Beaches, hikes, new towns to explore: Readers’ favorite day trips from the Midlands
The State asked readers share your favorite places to take a day trip to from the Columbia area. You responded with ideas for every palate.
Whether you like to explore new main streets, get some fresh air or relax at the beach, our readers have suggestions for the best ways to get out of town for a day.
Quick jaunts
These day trips are all within an hour of Columbia’s downtown, making them perfect for a quick jaunt on a weekend morning.
Ridgeway
Drive time: 31 minutes
Our readers love Ridgeway. The small town also got a shout-out in a previous poll conducted by The State asking for hidden gems around the Midlands.
Boasting a population of just over 300 residents, Ridgeway is often compared to secluded mountain towns. It is perhaps best known for holding an annual “Pig on the Ridge” barbecue festival.
“Love the small town feel. Charming place stuck in time. Great shops and restaurants too,” nominator Marilyn Penrod wrote about Ridgeway.
Congaree National Park
Drive time: 31 minutes
For anyone craving an immersive outdoor experience close to home, Congaree National Park satisfies. The park contains one of the oldest and tallest forests east of the Mississippi, according to the National Park Service.
Visitors have their pick of hiking trails, fishing spots, campsites and water access for canoes and kayaks. There’s no admission fee, and the park is open 24 hours a day year-round. Congaree National Park is also one of the few places in the world to witness a rare breed of synchronous fireflies put on their annual mating light show. (Visitors to see the fireflies will be limited this year based on a lottery.)
The anonymous reader who submitted this suggestion says the park is “best visited in winter when views are more penetrating.”
Camden historical tours
Drive time: 37 minutes
If you’re a fan of Revolutionary War history or the Mel Gibson film “The Patriot,” Camden should be on your list of day trips to take this summer.
Once the supply post for all British operations in the South during the Revolutionary War, Camden leans into those historic ties. Visitors to the iconic town can explore an authentic Revolutionary War-era village and battlefield and a handful of other local museums.
Pearl Fryar’s Topiary Garden
Drive time: 51 minutes
This 3-acre sprawling garden in Bishopville, complete with a sculpture park, took its namesake, Pearl Fryar, nearly 40 years to shape. It’s home to a range of plants, many of which were rescued from local nurseries.
“It wasn’t important to me to create a garden. I wanted to create a feeling, so that when you walk through here you feel different than when you came,” Fryar told a reporter about the project in 2006.
Manchester State Forest
Drive time: 55 minutes
Adjacent to Poinsett State Park, Manchester State Forest is celebrated for the seclusion visitors find there, according to its nominator.
Outdoors enthusiasts looking for an off-the-beaten path escape will find it here. There are trails for hiking and mountain biking and horseback riding as well as access to the Palmetto Trail.
Dogs are allowed, and there is no admission fee to enter the forest, but there aren’t any public restrooms, so be sure to plan ahead.
Temple Sinai Jewish History Center
Drive time: 1 hour
Add the Jewish History Center in Sumter to your travel itinerary if you enjoy learning new things about local history. The center is attached to Temple Sinai, a Reform Jewish synagogue in downtown Sumter.
The history center focuses on the stories of Sumter’s Jewish community and features a permanent exhibit memorializing victims of the Holocaust.
Pack a lunch
These trips are more than an hour away but are great for a long afternoon out of the house.
Lake Wateree
Drive time: 1 hour five minutes
There are 14 access points to get you onto the more than 13,000 acres of Lake Wateree, 30 miles northeast of Columbia.
The lake’s biggest draw might be the variety offered to area fishermen, who can catch catfish, largemouth bass and black crappie, among other fish varieties.
Gopher Tortoise Heritage Preserve
Drive time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Wander through this 1,622-acre nature preserve near Aiken and you might encounter a rare species: the endangered gopher tortoise. The preserve is ideal for anyone who enjoys seeing wildlife in their natural habitat. In addition to the gopher tortoise, visitors can see a variety of snakes, birds and wild game.
Augusta National
Drive time: 1 hour 21 minutes
Augusta National Golf Club is just over the Georgia border. Take a day trip and play golf like the pros at this course most known for being the home of the Masters Tournament. The golf club received two nominations from The State readers for best day trips in the area.
Check out the greens before you go here.
Lake City Art Scene
Drive time: 1 hour 34 minutes
If you want to explore a town that knows the value of a strong arts community, Lake City is the place to go. The community is known for supporting a vibrant array of artists and for hosting a massive nine-day public art festival every year.
That event, called Artfields, is coming up at the end of April and features hundreds of musicians, painters, sculptors and other creatives from around the south.
Paris Mountain
Drive time: 1 hour 47 minutes
While not the closest of South Carolina’s 47 state parks, Paris Mountain is considered a favorite among day trippers who also want to make a stop in Greenville or Spartanburg before heading back home.
“Paris Mountain State Park has a great network of well-maintained trails with a good variety of landscapes and some sweet views from along the ridgelines. There are trails to take it easy and trails to get your blood pumping,” wrote The State reader (and reporter) Sarah Ellis in her nomination.
The park offers 17 miles of hiking trails, four lakes and camping amenities. Fun fact: Paris Mountain is a monadnock – a mountain that rises out of flat land.
A longer trip
These trips are longer excursions, all more than two hours away but still doable in a day.
Isle of Palms County Park
Drive time: 2 hours 13 minutes
Speaking of parks, if you’re more into taking walks along the beach and are okay taking a slightly longer drive, go past Mount Pleasant and you’ll find Isle of Palms park in Charleston County.
Admission is free, but you will have to pay a few dollars for parking. Enjoy an ice cream stand, boardwalks and a sand volleyball court. During peak season, you can even rent chairs and umbrellas. An anonymous reader nominating this day trip called it “All you need to (spend) a great day at the beach.”
They recommend grabbing a sandwich at the nearby Harris Teeter, about a six-minute walk away, and enjoying it in front of the waves.
Caesar’s Head/Jones Gap/Raven Cliff Falls area
Drive time: About 2 hours and 25 minutes
South Carolina has an abundance of parks, and each one offers something different.
Caesars Head and Jones Gap state parks, located north of Spartanburg in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area, have some of the highest-rated hikes in the state, according to users of the app AllTrails. Because of their proximity to each other, you can take an extra long walk in the woods and travel between the two parks.
“A wonderful, full day if you don’t have time for an overnight stay but want to get a great hike in,” wrote nominator Amy Thomson.
Myrtle Beach
Drive time: 2 hours 44 minutes
This day trip might take your entire day, but it will be packed with options. Myrtle Beach offers a wide variety of seafood restaurants, sporting events, music and other entertainment, and of course, access to the beach.
Nominator Toni Brigman explained, “I can leave early in the morning and leave the beach at dark and be home by 11.”
This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
