The Bays of Prince Creek

The Bays of Prince Creek is a collection of private, gated neighborhoods within the 2,800-acre Prince Creek master-planned community in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. While often marketed alongside 55+ communities, The Bays is not deed-restricted by age — it's a retirement-friendly, family-friendly community where residents of all ages live alongside many retirees drawn to the low-maintenance lifestyle and resort-style amenities. The community is comprised of seven distinct Bay neighborhoods: Laurel Bay, Waverly Bay, Willow Bay, Shallow Creek Bay, Johns Bay Townhomes, Palm Bay, and Charles Towne Bay. Construction began in 2004, and D.R. Horton is still building new single-family homes in the Palm Bay section, with 14 floor plans ranging from 1,819 to 4,147 square feet. Home options span attached duplexes and single-family homes from roughly the mid-$400s into the $700s and above, with a median sale price near $514,000. The heart of social life is The Park at Bays Creek, a resort-style amenity park that houses the clubhouse, fitness center, multi-purpose rooms, and outdoor patio with picnic pavilion and grill. Residents have access to two outdoor pools, lighted tennis courts, a basketball court, sand volleyball court, a soccer/baseball field, a playground for grandkids, and walking and biking trails that wind past the lakes and ponds threading through the community. An on-site activities director keeps the social calendar full with book club, bridge, bunco, crafts, dominoes, mah jongg, ladies group, pickleball, pinochle, movie nights, and planned day trips to local attractions. The neighborhoods are gated with entry security. Location is a major draw. The community sits just off Highway 707 in Murrells Inlet — the self-styled Seafood Capital of South Carolina — a few blocks from the famous Murrells Inlet MarshWalk with its waterfront seafood restaurants and live music. Myrtle Beach and its international airport are about 15 miles north. The Tournament Players Club (TPC) Myrtle Beach, a Tom Fazio–designed championship course, is woven into the Prince Creek master plan, and dozens of other Grand Strand golf courses are within a short drive. Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital sits less than a mile from the community entrance, and the beaches of Huntington Beach State Park and Brookgreen Gardens are just minutes south. Lawn care and amenity maintenance are handled through the HOA, so residents spend their time on the beach, the golf course, or the MarshWalk rather than on yard work.