6 most charming places in SC to visit that aren’t Charleston or Greenville, Travel + Leisure says
If you’re looking for a charming small town in South Carolina, Travel + Leisure has a list for you.
All over the state.
Travelers Rest, Bluffton, Aiken, Florence, Lake City and Murrells Inlet.
Travelers Rest is having a big week in the media. The Upstate city of about 8,500 people was just profiled by Southern Living, which offered a list of 14 things to do there.
Travel + Leisure called Travelers Rest “an outdoor oasis in the Foothills.”
The magazine noted the Swamp Rabbit Trail, a former rail line to Greenville now a walk-bike path, the Tandem Creperie and Coffeehouse and Swamp Rabbit Brewery.
“Top-notch tacos and pizza are each within a block on Main Street,” the magazine said.
“Better yet, make Travelers Rest your base. Sunrift Adventures, the local outdoor hub since 1980, rents bikes and kayaks to hit nearby trails and whitewater.”
Bluffton, which according to its website is considered the heart of the Lowcountry and the last true coastal village of the South, is among the fastest growing in South Carolina with an increase of 120% since the 2010 census.
The 2020 census counted 27,716 people.
“Live oaks draped with Spanish moss form the canopy along thoroughfares in this quaint coastal village that’s a haven of artisan shops and cafes,” Travel + Leisure said. “Walk a few blocks to the May River to see how Bluffton gets its name — the high ground and steep banks descending to the waterway are a rarity in the Lowcountry.”
The magazine noted the Historic Bluffton Arts & Seafood Festival each October that features 100 artists and food from “downtown favorites like CRUDO and The Pearl Kitchen & Bar.”
Also mentioned is the 20,000-acre Palmetto Bluff residential community that features a resort with a sporting clay course, bike trails, golf and a pool.
Aiken, with just over 32,025 residents, is across the Savannah River from Augusta, Georgia, and earned its horse racing roots as “as a winter home for New England snowbirds in the late 19th century,” the magazine said.
Still, the town has several races each year including the Aiken Triple Crown each spring and races sponsored in the spring and fall by Aiken Polo Club.
The magazine mentioned The Willcox, a hotel built in the late 19th century that hosted Winston Churchill, Harold Vanderbilt, W.R. Grace, Elizabeth Arden and Count Bernadette of Sweden.
“Legend has it that Franklin Delano Roosevelt would ride his private train car to the back door and slip in quietly,” the hotel says on its website.
It includes a spa and restaurant.
Aiken also has 70 miles of walking and riding trails at the 2,100-acre preserve, Hitchcock Woods.
Florence, with 40,072 people, has the Revolutionary Rivers Trail, with 66 miles of the Lynches and Great Pee Dee Rivers.
“South Carolina’s seasonally flooded bottomland forests, once the backdrop of Revolutionary War battles, can now be explored via kayak or canoe on the This National Recreation Trail,” the magazine said.
RiverRat’s leads daily tours.
The blackwater ecosystem gets its name from the “iced-tea-colored water stained by tannins from cypress and tupelo trees,” the magazine said.
Recommended are Hotel Florence and its Victor’s Bistro.
“The historic property features exposed brick and nods to its previous lives as a bank and hardware store,” the magazine said.
Of Lake City, Travel + Leisure said, “The last decade brought incredible rejuvenation to this classic small town with fewer than 7,000 residents, thanks to the support of Darla Moore, the daughter of a Lake City farmer.”
A billionaire businesswoman and philanthropist, Lake City native Moore founded the Moore Farms Botanical Garden, which is open to the public, and ArtFields, an annual art exhibition. ArtFields is held downtown each April.
“Downtown is now a permanent outdoor museum of murals and sculptures,” the magazine said.
Recommended are The Inn at the Crossroads and Piggybacks.
Not actually a town but on the list nonetheless is Murrells Inlet, an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Georgetown County.
It’s about 13 miles south of Myrtle Beach.
“Murrells Inlet lets you return to a time when ‘incredible view’ and ‘delicious food’ were not mutually exclusive,” the magazine said.
There’s a boardwalk called MarshWalk over the salt marsh and eight waterfront restaurants. There’s also the iconic Lee’s Inlet Kitchen, founded in 1948 and still hand-peeling shrimp and battering them with local corn meal.
The magazine suggested going to Brookgreen Gardens to see the nearly 1,500 sculptures, botanical garden and zoo.
“During the holidays, the 9,127-acre garden is transformed for the annual Nights of a Thousand Candles event,” the magazine said.