Discover the places a short car ride—in any direction—can take you
Snuggled up against the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Greenville boasts an inviting location roughly midway between the big-city trappings of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia. Granted, there’s plenty to keep you busy in Greenville, but the city also makes a perfect starting point for all manner of adventures.
Urban Exploits
For those who seek urban escapades, culture abounds 90 miles north in Uptown Charlotte at the Mint Museum, the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, and the Levine Museum of the New South. NASCAR is king in these parts, and Charlotte’s NASCAR Hall of Fame celebrates America’s most popular spectator sport.
A two-and-a half-hour drive southwest takes you to Atlanta, where you can spend a packed weekend exploring the High Museum, the Georgia Aquarium, and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, to name just a few of the city’s myriad attractions. Check out the chic shopping in Buckhead and the cornucopia of excellent restaurants helmed by such top chefs as Hugh Acheson, Steven Satterfield, Linton Hopkins, and Anne Quatrano.
The Great Outdoors
Nature lovers will discover an outdoor paradise a short hour’s drive from Greenville along Highway 11—aka the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway. As the highway traces an old Cherokee path through the mountains for 112 miles from Gaffney to Fair Play, South Carolina, side roads wind up to state parks at Table Rock, Caesars Head, Jones Gap, Keowee-Toxaway, and Devils Fork—the only public access to 7,500-acre Lake Jocassee. All are threaded by woodland trails, leading past some of the 30 waterfalls you can hike to within Greenville, Oconee, and Pickens counties.
Before ending at Interstate 85, Highway 11 arches over Lake Keowee and skirts Lake Hartwell State Park, both of which afford water-based fun from fishing to kayaking. Rafting fans can tackle one of the Southeast’s most challenging stretches of whitewater on the Chattooga National Wild and Scenic River, which straddles the border between South Carolina and Georgia.
A bit farther afield, Western North Carolina takes adventurers to even higher peaks. In Asheville, you can hop on the Blue Ridge Parkway as it snakes along the spine of its namesake mountains to its terminus at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Bohemian Asheville, characterized by its vibrant arts scene, makes a great getaway in its own right.
Lowcountry Excursions
While it’s a bit of a longer drive (3 hours) to the coast from Greenville, the captivating city of Charleston and the South Carolina coast make an easy weekend excursion. Seek out Charleston for its storied history and distinctive architecture, and head to the coast to kick back on wide white-sand beaches. North of Charleston, Isle of Palms lays out a family-friendly beach community, while to the south, the private resort on Kiawah Island flaunts 10 miles of pristine beach and five championship golf courses.
A bit farther down the coast, Spanish moss-draped live oak trees and laid-back Lowcountry charm will tempt you to stay a while in charming Beaufort. From there, it’s a short drive to more golf courses on family-friendly Hilton Head Island. Continue south (32 miles) to Savannah, Georgia, a quirky city known for the lovely formal squares laid out in 1733 by British Army officer James Oglethorpe, and the buzzing atmosphere on the waterfront along River Street, where a former power plant has been transformed into a hotel and entertainment district.
Historic Gems
Scattered around the state, you’ll discover a constellation of small towns, each of which is a star in its own right. South Carolina’s Revolutionary War heritage—more battles and skirmishes were fought in this state than in any other colony—reveals itself in four national park sites, all drivable from Greenville: Cowpens National Battlefield in Gaffney, 96 National Historic Site in Ninety Six, Kings Mountain National Military Park in Blacksburg, and Charles Pinckney National Historic Site near Charleston in Mt. Pleasant.
Southeast of Greenville, Edgefield boasts a centuries-old pottery tradition that continues to this day, while Aiken shows off its equine heritage as a training ground for prize-winning Thoroughbreds. Tiny Pendleton, less than five miles from Clemson University, centers on a grassy town square presided over by 1828 Farmers Hall (now a restaurant). You can get a taste of the antebellum South nearby at Ashtabula and Woodburn plantations.
Mountains or beaches, small town or big city, outdoor day trip or cultural weekend getaway, Greenville affords you easy access to it all.
