U.S. Route 17 in South Carolina

U.S. Highway 17 (US 17) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs north–south from Punta Gorda, Florida to Winchester, Virginia. In South Carolina, it is a 221-mile (356 km) major highway that travels near the Atlantic Ocean. Beginning from the Georgia state line at the Savannah River, US 17 enters South Carolina in Jasper County, where it intersects with Interstate 95 (I-95). The route goes through Hardeeville. It merges with I-95 until Point South, then heads east into Beaufort County, through the ACE Basin, and eventually reaches Charleston. There, US 17 crosses the Ashley and Cooper rivers, crossing the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge and becoming a major route through Mount Pleasant. Continuing through the Francis Marion National Forest, it reaches Georgetown. Then it follows the Grand Strand, bypassing Myrtle Beach before entering North Carolina near Calabash.

US 17 existed before the Interstate Highway System and remains an alternative to I-95 for local and long-distance travel. The highway offers a more scenic coastal route than I-95's inland path. During hurricane seasons, US 17 serves as an evacuation route for coastal communities, particularly in the Grand Strand regions.

Throughout its route in South Carolina, the highway is commonly called the Coastal Highway. Historically, a portion of US 17 was part of a much longer colonial-era route known as the King's Highway. This historic road stretched from Charleston to Boston, Massachusetts, serving the major colonial cities along the Eastern Seaboard. Additionally, multiple portions of US 17 were part of the Ocean Highway, due to the highway being near the Atlantic Ocean.