Conway to Huntington Beach State Park runs roughly 30 to 40 minutes down US-501 and SC-544. The driving is the easy part. What you’re loading up before you pull out matters more. Beach chairs, a pack-n-play, a camper trailer, a kayak, a dog, all of the above. Whatever you haul decides which Chevy SUV actually earns its keep once you get there.
Our pick for most Grand Strand families heading to Huntington Beach is the 2026 Chevy Traverse. Three rows, up to 97.6 cubic feet of cargo when you fold the seats, and enough towing muscle for a small camper. It fits the park and the trip better than anything else in the lineup for a family of four or more. The right SUV depends entirely on how you camp. Here’s how we’d sort the lineup.
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How the Chevy Lineup Stacks Up for Huntington Beach
Matching the right Chevy to this trip comes down to how much gear you’re hauling and whether you’re towing, because the campground itself ranges from full-hookup RV pads to shadier tent-friendly sites and no single model covers all of it. Huntington Beach State Park runs 173 campsites across two loops. The South Campground handles full hookups and concrete pads. Up in the North loop, you get shadier, more spacious electric-and-water sites. The park accommodates RVs up to 40 feet, which matters a lot for a towing conversation. So does the 2,500-acre footprint of salt marsh, maritime forest, and open beach, sandy surface lots in spots, and you’re hauling a serious amount of gear across all of it.
| Rank | Pick | Best For | Standout Spec |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Traverse | Families with full camping gear | 97.6 cu ft max cargo, tows 5,000 lb |
| 2 | Tahoe | Towing a camper trailer to the park | 8,400 lb max tow (properly equipped) |
| 3 | Equinox | Couples and day-trippers from Conway | EPA-est. 26 city / 29 hwy, 63.5 cu ft cargo |
| 4 | Trailblazer | Budget-first solo or duo beach runs | EPA-est. 29 city / 33 hwy (1.3L FWD), 54.4 cu ft |
1. Traverse: The Family Camping Workhorse
The Traverse is our top pick for families hauling a full camping load to Huntington Beach, as long as you can live with its size on the tighter campground loops. Chevrolet lists the 2026 Traverse at a class-leading 97.6 cubic feet of maximum cargo space with both rear rows folded. Even with all eight seats occupied, you still have 22.9 cubic feet behind the third row. Plenty for a stroller, a tote bag, and the beach bag you swore you’d keep small.
Chevrolet also rates the 2026 Traverse at up to 5,000 pounds of towing capacity when properly equipped, which covers a small pop-up camper or a bass boat headed for the park’s lake launch. A 328-horsepower turbocharged engine moves the weight without drama, and the Smart Slide second-row seats mean getting a toddler to the third row doesn’t become a parking-lot ordeal.
The tradeoff is size. Navigating narrow campground loops or the tighter North Campground sites takes more attention than a compact does. If you’re camping solo or as a couple, it’s simply more than the trip requires.
2. Tahoe: When You’re Pulling a Real Camper
The Tahoe is the right pick when you’re towing a genuine camper to one of the park’s full-hookup pads, though it’s far more truck than a beach day trip will ever need. The South Campground’s 66 full-hookup sites were designed for serious RV setups. If you’ve got a travel trailer or a larger camper at home and you want to back it into one of those sewer-included pads at Huntington Beach, the 2026 Chevy Tahoe is the right conversation to have. Chevrolet rates the Tahoe at up to 8,400 pounds of towing capacity when properly equipped with the 5.3L V8 and the Max Trailering Package. You’ve got real headroom there for a single-axle travel trailer or a loaded pontoon.
Body-on-frame construction handles trailer sway differently than a crossover platform, and that shows up on a long haul or even a short one with an unbalanced load. The Tahoe also seats up to nine people, so if the camping crew is large, you’re not splitting into two vehicles just to get everyone there.
Fair warning, the Tahoe is the biggest, heaviest option on this list, and fuel economy reflects that. Towing is where the Tahoe earns its keep. For a beach-bag day trip, it’s overkill.
3. Equinox: The Smart Pick for Day-Trippers and Couples
The Equinox is the smart choice for couples and day-trippers who want efficiency over cargo volume, though it tops out well short of any camper-towing job. Not every Huntington Beach trip involves a campsite reservation. Plenty are just a half-day run from Conway to that wide, uncrowded beach, and you’re home by dinner. For that pattern, the 2026 Chevy Equinox is hard to argue with.
The EPA rates the 2026 Equinox at 26 city and 29 highway MPG in FWD configuration, which keeps the US-501 run from Conway sensibly efficient if you’re making it often. Fold the rear seats and you’ve got 63.5 cubic feet of cargo space. Enough for two beach chairs, a medium cooler, a canopy, and the bag of towels that somehow weighs 40 pounds.
| Pros | Cons | |
|---|---|---|
| Cargo (63.5 cu ft max) | Handles a full day-trip load easily | No third-row option for larger groups |
| EPA 26 city / 29 hwy | Efficient for a regular Conway-to-park run | Not the lowest fuel cost in the lineup |
| AWD available | Better traction on soft or wet park surfaces | Lowers towing from 1,500 lb vs FWD on some trims |
| Towing (up to 1,500 lb, AWD properly equipped) | Covers a kayak trailer or small utility trailer | Won’t move a camper trailer |
Five people fit in the Equinox. If your group is two to four and you’re not towing anything heavier than a kayak rack, this is where the value lands.
4. Trailblazer: Lean Budget, Real Efficiency
The Trailblazer makes the most sense when efficiency and a small footprint matter more than towing capacity or a third row, which is also exactly why it’s the wrong tool for a full family camp. Sometimes the best vehicle for a beach state park is the one that costs the least to drive there. The 2026 Chevy Trailblazer with the 1.3L turbo and front-wheel drive earns an EPA-estimated 29 city and 33 highway MPG, the most efficient non-electric SUV in the Chevy lineup, and across a full beach season it adds up.
Cargo with the rear seats folded hits 54.4 cubic feet. Enough for a solo camper’s full kit or a couple’s day-trip gear, without much negotiation. The fold-flat front passenger seat also creates an 8.5-foot load floor inside the cabin. Handy for a surfboard, kayak paddles, or a collapsible canopy that never fits where you’d expect.
Towing is where the Trailblazer hits its ceiling. It pulls 1,000 pounds. A bike rack is fine. A small utility trailer is borderline, and a camper stays in the driveway. It’s also a five-seater with no third-row option, so four adults plus gear for all four of them starts to feel genuine. Think of it as a sharp, efficient run-down-the-beach vehicle rather than a family hauler, and it does that job better than anything else on this list.
The Bottom Line: Match the SUV to Your Trip
Matching the SUV to your trip is what this comes down to, because the park spans everything from primitive tent pads to full-hookup slabs and no single Chevy fits all of it. Huntington Beach State Park is one of the better camping spots on the Grand Strand. 3 miles of open Atlantic beach, a freshwater lagoon, marsh boardwalks, and wildlife that’ll catch you off guard. The campsite options run from primitive tent pads to full-hookup concrete slabs with sewer connections. Every one of those trip types maps to a different Chevy.
Pulling a real camper to a South Campground hookup site? Start with the Tahoe. Loading up a family for an overnight with beach gear and a pop-up? The Traverse. Day-tripping with a partner and a cooler? The Equinox. Keeping the fuel bill reasonable on a solo run? The Trailblazer. Our team at Palmetto Chevrolet is glad to pull any of these up on the lot, and we’ll walk you through the spec that actually matters for your specific Huntington Beach trip, not just the number on the sticker.
By the Palmetto Chevrolet Team | October 2026
