Search Carolina Forest Area Homes

History

Carolina Forest was actually planned thirty years prior to being developed. The International Paper Company’s Realty Division created the Master Plan to build the community three decades before it became a reality. The paper company was the area’s major industry harvesting lumber, pitch, tar and turpentine from the area’s many pine trees.

In 1937, International Paper bought a 30,000 acre tract of land in eastern Horry County called the Buist Tract. During World War II, it was used as part of the Conway Bombing and Gunnery Range. A portion of the tract was donated to build Coastal Carolina University in 1960 and years later 9,000 acres were donated to create the Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Trust Preserve.

With 21,000 acres remaining, 125 acres were sold to Horry County Schools to build the Carolina Forest Elementary, Middle and High Schools in 1994. Another 350 acres were sold for golf course and residential development. International Paper also built the first 1.25 miles of Carolina Forest Boulevard. The Boulevard and River Oaks Drive were expanded into an 11 mile loop, opening up a large 11,000 acre area west of the Intracoastal Waterway for development.

Horry County officials had a vision of maintaining its pristine natural surroundings while nurturing the growth of the Carolina Forest residential community. The County froze its zoning rules in 1997 for 20 years in exchange for land to build parks and roads. Land was also donated for the building of Ocean Bay Elementary and Middle Schools while keeping nearly half of Carolina Forest as open space. This cooperation between International Paper Company and the Horry County Government resulted in this one-of-a-kind Master Planned community that will one day have nearly 20,000 homes. Today there are over 2,000 homes, hundreds of acres of lovely parks and hiking trails, great schools and thriving businesses. It’s quite a change from just 20 years ago when bears and deer roamed freely through the untamed area.

Daily Life

Considered a “bedroom community” of Myrtle Beach, beautiful Carolina Forest offers a great combination of being close to all the attractions and beaches of the Grand Strand and the exclusiveness of being part of a close-knit growing community. Residents enjoy a high quality of life with temperate weather, excellent schools, and an abundance of recreational activities including exceptional golf.

The natural beauty and warm weather of Carolina Forest invites an active and healthy lifestyle. Whether it’s running, biking, tennis or golf, residents can do it year-round under usually sunny skies. Water sports like fishing, boating, swimming, beach walking and people watching are just a short ten mile drive away to the coast.

Carolina Forest parks provide visitors with opportunities for picnics, games, dog walking or just sitting on a bench watching the world go by. Hiking trails are abundant, and the Master Community Plan assured that the native foliage and wildlife be preserved in much of the area.

From the moment you enter Carolina Forest and are welcomed by its signature marker, you know this is a unique, well-planned community. Clean and friendly, modern with Southern charm, everything is very well planned out and convenient. Kids can walk or ride their bikes to relatively new schools; shopping, banks, churches and the U.S. Post Office are all easy to get to. The Myrtle Beach Airport is also nearby.

A short drive also takes you to South Carolina’s largest shopping mall, Coastal Grand Mall in Myrtle Beach It has more than 100 stores including Ulta, Dick's Sporting Goods, Caché, Bed Bath & Beyond, Old Navy and Victoria Secret. That’s also where you can catch a movie at the Cinemark 14 Theater.

Right in Carolina Forest on U.S. 501 is the Tanger Outlet Mall. Shoppers can find great deals at nearly a100 shops like Polo Ralph Lauren, Forever 21, Nike, Brooks Brothers, Banana Republic and the Gap. Full serve restaurants including Outback Steakhouse and Ruby Tuesdays satisfy hungry shoppers there along with sweet shops and an ice cream parlor.

Many new and established businesses are thriving right in Carolina Forest, so one never has to leave the area for shopping and services.

Local eateries provide a wide variety of dining choices. Longbeard’s is a log cabin restaurant offering Southern style biscuits and gravy for breakfast and shrimp and grits for dinner. It also hosts weekly bingo and trivia games.

For Italian flavor there’s Pane e Vino on River Oaks Drive. Besides authentic Italian food, there’s a full service bar and cozy lounge. Japanese selections are available at Hana Teppanyaki House in the Forest Village Shopping Center and Ichiro’s Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi across from the Tanger Outlet Center. Handley’s Pub & Grub and Max & Erma’s are other popular meet & greet and eat spots. And you can also find pizza shops, bagel shops, cafés and a Gellateria for tasty gelato in Carolina Forest.

Another advantage of being next-door to Myrtle Beach are the many nightlife and entertainment options so close by. World class acts are regularly showcased at Myrtle Beach’s House of Blues, drawing crowds from near and far. Besides nationally acclaimed rock groups, the House of Blues also presents Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Stand Up Comedy Concerts.

The Carolina Opry Theater presents four award-winning live entertainment experiences in a 2,200-seat, state-of-the-art theater. The Carolina Opry is consistently voted the “Best Show in Myrtle Beach” and has received the state’s Governor’s Cup and Most Outstanding Attraction award. The other three shows are: Good Vibrations, a high energy show featuring music from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s; The Carolina Opry Christmas Special, and LIGHT Laser Extravaganza choreographed to a multitude of musical genres.

Wonderful live theatre and music are also on tap at the Alabama Theater at Barefoot Landing. Built by the legendary County Music group Alabama, it is a special entertainment experience. Alabama used to play in small Myrtle Beach clubs for tips before they made it big. They returned to their musical roots in 1993 to open up the Alabama Theatre. Exciting live productions feature music, dance and comedy February through October and the South's Grandest Christmas Show In November and December. The Alabama Theater also brings in some of the biggest names in Country, Motown, Pop and Comedy.

There are numerous other nightlife and entertainment venues along the Grand Strand that are easy to reach from the Carolina Forest community.

Schools

Carolina Forest is noted for its six outstanding public schools. They are part of the Horry County School District.

Starting with three schools built in 1996, Carolina Forest Elementary, Middle and High School, three additional schools were added in the 2006-2007 to accommodate the growing student population: Ocean Bay Elementary, Ocean Bay Middle School and Black Water Middle School. Depending on where they live, some young students might also attend Palmetto Bays Elementary, Waccamaw Elementary or Conway Elementary.

Carolina Forest Elementary had 961 PK – 5th grade students in 2010.The school received excellent absolute ratings in the 2010 report card and ranked above the national average in Reading, Math and Science.

Ocean Bay Elementary (K – 5th grade) serves the families from the neighborhoods of Carolina Forest, River Oaks, and Arrowhead/Burcale. Because of these neighborhoods’ fast development, the new school has grown quickly. Its student body comes from all over the U.S. and several international families. The school is setting its sights on receiving “Blue Ribbon” status in the future.

Blackwater Middle School (6th – 8th grade) had a student body of 665 in 2010. It merged with what was once Carolina Forest Middle School and has received average absolute and growth ratings from the state but has received good to excellent marks in money spent on each student, its character development program and opportunities in arts, to name just a few.

Ocean Bay Middle School (6th – 7th) has 895 students and most recently received excellent to good marks on the SC State Report Card. Now in its fifth year, the school received the State’s Palmetto Silver Award for Closing the Gap.

Carolina Forest High School had its first graduating class in 2000. It provides advanced technology, state-of-the art science laboratories, advanced placement courses, college credits, honors, college preparatory, and career academic assistance classes in a modern setting. In 2010, it had a student body of 1885 and received an excellent rating on the 2010-2011 State School Report Card. Student SAT and AP scores were all above the national average. CFHS students also exceeded the 2011 ACT National Average with a score of 21.2. 2010 was a good year for the school with its largest graduating class ever. Fifty six percent of the graduating seniors received college scholarships and one of its teachers, Kraig McBroom, was selected as the Horry County Schools Teacher of the Year. Other bragging rights were earned with six school varsity sports teams winning Region VI AAAA Championships and five athletes being selected All-State and All-Star in their respective sports.

Another Carolina Forest School receiving high marks is The Academy for the Arts, Science and Technology opened in late 2007. Its mission is to prepare students for the global economy that they will be competing in. The school provides rigorous academic and career majors allowing students to enter education and career paths that allow them to participate as successful members of a global society. Students can study nursing, Automotive Technology, Building Construction, Culinary Arts, Cosmetology, Digital Art and Design, Pre-Med, and Pre-Med among the School’s many course offerings. Admission is by application only.