Myrtle Beach, S.C. — The opening of Hard Rock Park only adds to the long list of amusements found in this beach vacation spot. This is, after all, a place with nearly 50 miniature golf courses — half of them, it seems, featuring pirates and volcanoes and water hazards dyed cobalt blue.

If the blur of Led Zeppelin, Hard Rock Park's 65-mph roller coaster, merely whets your appetite for thrills, consider these other nearby roadside attractions.

Myrtle Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau (ENLARGE)

The Family Kingdom theme park in Myrtle Beach, S.C., has a water park section as well as traditional rides.

Myrtle Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau (ENLARGE)

At Ripley's Aquarium in Myrtle Beach, S.C., you can view sharks up close and soon will be able to swim with them.

Myrtle Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau (ENLARGE)

Myrtle Beach, S.C., prides itself on being a family destination.

RELATED LINKS: • Hard Rock Park opens on Myrtle Beach •Dr. Beach's top 10 list •Readers share their favorite beaches • More beach travel ideas

Ripley's Aquarium: While much smaller than the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta, this aquarium has something our hometown spot doesn't: sharks caught in the neighborhood. Most of the fearsome-toothed sand tiger sharks swimming in the 750,000-gallon main tank were caught just offshore. A 330-foot acrylic tunnel gives you a fish-eye view of the sharks, barracuda and other finny creatures.

The $40 million aquarium is part of Broadway on the Beach, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex.

Later this summer, visitors can swim with the rays and the sharks.

More information: 1-800-734-8888; www.ripleysaquarium.com

Family Kingdom: This old-school amusement park straddles Ocean Boulevard just south of Third Avenue South with rides on one side and a water park on the beach side. The amusement park offers a carousel, bumper cars, 110-foot free-fall ride called Sling Shot and a wooden roller coaster. The Ferris wheel, the park brags, is the biggest in South Carolina. It's certainly tall enough to offer views of the ocean.

At the water park, you can splash and slide in cool fresh water while watching other folks splash in slightly warmer salt water.

More information: 843-626-3447; www.family-kingdom.com

Ocean Watersports: If you'd rather soar above the sand than just lay on it, check out the beach shack headquarters of Ocean Watersports just south of Third Avenue South. The company has been giving parasailing rides since 1981.

You ride from the beach to the boat on an inflatable banana boat towed by a personal watercraft. You lift off and land on a deck at the back of the boat. Flights last 10-15 minutes and there are two or three flights, so you get a 30-minute boat ride out of the deal, too.

The company also gives banana boat rides and rents personal watercraft.

More information: 843-445-7777; www.parasailmyrtlebeach.com

NASCAR Speedpark: This may be as close as you can get to racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway. There are seven go-cart tracks in this complex, including Thunder Road, a 1/2-mile road course where you get behind the wheel of 1/2-scale version of an actual Nextel Cup car. On this track, a driver must have a driver's license.

They're plenty of options for other drivers, including a 200-foot track for younger drivers and an indoor track.

And what would a Myrtle Beach attraction be without miniature golf?

There are two 18-hole courses here and a big, loud arcade.

More information: 843-918-8725; www.nascarspeedpark.com/myrtlebeach.html