Now that we’re in the full-swing of summer it’s safe to say that when we’re not working with our customers to find the best new or used handicap vans for their needs, we’re enjoying the great outdoors. You can bet that includes baseball games, camping and spending long hours at the beach.
And while we don’t want to even think about the impending winter weather we’re bound to get again in a few short months, when we hear about an accessible vacation destination we’re going to take note.
Beach Accessibility Alert
Recently North Myrtle Beach, located in South Carolina, announced they would be expanding the number of sand wheelchairs they have available to rent for free. They’ll be adding 12 additional free rental sand wheelchairs of different sizes and styles.
This is coming on the heels of an announcement that they would be removed as an offering all together. However, that decision was reversed due to an overwhelming response from the community.
The sand wheelchairs, provided by the Pilot Club of North Myrtle Beach and delivered to users by the local police department’s community officers, are available for rental seven days per week from 8am to 5pm. They can be reserved for free for up to a week at a time and reservations can be made up to one year in advance to guarantee rental.
The Issue with Beach Accessibility
This is an exciting advancement for beach visitor accessibility, as many beaches around the U.S. only offer one or two sand wheelchairs or limit the amount of time for reservations. One example of this is at Hawaii’s Waikiki Beach where the two free sand wheelchair rentals have a time limit of two hours at a time.
The alternative to city beaches offering free sand wheelchair rentals is to pay costly rental fees. One Myrtle Beach private rental company charges $45 per day per chair, or $28 per day per chair for a week-long rental agreement.
Next Stop: North Myrtle Beach
Now that we’ve discovered North Myrtle Beach as an accessible beach destination, you can bet we’ll be adding this one to our list of “get me out of this snow” travel spots. Will you be joining us?
For more information about the North Myrtle Beach free sand wheelchair rentals, available year-round, you can visit the Beach Services Warehouse at 1024 6th Avenue South, directly behind the Midcon building, or call 843-663-8600.