A Weekend in Greenville South Carolina

Nestled almost exactly between the metropolises of Charlotte and Atlanta, the wonderful city of Greenville is a very cool place to Seek Out. It is a great place to get in touch with your outdoorsy side. Being close to endless outdoor activities in the foothills of northern South Carolina, and featuring one of the South’s best metropolitan downtown areas, Greenville makes a great stop for a weekend get away. It is so easy to take a fast drive down from North Carolina, or a quick bus from Atlanta to Greenville. We strongly urge you to Seek Out all that Greenville has to offer, and enjoy this special city before the secret of how great it is gets out! Below are some of the highlights of our weekend. Do you love Greenville? We would love to hear about some of your favorite highlights below!

Check out Downtown!

Greenville has a seriously incredible downtown. That’s not just our opinion, the city has won numerous awards for its revitalization efforts and the city hosts leaders from other municipalities across America to offer them tips to take home. From the Riverwalk, tree lined streets, many delicious restaurants, nice hotels and world famous Falls on the Reedy park, you will not run out of interesting things to See downtown. You will also want to ride the delightful red and blue trolley around downtown, which will take you as far as Heritage Green, home of the area’s Art Museum - which has free admission.

Falls on the Reedy Park

Speaking of Downtown, you absolutely must check out the city’s crown jewel. In the heart of Downtown is Falls on the Reedy park, capped off by the stunning marvel of engineering, the 345 feet long Liberty Bridge. The Liberty Bridge is truly unlike any other bridge in the country and stretches from one side of the park to the other like a massive sculpture that soars over the parks waterfall cascade. That water fall is of course one of the other reasons to visit the park. What other downtown area has a soaring water fall right in the heart of downtown? Dotted around the park are several cute restaurants and spaces to walk your furry friend or picnic. At the top of the falls, follow the Reedy river through the downtown Riverwalk, featuring more hotels and restaurants.

Culinary Delights!

One thing we were not expecting to find in Greenville was its wonderful culinary scene! One weekend was not enough time to truly explore all of the delicious options, but we do want to highlight two of our favorites. First of all, if you are in town for breakfast, you absolutely must see out Maple Street Biscuit Co. Needless to say their biscuits were amazing, but the specialty and atmosphere were great as well. I had the Squawking Goat - a delicious chicken biscuit topped with hot pepper jam and a fried goat cheese medallion (picture above). It was delectable. My wife kept it simple, opting for the Risky Biscuit, Maple Street’s take on the classic southern staple, biscuits and gravy. The experience was capped off with a super fun way the staff lets you know your order is ready (no spoilers!). Maple Street Biscuit Company was located downtown, and they have locations across the Southeast.

Another place we have to recommend is White Duck Taco. Originally started in Asheville, White Duck Taco Shop now has a location in Greenville. This was our first time trying this scrumptious taco stop. Featuring unique blends of flavors, all the tacos are definitely unique. Some of the menu highlights include Jerk Chicken, Spicy Buffalo Chicken, Bangkok Shrimp, Lump Crab, Korean Beef Bulgogi, and Thai Peanut Chicken. Not only were the tacos delicious, (special shout out to the crispy duck fat taco), but they also had some of the most incredible queso to ever cross these lips.

Greenville Zoo!

One of the things we loved most about Greenville was the sheer amount of outdoor options we could take part in. Right in downtown, literally less than a 30 minute walk from the center of downtown and the wonderful park we highlighted above, is the Greenville Zoo. Admission was extremely reasonable at less than $10 per adult, $6.50 for children, and our toddler got in for free. There were many different animal exhibits, ranging from exotic safari animals to cute and cuddly farm denizens. We were amazed at how close you can get to each animal. At one point we were within 5 or 10 feet from a lion. Our toddler loved the exhibits. She’s an animal lover already, but you could tell she really enjoyed being so close to the animals. Our local zoo has similar offerings, but the animals are so far away! This zoo was special, definitely worth Seeking out!

Outdoors Galore!

The Zoo is just the beginning of the outdoor options! Located just north of the city limits, Greenville has its own state park! Paris Mountain State Park consists of 1540 acres of fun outdoor activities like hiking, swimming, and camping - all capped by Paris Mountain - rising 2,000 feet above the ground. We particularly enjoyed the Lake Placid Loop trail, a less than 1 mile trail that encircles one of the park’s 4 lakes. We found this trail easy to accomplish, even with with a toddler in tow. After Paris Mountain, we headed west of Greenville for Clemson University, only 30 miles away. Being a huge football fan, I wanted to see the stadium, and Clemson made a great stop over for lunch before we hopped on the Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Byway.

Arcing through the north of the state, the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Byway crosses through the South Carolina foothills stopping by several interesting things along its path. There are not one but two historic covered bridges along this path! Campbell’s bridge was built in 1909, and is 38 feet long and 12 feet wide. The bridge, which crosses Beaverdam Creek, is the centerpiece of a Greenville County park where visitors can wade in the stream or take a short hike through the woods and explore the foundation of the old grist mill and homestead. The Poinsett Bridge is a Gothic style stone bridge built in 1820 and is the source of many ghost stories. The 130-foot bridge which crosses Little Gap Creek was built on a road that originally connected Charleston to the North Carolina mountains. It’s now at the heart of the 120-acre Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve. A drive through the preserve is a peaceful way to take in peak fall color.

There are many opportunities along this route that we could not accomplish in only one day on the scenic highway, but the last place we did stop was Table Rock State Park (photo below). The state park offered stunning views of table rock, a playground for the kids, a swimming hole, and some beautiful hikes to cascading waterfalls! It’s hard to believe we were less than 30 miles to the bustling downtown of Greenville.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read about our weekend. Have you been to Greenville, SC? Is there anything we missed that we have to try next time? We would love to hear from you! Email us at seeseeksleep@gmail.com

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