Here’s our case for treating Barefoot Landing as a full day rather than a quick loop. The complex sits along the Intracoastal Waterway in North Myrtle Beach at 4898 US-17 South, holds over 100 shops, 15 or more restaurants, an actual wildlife park, a live-music venue, and a winery tasting room, and it costs nothing to get in. From Conway you’re roughly 25 miles down US-501 East and then a short stretch on US-17 (call it 35 to 40 minutes on a weekday morning, longer if you leave after 10 a.m. on a weekend). We’ll get to the timing.
The trip rewards planning. Each stop asks something a little different from your vehicle. You want easy loading in the morning, climate control while you walk the boardwalk, and room for shopping bags and a wet dog on the way home. The 2027 Chevrolet Traverse handles most of those asks beautifully, and the 2027 Tahoe handles the ones that demand more. Pick the one that fits your crew, not the one with the best brochure.
What Is the Route?
The route runs four stops in order, morning to evening, with realistic drive times between each segment, and it’s built for a September or October visit when beach-season crowds have thinned and the heat has backed off a degree or two. The Monday-night SummerFest fireworks have wrapped, so parking is genuinely easy.
| Stop | Drive Time from Conway | What to Do | What to Pack |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Palmetto Chevrolet departure (Conway) | Start by 9 a.m. | Top off the tank, check tire pressure | Cooler, sunscreen, snacks, any strollers |
| 2. Alligator Adventure | 35-40 min via US-501 E + US-17 N | Reptile and wildlife park inside Barefoot Landing | Water bottles, comfortable shoes, camera |
| 3. Boardwalk, shops & LuLu’s Ropes Course | Walking from parking | 100+ shops, 48-foot ropes course (LuLu’s), waterfront stroll | Small backpack for purchases, layers for evening |
| 4. Dinner at House of Blues or 21 Main | Walking from boardwalk | Live music patio or waterfront steakhouse | Reservation if going to 21 Main; no cover at HOB Deck |
| Return to Conway | 35-40 min via US-17 S + US-501 W | Decompression drive | Bags, tired crew, maybe a leftover River Street Sweets box |
The Four Stops in Detail
Stop 1: Leave Conway Right.
Leave by 9:00 a.m. or wait until after 11:00. The middle window on US-501 is where tourist traffic and local commercial traffic overlap, and it’s slow. There’s no clever route around it. On a Tuesday or Wednesday the road is relaxed enough that a 9:30 departure works fine. The Traverse’s EPA-estimated 26 miles per gallon on the highway means the round trip barely dents the 19.4-gallon tank on a FWD model. Fuel before you go, because North Myrtle Beach station pricing runs higher, particularly on US-17 closer to the beach.
Check tire pressure and fluids before any Grand Strand run in September. The asphalt stays hot well into fall here, and underinflated tires generate heat through sidewall flexion, which is the leading cause of tire failure. A five-minute check like that matters.
Stop 2: Alligator Adventure.
Alligator Adventure is the anchor stop, a genuine wildlife park with Utan, billed as one of the world’s largest crocodilians, plus reptiles, birds, mountain lions, and a full reptile-handling show schedule. It sits right inside the Barefoot Landing complex, which means one parking spot covers everything. Barefoot Landing offers free on-site parking.
Plan on 90 minutes here, maybe two hours with kids who want to see the feeding demos twice. The Traverse’s 22.9 cubic feet of cargo behind the third row is exactly enough for a soft cooler, a stroller, and the backpack that accumulates during any family outing. If you fold that third row, you get to 56.6 cubic feet, which is more than most families will ever need for a day trip.
The 2027 Tahoe is the move when the crew is large enough to fill that third row for real (the Tahoe seats up to nine when configured for it) AND you still want cargo room behind it. Chevrolet lists 25.5 cubic feet behind the Tahoe’s third row. More bodies, more stuff, same principle.
Stop 3: The Boardwalk, Shops, and LuLu’s.
The loose middle of the day is the best part. Walk the wooden boardwalk over the 27-acre lake, browse the shops at whatever pace you want, and let the kids spend 45 minutes on LuLu’s 48-foot Mountain of Youth Ropes Course (26 obstacles inside a Beach Arcade). It’s the kind of afternoon that stretches because nobody’s watching the clock.
A practical note worth flagging is that shopping bags accumulate fast here. The Traverse’s rear hatch opens wide, and we’ve found that a reusable tote in the cargo area at the start of the day saves a lot of juggling by the time you head back. Leave a little room when you load up in the morning.
See What Your Current SUV Is Worth
Stop 4: Dinner on the Water.
The Traverse’s 17.7-inch infotainment screen with Google Built-in will handle the reservation lookup and the navigation back. Two restaurants earn the planning. The House of Blues patio (The Deck) runs live tribute bands on weekend evenings and most weekday nights in shoulder season, with no cover charge at the outdoor space. For something quieter, 21 Main Prime Steakhouse sits on the waterfront side and takes reservations. Make that one before you leave Conway.
The ride home is 35 to 40 minutes with a full car, and it’s completely comfortable. The Traverse’s turbo engine makes 328 horsepower and 326 lb-ft of torque per Chevrolet’s published specs, enough that US-501 West feels unhurried even with eight aboard.
Tweak It to Your Crew
The itinerary above is built for a family with mixed ages, but it’s not the only way to run it.
Couples or adults-only trip. Skip the ropes course, linger longer at Duplin Winery’s tasting room (inside Barefoot Landing), and make the 21 Main reservation for 7:00 p.m. You don’t need a Traverse. A Chevy Blazer fits two adults and a weekend’s worth of gear with room to spare, and it handles US-17 South the same way any Grand Strand local would expect.
Pet-friendly crew. Can you bring the dog? Yes, Barefoot Landing is explicitly pet-friendly, so pack a collapsible water bowl and a towel for the walk home. In September, the Traverse’s dual-zone climate control keeps the cabin at a reasonable temperature between stops, which matters when you’re walking the complex and someone needs to stay with the dog in the car. Do not leave a pet in a vehicle without active climate control running. Period.
Towing something. Conway-area families who tow a small boat or a camper toward the Grand Strand use Barefoot Landing as a lunch-and-stretch stop. The Traverse tows up to 5,000 pounds when properly equipped (verify your specific door-jamb label). If you need more than that, the 2027 Tahoe with the Max Trailering Package reaches 8,200 pounds (correctly equipped, same caveat). For that crew, the Tahoe is the only Chevy SUV in our lineup that makes sense for this trip.
