Pawleys Island, S.C.

"Arrogantly Shabby" Pawleys Island is a beach community on the south end of the Grand Strand

The Pawleys Island & Litchfield Beach sections of the Grand Strand are known for their “arrogantly shabby” oceanfront accommodations and laid-back beach lifestyles.

The Town of Pawleys Island, incorporated in 1985, consists only of the island itself and carries a modest population of about 100 proud year-round residents, although locals commonly refer to the area west of the two connecting causeways as Pawleys Island.

Litchfield Beach, located slightly north of the island, includes rows of beach and channels houses along the coast and tidal creeks that separate it from the mainland.

Boat docks and fishing piers are about as common as mailboxes in these two coastal communities. Residents often go fishing, shrimping and crabbing in their own back yards and cook up a seafood feast for dinner.

There are several upscale restaurants on the mainland for those rainy and unlucky days, such as Frankís Restaurant/Frank’s Outback, as well as unique local shops, including the famous Pawleys Island Hammocks Shops.

Golfers are also in luck, with the famous Waccamaw Golf Trail running right through the middle of the two towns. Caledonia, True Blue, The River Club, and the Litchfield Golf and Beach Club are among the top courses on the entire Grand Strand, which boasts more than 100 links.

The mainland areas were once rice plantations from the Colonial era to the Civil War, and Pawleys Island was the summer home of many wealthy plantation owners looking to escape the heat and the disease-carrying mosquitoes of the marshlands.

The area made the transition to full-time settlement in the 1900s, but remains unincorporated except for the island itself.

The Town of Pawleys Island has its own police department, but the mainland communities are serviced by the Georgetown County Police and Fire & Rescue units.

All public school students attend the award-winning Waccamaw schools, and Lowcountry Day Academy caters to private school children.