North Myrtle Beach is a coastal resort city in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. It was created in 1968 from four existing municipalities north of Myrtle Beach, and serves as one of the primary tourist towns along the Grand Strand. The population was 10,974 at the 2000 census. The area is divided into four separate areas based on its former municipalities. These are Windy Hill, Crescent Beach, Ocean Drive, and Cherry Grove, a spit bordering North Carolina. Atlantic Beach, which lies inside of North Myrtle Beach, chose to remain its own town during the merger.