A Weekend in Greenville, South Carolina
Exploring Greenville in two days
October 7, 2022
If you’ve never had the chance to visit Greenville, South Carolina you have to plan a trip there ASAP. It’s one of my favorite southern towns and it has so much to offer. It had been a few years since I visited so I knew that I needed to plan a trip this summer. I left early one Saturday morning from Atlanta and made my way up to Greenville for another solo adventure.
Downtown Greenville is where you’ll probably spend most of your first day because there’s so much to see and do in that area. Parking is very easy, as they have both parking garages and street parking. Parking is also free on the weekends at the Richard St. Garage and the West Washington Street Deck, which is a nice perk since it’s rare to find free parking in larger cities nowadays.
The Greenville Saturday Market is one of my favorite farmers markets, so I made sure I arrived in time that morning to check it out. The market is open every Saturday morning from 8am- 12pm in downtown Greenville (May- October). They have everything from fresh fruit and vegetables, to flowers, breakfast tacos and homemade soaps.
After I went to the farmers market, I decided to explore Falls Park on the Reedy and the surrounding area. This part of town is one of the most visited spots in Greenville and is very photoworthy. Feed the ducks, bike around the area, walk over the bridge or just sit and admire its beauty. I eventually made my way to the back side of the falls/bridge and just sat on a swing and enjoyed the summer day for a little while.
The Swamp Rabbit Trail is one of the best parts of Greenville and is a 22 mile multi-use greenway where you will find people walking, running and biking. Part of the trail goes right by Falls Park so I just started exploring down the path and found myself at the Cancer Survivors Park. I highly recommend checking out that part of the trail as it was very peaceful.
I was starting to get hungry at this point so I made my way to the West End where I checked out Gather GVL. This was a really cool open-air food hall where they had a bunch of different restaurants to choose from. This would be a great option for groups of people as everyone can pick out something to eat that they would enjoy.
The West End has a some cool shops and restaurants so be sure to walk around that area while you’re by Gather GVL. I thought a little shop called Vintage Now Modern was a fun store with some unique items.
After I was done in the West End, I decided to hop back on the Swamp Rabbit Trail and head the other way towards Unity Park. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Unity Park is relatively new and has a lot of wonderful greenspace where I saw people picnicking, throwing the frisbee and playing with their dogs. It also has an awesome playground and a splash pad for kids to enjoy.
If you continue on past Unity Park, there are several food/drink options. The Swamp Rabbit Trail goes right by the Commons, which has some restaurants and shops, as well as a few breweries. I stopped in Southernside Brewing Co. and it had a great vibe. The Swamp Rabbit Trail actually continues on past this area and heads all of the way to Travelers Rest, SC. This whole area is great for exercising and if you have access to a bike, I would highly recommend taking it out on the trail- I felt like the whole trail was very bike friendly.
I decided to head back downtown and do a little shopping. There are tons of different types of shops in downtown Greenville including art galleries, olive oil shops, clothing and toy stores. Even though Mast General Store is a chain, I always love shopping there, so make sure you put that on your list.
If you have time and you have kids, I have heard that the Children’s Museum of the Upstate is awesome. All of the arts and cultural based facilities are in the same area in what is known as Heritage Green. The Greenville County Museum of Art is right next door to the Children’s Museum and they have free admission, which is a great option for art lovers. Another fun option for kids (and adults) while you’re in downtown is to look for mice. That’s right, mice. They have 9 little bronze mice scattered throughout Main Street. It’s a fun scavenger hunt for everyone to enjoy.
After I shopped for a little while, I had early an dinner reservation. I knew I wanted to go to Soby’s, since it’s a Greenville staple. They have wonderful southern food and are in a great location, in the heart of the downtown district. After dinner I stopped by a rooftop bar called Up on the Roof, which is located in the Embassy Suites. The hotel itself is gorgeous and the rooftop bar was just as nice. The place was packed full of people enjoying the nice summer evening. If you have some time to grab a drink, I would highly recommend coming up to this rooftop bar, for the views alone.
My final activity of the day was to go to a Greenville Drive minor league baseball game. I love minor league baseball so I knew I had to make sure the team was in town for my trip. These games are great family fun and have a relaxed atmosphere. I got a super cheap ticket for the game and was on the first row right behind the dugout- my kind of experience.
On my way back to the car from the baseball game, I noticed a good crowd up on a plaza and ventured my way over to find several restaurants, bars and event spaces. I had stumbled upon the Camperdown Plaza which was very lively in the evening. There was a really cute bar in the middle of the plaza and a place called Group Therapy Pub & Playground, which had putt-putt and other fun games inside.
The next morning I got up early, grabbed a donut and made my way to Paris Mountain State Park. This park is only 20 minutes from downtown Greenville and is a great way to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city. There were a lot of great trails but I decided to hike the Sassafras Loop. After I was done hiking, I rented a kayak and kayaked Lake Placid at Paris Mountain. The lake isn’t large at all but it was fun for a $5 rental- something that I think kids would really enjoy. The lake also has a roped off swimming area that a lot of people were taking advantage of on the hot day.
My final stop for the weekend was to head in to the city of Travelers Rest, South Carolina (just outside of Greenville). As I mentioned before, the Swamp Rabbit Trail actually goes all of the way out to this town and I wish I had a bike because I definitely would have made the trek via bike. I have some friends who live in Greenville and they often do this bike ride and make a fun day of it, stopping at restaurants and breweries along the way. Travelers Rest is a quaint town but I stopped by Farmhouse Tacos and grabbed some lunch and walked along the trail path for a bit…the perfect ending to my trip.
