River Neck Acres provides enjoyable, family-friendly camping and thrilling ATV riding near the Great Pee Dee River. The ATV Park is located on the outskirts of Florence County on 1,174.99 acres of swamps, hills, dirt, and mud. They accept ATV’s, 4-wheelers, UTV’s, side-by-sides, and golf carts. The property has several cabins and around forty-three campsites that can be rented. With feature scheduled events at the park open to the public, they offer a little something for everyone to enjoy!
Connie Hardwick owns the property and her twin daughters, Jamey Hilburn and Jordan Hicks, run the business. Connie is a retired New York Life agent. With a master’s degree in Education, Connie also taught at Marion High School in the late 1980s. Her daughter, Jamey, shares, “She has a giving heart and will give you her last cent if she believes you’d be better off. She’s the heart behind all our charity work, which we hope to continue to do more of in the future.”
Jamey and Jordan both graduated from Aynor High School. Jamey attends Horry Georgetown Technical college and plans to transfer to Coastal Carolina in the spring of 2019 to pursue a degree in hospitality. She married her high school sweetheart, Bruce. Jordan will be attending the College of Charleston starting in the fall and also married her high school sweetheart, Brandon. In addition to helping with River Neck Acres, Bruce and Brandon co-own a food truck, Burgers-In-Law. It’s hard to believe these couples are barely out of high school but the success of both businesses proves their age is merely a number. Within minutes you can tell they were born to be entrepreneurs.
For several years, Connie ran the property as an equine park. She found great pleasure in the business but it began to be tough to make ends meet. That’s when Jamey and Jordan approached her with the idea of an ATV park. The girls enjoyed riding and had several friends that supported their idea. “Had it been left up to me, the business would have completely sunk,” says Connie. “These girls turned it around and have made it far more successful than I could have ever imagined!”
River Neck Acres opened just last summer. “We wanted a safe, fun place for families to be able to enjoy the outdoors on ATVs without the worry and dangers that come from riding on highways,” explains Jamey. River Neck Acres allows any motorized vehicles that do not have to be registered by the DMV to ride. They hold mud races, concerts, and hope to expand to other spaces in the future. They also try their best to accommodate any sort of group outings or celebrations. Plans for the future are bright, as they plan to expand their land, add more cabins and accommodations, and host more concerts featuring larger artists.
