Charleston
With its cobblestone streets and antebellum architecture, Charleston is one of the most charming cities in the American South. A peninsula town whose rivers empty into the Atlantic Ocean, it has a warm, welcoming vibe where visitors are treated like family, and just about anywhere you go somebody is eager to fill your cup with a heavy-handed pour of spiked sweet tea. If you want to combine urban travel with a beach getaway, Charleston is the place for you; its downtown core occupies a tight grid of streets and historic homes with thriving beach communities — Folly Island to the west and Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island to the east — on each side.
Congaree National Park
Wildlife enthusiasts, hikers, and paddlers will want to add South Carolina’s only national park, just south of Columbia, to their itinerary. The Congaree and Wateree rivers snake their way through the bottomland hardwood forest, part of the Congaree International Biosphere Reserve, making it a great place to observe the unique ecosystems by kayak via its waterways.
Greenville
In the northwestern corner of the Palmetto State near the Blue Ridge Mountains, Greenville is a melting pot of lifestyles: a city made for epicures and art lovers that also places heavy emphasis on outdoor living. While Falls Park on the Reedy is Greenville’s centerpiece, it’s not the only waterfall in town: Greenville boasts more than 30 breathtaking cascades, three state parks, and the 22-mile, multi-use Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail.