the quieter north end of the Grand Strand, so it pairs naturally with the rest of the city rather than competing with it. Start with the Myrtle Beach destination guide for orientation, then the best beaches in Myrtle Beach for the sand side of the trip.
For food, Sea Captain's House remains the oceanfront counterpart to a waterway dinner, and the Ocean Drive shag clubs are the most distinctly local night out on this coast. In the water, snorkeling options near Myrtle Beach cover the nearshore reefs and day trips.
If you are timing a visit, Myrtle Beach Bike Week and the Myrtle Beach Jeep Jam both reshape the city while they run — worth checking the events calendar before booking a slip or a room.