10 Darling Small Towns in South Carolina
Life is like a box of chocolates, and you can savor these lively delights from the darling small towns of South Carolina. Where great films like Forrest Gump took place and where the first battle of the Civil War transpired in Fort Sumter, South Carolina has since moved on from its plantations and inhumane African slave labor. The Gullah/Geechee culture, a subgroup of African-Americans with close cultural connections to African traditions and languages, thrives in villages like Beaufort and Georgetown. Other destinations like Travelers Rest and Edisto Beach are perfect locations for respite and relief from one’s weary sojourns. Finally, feel a sense of paradise when gallivanting through heavenly places like Walhalla.
Beaufort
On Port Royal Island, one of South Carolina’s coastal Sea Islands, you will be enamored by the darling charms of the harbor town of Beaufort. About 300 years old and an hour away from the city of Savannah in Georgia, Beaufort preserves much of its antiquated, antebellum mansions such as the Frampton House Plantation, the Old Sheldon Church Ruins, the Saint Helena Parish Chapel of Ease Ruins, the Beaufort Arsenal, and more in the Beaufort Historic District. Some of these mansions were even used as settings for notable movies like Forrest Gump, The Big Chill, The Great Santini and The Prince of Tides.
A thriving Gullah/Geechee cultures enrichens Beaufort with landmarks like the Harriet Tubman Monument and communities as seen in the nearby Saint Helena Island. Sites suitable for exploratory exercises include the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park which overlooks the Beaufort River and the Woods Memorial Bridge. You might also fancy venturing into historic military encampments like the Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve and Fort Fremont Preserve & History Center. Last but not least, you should definitely refreshen and recharge in Beaufort Inn, City Loft Hotel, or Rhett House Inn.
Georgetown
Georgetown is “where southern time meets maritime” in the Lowcountry. Approximately 60 miles away from the city of Charleston, travelers can learn all about why Georgetown is the third oldest town in South Carolina at the Georgetown County Museum. Other museums include the Gullah Museum (about Gullah/Geechee people’s introduction and development of the cattle, indigo, and rice culture), the Kaminski House Museum (a gallery of English and American antiques from the 18th and 19th centuries), and the Rice Museum (focuses on the values of rice for Georgetown and South Carolina).
For a more direct approach to the past, you ought to go exploring in one or all of the five rivers composing the town—the Black, Great Pee Dee, Small Pee Dee, Waccamaw, and Sampit. You could also go hiking and canoeing in the swamps and bogs of the Francis Marion National Forest, the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center, and the Santee Coastal Reserve. Although Georgetown used to be a prominent plantation where African slaves were forced into labor, you will find only free and humble individuals in a town with a handful of great lodgings like the George Hotel and Baxter’s Brewhouse Inn.
Bluffton
As the geographical and cultural heart of the Lowcountry, Bluffton invites travelers to a plethora of beloved attractions in its vicinity. Bluffton was originally a retreat for wealthy Lowcountry plantation owners in pre-American Civil War times, an unfair past which you can learn in informative places such as the Heyward House or in Bluffton’s Historic District. Follow the meandering May River and into the lovely Hilton Head Island, where every September 18 - 22, the Hilton Head Island Jam sees dozens of emerging and renowned songwriters perform on stage. On the May River itself, there are a few special festivities to participate in such as the May River Shrimp Festival on July and a Historic Bluffton Arts & Seafood Festival from October 1 - 20. Only midway between Savannah and Beaufort, discover more of the Lowcountry in the insightful town of Bluffton.
Newberry
Seek newness 50 minutes from the city of Columbia at the delightful small town of Newberry. As the gateway to the Francis Marion & Sumter National Forests, visitors can savor the vivacious atmospheres and woodlands of South Carolina’s ecosystems. Gain a sense of antiquated enjoyment when watching performances at the Newberry Opera House, or go out and about when participating in Newberry’s own version of an Oktoberfest. Stoll leisurely through the Wells Japanese Garden, Carter & Holmes’ 18 orchid greenhouses, Lynch's Woods Park, and Gully Washer Splash Park. Those with strong and refined palettes can sate their appetites at the Enoree River Vineyards and Winery. Either way, Newberry provides innumerably new experiences for anyone touring South Carolina for the first time.
Travelers Rest
Travelers need all the rest they can get to continue on their journey or as a reward for all their adventures. Fortunately for those in South Carolina, the rejuvenating town of Travelers Rest is the remedy for your exhaustive treks. As the name implies, Travelers Rest as been a vital resting spot for livestock drovers and indigenous peoples—among them, the Catawba, the Creek, and the Cherokee—for centuries as the Travelers Rest History Museum explains. A few miles north of Travelers Rest, you might come across a stone pyramid which memorializes Laodicea “Dicey” Langston, a local heroine during the American Revolutionary War.
Only about nine miles from Greenville, bikers can go cycling along the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail System that winds through the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Those on foot ought to traverse through the Caesars Head State Park and Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve. Of course, Travelers Rest provides a number of lodgings for you to take a rest such as Swamp Rabbit Inn and Hotel Domestique.
Edisto Beach
Lounge and lather yourself in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean at the shores of Edisto Beach. Located in Edisto Island and a few miles away from Beaufort, Edisto Beach is one of the last few family-oriented, gently developed beaches on South Carolina’s coastlines with over four and a half miles of uncrowded beaches. Among the few inhabitants on Edisto Beach’s sand and near Edisto River are loggerhead sea turtles, whereupon the females would lay to an average of 100 eggs in the beach for the hatchlings to emerge two months later and commence their harrowing journey to the ocean.
Further inland, travelers can study up on the many ophidian organisms in South Carolina at the Edisto Island Serpentarium. Be watchful and mindful in your trips through the Botany Bay Heritage Preserve/Wildlife Management Area and Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge. In an island of knifing riverways and swamplands, Edisto Island’s Edisto Beach is a quaint oasis from South Carolina’s wilderness.
Aiken
Aiken is all about enriching people with an equestrian spirit—indeed, the Aiken Equine Rescue has become the largest horse rescue center in the southeastern US. The Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum delves deeper into Aiken’s fascination and adoration of horses, and the Aiken Steeplechase Association hosts the Imperial Cup each March and the Holiday Cup in October for horse-related races.
Aside from the equine, Aiken was also one of many plantations that partook in American slavery as best seen in the Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site. Other museums that shed more light into Aiken’s past include the Aiken County Historical Museum—also known as “Banksia” after the banksia rose—and the Aiken Visitors Center and Train Museum with its nine dioramas representing the different epochs of railroad history in town. If you are one who prefers walking on their two feet than on horseback, you can go strolling through the Hitchcock Woods & Gateway Park and Hopelands Gardens. Only 20 miles from Augusta, feel all right in Aiken’s establishments such as The Wilcox or Carriage House Inn.
Walhalla
Hailed as the “Main Street to the Mountains” and the “Garden of the Gods,” the mighty town of Walhalla is close German version of the Norse myths of Valhalla. Although there is nothing mythological about Walhalla in South Carolina, it is nevertheless a mystical and mesmerizing destination along the Chattanooga River. Venture deep into the mountainous thickets of the Stumphouse Mountain Park and Black Rock Mountain State Park for their sublime waterfalls and trails, or go kayaking and swimming at Lake Keowee. Immerse yourself in the history of the Cherokee people at the Cherokee Museum of South Carolina or get to know what Walhalla looked like in the 18th and 19th centuries at the Oconee Station State Historic Site. As a town founded by immigrants from Germany, you can participate in the annual Oktoberfest once you have booked your room in fine accommodations like the Rodeway Inn & Suites.
Anderson
Situated between the big cities of Atlanta and Charlotte is the riveting small town of Anderson. So named after Revolutionary War general Robert Anderson, the eponymous town now harbors an assortment of simple attractions and pleasures for the most curious of travelers. Let the informative exhibits and artifacts of the Anderson County Museum immerse you into the town’s illustrious past. Give yourself a chance to experience the lively waters of Savannah River or the camps of the Sadlers Creek State Park. You should definitely pay homage to a statue of William Church Whitner, the engineer who introduced electricity to Anderson and the rest of the South. Afterwards, occupy your dreamy and sleepy evenings at either The Bleckley Inn or the Hilton Garden Inn.
Landrum
Close to the state border between North Carolina and South Carolina, Landrum welcomes newcomers to a collection of lackadaisical wonders and treats. From lush and quaint horse farms to splendid views of the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains, Landrum will have your heart drumming in excitement. Head out into the deep northern woods of South Carolina and cross the 16-foot Gothic archway called Poinsett Bridge, the oldest remaining stone bridge in South Carolina. Journey through the Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve/ Wildlife Management Area or traverse the Palmetto Trail on bike or on foot and go exploring around the Blue Wall Preserve. You might even be able to take these kinds of trails on horseback at the F.E.N.C.E. (Foothills Equestrian and Nature Center). In a town settled by homesteaders from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, Landrum welcomes all manner of tourists near and far.
Conclusion
Deriving its name from King Charles the First’s Latin name, Carolus, the state of South Carolina has had many whimsical attractions for all kinds of individuals. From the 3,500 or more rhesus monkeys on Morgan/Monkey Island to the largest gingko farm in the world at Sumter, these destinations are as equally intriguing and amazing as the darling small towns in South Carolina. Whether you are riding horses in Landrum or Aiken, watching festivities in Newberry, or eating shrimp at Bluffton, you will not feel dismayed by your exploration into the Palmetto State of South Carolina. Bring your high boots or learn how to swim when you are traversing the marshy wetlands and riverways of South Carolina’s darling small towns.
