This SC city is best for a staycation in the U.S., national travel website says

Imagine what it’s like to live in a tourist area when all the tourists go home.

All that stuff to do? A beach without crowds? Restaurants easy to get into — golf courses, amusement parks and shopping. And parking spaces!

If follows then that Travel Lens, an online travel publication, found most of the top 10 best places for a Staycation are well-known vacation spots.

And the No. 1 location in the United State is Myrtle Beach, South Carolina’s golf course mecca with its 60 miles of uninterrupted beaches.

It scored 8.15 out of 10 based on Travel Lens’ analysis of cost, number of restaurants and attractions, climate and safety.

“20 million visitors a year are drawn to Myrtle Beach thanks to its reputation as the best location for golfers, playing host to over 90 golf courses,” Travel Lens said, noting that it is “known affectionately as the seafood capital of South Carolina.”

There are about 1,900 restaurants and 425 hotels. The population of Myrtle Beach itself is about 37,000 and the greater Myrtle Beach area has more than half a million people, making it one of South Carolina’s fastest growing areas.

Once home to the Waccamaw people, Myrtle Beach was launched as a resort area with the development of a railroad from Conway and the Seaside Inn on the beach by Franklin Burroughs in the early 1900s. The company he founded ultimately because Burroughs and Chapin, which is largely responsible for the development of Myrtle Beach as a tourist destination.

They own Broadway at the Beach, Barefoot Landing and a host of other properties.

Through the years, Myrtle Beach has worked with some success to make it a year-round destination.

Also in the top 10 on Travel Lens’ Staycation list is Charleston, a perennial favorite on practically every list of favorites. Charleston was ranked at number eight with a score of 6.72.

The other cities in the top 10 were Orlando, Florida; Key West, Florida; Page, Arizona; Moab, Utah; Tampa, Florida; Miami, Florida; Stanley, Idaho; and Cape Cod, Massachusetts.