Lifeguards along most beaches in Horry County are stationed in chairs, but the City of North Myrtle Beach is about to try something different. 

The city’s Beach Services department will place two new lifeguard towers on the beach. The North Myrtle Beach Lifeguard Foundation donated the towers to the city. With the new additions, there will be 59 lifeguard posts along North Myrtle Beach.

Lifeguard towers are typically utilized on bigger beaches across the country. Whereas lifeguard chairs used in North Myrtle Beach are about six feet tall, the lifeguard towers are about 14 feet tall. 

“That big tower, shows the people, ‘Hey, they’re here. They’re here to help you’. When you see that, you’re like, I can go there for help,” said Beach Patrol Supervisor Monty Reed. 

According to Reed, the lifeguard decks will not only give lifeguards a better vantage point, it will also help them stay alert at all times. 

“They have room to move around which cuts down on fatigue. They have a roof over their heads which helps with the sun’s rays,” Reed said. 

Two lifeguards will be stationed in each tower, one of whom will be a veteran. They will also be able to store equipment such as rescue boards and medical supplies in the tower, when needed. Beach Patrol Officer Josh Stevens said the public safety department strategically chose the two locations to place the towers, one of which is the Cherry Grove Inlet.


“It’s the most dangerous as far as water conditions go. We have more rescues there than anywhere else on the beach, yearly by far,” said Stevens. 

The other location is the beach access on 4th Avenue South by the Wyndham Resort.

“There tends to always be more people in the water in front of the Wyndham maybe because there’s a lot of families there, a lot of kids. It just always seems to be busier in the water than anywhere else,” he said.

Reed said, if all goes well, Beach Services would like to eventually add a few more lifeguard towers. 

“There’s no way we can feasibly put 59 lifeguard towers on our beach. That’s just not possible. However, we would like to put those in some of our majorly populated areas in the summer season,”said Reed.

The new lifeguard towers will be in their locations by the end of the week.