Horry County, SC Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Rule
- Smoking/vaping banned except in designated park areas
- Section
- Horry County Code § 14-15.5(a)(13)
- Covers
- Cigarettes, cigars, pipes, vape pens, e-cigarettes
- Legal status
- Declared a public nuisance, not a misdemeanor
- Penalty
- Up to $200 fine or 30 hrs public service (§1-8(b))
- Effective date
- February 17, 2026 (Ord. No. 104-2025)
Summary
Horry County parks are smoke-free except in areas the recreation department specifically designates for it. Code § 14-15.5(a)(13) declares cigarettes, cigars, pipes, vape pens and e-cigarettes a public nuisance at county parks and recreational facilities, backed by the Code's nuisance-tier penalty.
(13)Except in designated areas, the use of smoke-producing tobacco or nicotine products, including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, vape pens, or e-cigarettes, is considered a public nuisance and is prohibited at the parks.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 88).
Full Breakdown
" The department of recreation and parks decides where, if anywhere, a designated smoking area exists at a given facility; absent a posted designation, lighting up anywhere on county park property, from a ballfield sideline to a fishing pier, is treated as a public nuisance. The rule reaches vaping and e-cigarettes as well as combustible tobacco, and it sits alongside the leash, fire and drone rules adopted in the same 2026 rewrite of Chapter 14 (Ord. No. 104-2025, § 4, effective February 17, 2026). It applies at every park the county operates, including the parks serving Socastee, Carolina Forest, Garden City and Little River, which have no municipality of their own to write a separate smoking rule.
Because the county classified the conduct as a nuisance rather than a straight misdemeanor, a violation is punished under § 1-8(b), the general-penalty subsection covering nuisances and infractions, rather than § 1-8(a)'s misdemeanor scale, which caps the fine lower and lets the county require public service hours instead.
Violations & Fines
As a declared public nuisance rather than a straight misdemeanor, smoking without a designated area draws the lower nuisance-and-infraction penalty in § 1-8(b): a fine not exceeding $200, or up to 30 hours of public service in lieu of a fine, with each day the condition persists a separate offense. Park staff can also order a smoker to relocate or extinguish before any citation issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I smoke at a Horry County park?
Are vapes and e-cigarettes treated the same as cigarettes?
What's the fine for smoking in a county park?
Does this rule apply to parks in Carolina Forest or Socastee?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Horry County
Compare Horry County to another location·View the South Carolina public conduct overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.