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SkyWheel at Myrtle Beach: The seaside Ferris wheel is billed as only the second such attraction in North America. It will have 42 gondolas; as the wheel turns, you’ll eventually be 200 feet above sea level – able to see roughly 25 miles up the coast to the North Carolina border.
It takes about three minutes to complete a revolution. Each ride will take eight to 12 minutes, given loading time and occupancy (each glass-enclosed gondola can hold up to six passengers).
The attraction is fitted with 1 million LED lights for after-dark display. Cost: $12; $8 for kids. (www.skywheelusa.com)
A tower for Tarzan: The 943-acre Palmetto Islands County Park in Mount Pleasant is nature- and family-oriented, with bike paths, picnic sites and grills. As the setting has a tropical look, so does the park’s 50-foot observation tower, whose roof looks monsoon-resistant. (It survived Hurricane Hugo.) Park admission: $1. (www.ccprc.com)
Sights at Sea Pines: Hilton Head harbor holds a 90-foot tower that, in 1970, was the first privately-built lighthouse in America since the 1800s. Climb the Harbour Town Lighthouse to enjoy a view of Hilton Head Island. The landings on your climb serve as a museum that tells the history of the area.
Harbour Town is within Sea Pines resort; there is a $5 per-vehicle fee at the gate to enter; $3.50 to then climb lighthouse. (www.harbourtownlighthouse.com)
Historic light: Hunting Island State Park has the state’s only publicly accessible historic lighthouse. Built in the 1870s, it has a white bottom and black top. Climb to its top (132.5 feet) for a great view of the Lowcountry terrain and the Atlantic. Park admission: $5; $3 for kids; $2 to climb the lighthouse. (www.southcarolinaparks.com)
Four-deck treatment: In Port Royal, follow Sands Beach Road to the architect-designed four-level observation tower, where you can see the marshes of Battery Creek ... and often see dolphins in the waters. The tower is open dawn to dusk; there’s no admission fee. There’s a free public beach there, too. (www.portroyal.org)
