11 Nicest Small Towns In South Carolina
U.S. travelers looking for sea, sand, and year-round sunshine often flock to known snowbird roosts like Florida, Southern California, and Hawaii. But those destinations come with a hefty price tag, leading some to seek out alternatives. Luckily for budget-savvy travelers, South Carolina has all of that and more, without the tourist hotspot pricing. Whatever you’re seeking in your next warm-weather getaway, one of these 11 South Carolina towns is sure to fit the bill.
Aiken
There’s a certain kind of upper-crust Southern charm that travelers will come from miles around to experience: red brick, drooping Spanish moss, a day at the races in a fabulous hat. If that’s what you’ve come to South Carolina in search of, make Aiken your first stop. A friendly college town famous for horse racing and its former life as a railway hub and winter retreat of billionaires, Aiken is full of history, greenery, and culinary delights. With plenty of history to explore and delicacies to sample, Aiken’s attractions could easily fill a weekend.
Orient yourself in Aiken with an Aiken Trolley Tour to get the lay of the land, enjoy the scenery, and learn a little about Aiken’s colorful history. Take a walk or even a horseback ride through the Hitchcock Woods to experience Aiken’s urban forest, or explore the town’s equestrian heritage at the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame. For culinary offerings, check out The Track Kitchen, an equestrian-themed restaurant near the racetrack.
Bluffton
You may have heard of Hilton Head, South Carolina’s poshest beach resort, but right down the coast is a tranquil riverside town that offers the same Lowcountry charm with none of the crowds. Moreover, Bluffton has done an excellent job of preserving its history, making it an important window into Lowcountry South Carolina’s past.
At Heyward House Museum, you can learn about the city’s Antebellum past at one of the few Bluffton structures to survive the Civil War. Pair the visit with a stop at Garvin-Garvey’s Freedman Cottage, the residence of a formerly-enslaved African American family, to learn about postwar Bluffton. There’s no denying that Bluffton’s past as a plantation town is a dark one, but the community preserves these monuments to its difficult history with nuance and care, and they’re well worth exploring.
However, present-day Bluffton has plenty to offer. Golfers will want to make their way to Palmetto Bluff, a prestigious resort golf course (it’s also a fabulous place to stay). And for culinary enjoyment, afternoon tea at The Cottage on Calhoun Street is the perfect fit for this slow-paced town.
Camden
Although it doesn’t have the nationwide name recognition of, say, Kentucky, South Carolina is an equestrian state par excellence. Camden, the so-called “Steeplechase Capital of the World,” is one example of the state’s long love affair with the racetrack. If you’re not a racing fanatic, also boasts a charming, compact downtown and plenty of Revolutionary War history.
Whether you love horses or not, a visit to the National Steeplechase Museum is a must if you want to understand Camden’s culture. But if you’re more into other kinds of history, check out the Historic Camden Revolutionary War Park for its recreated Colonial-era village and battlements. Shoppers could spend a whole day at the shops along Camden’s “Antique Street,” and if you visit in April, tip your hat to the South Carolina state dog breed—the charming Boykin Spaniel, which was originally bred in this area to hunt fowl in the nearby Wateree River Swamp—at the town’s Boykin Spaniel Week celebrations, culminating in an annual dog show.
Clemson
Virtually every college sports fan knows where Clemson is: the Tigers are a force to be reckoned with in nearly every sport. But this college town is much more than its athletic prowess. Dive a little deeper and you’ll find plenty of outdoor recreation and dining opportunities that make a stop in this lively college town worthwhile even if you don’t know what NCAA stands for.
Sure, catching a football game in Memorial Stadium is a thrilling experience if you visit in the fall, but how about a peaceful jaunt through the South Carolina Botanical Gardens? Or, for even more outdoor adventure, why not try kayaking or water skiing in Lake Hartwell State Park? And for dining, Clemson boasts the top college-campus ice cream shop in the country with on-campus ‘55 Exchange.
Edisto Island
One only has to start browsing the Edisto Island tourism board’s delightful blog to realize that this uber-friendly beach town is a wonderful place. Sure, you can just chill on Edisto Beach State Park and come to that conclusion all on your own — it’s one of the state’s most beautiful beaches. But it’s really at attractions like the Edisto Island Serpentarium (a reptile zoo featuring snakes and gators, and any ophidiophobe’s nightmare) and the local produce market George & Pink’s that reveal Edisto Island’s quirky appeal.
You can even try your hand at trawling for shrimp with Edisto Beach Shrimp Boat Charters, a thoroughly South Carolina activity if there ever was one. Edisto Beach may be small and a little sleepy, but make no mistake: it’s teeming with life. A more charming beach weekend could hardly be found.
Florence
There’s a little bit of everything in Florence, one of South Carolina’s up-and-coming cities. If you want to know exactly how much, the Florence County Museum is a perfect microcosm: it includes, among other things, art by notable local painters; Civil War artifacts; fossils found in the area; and even pieces of an atomic bomb that accidentally fell on a nearby community in 1958. If that doesn’t convince you of how much there is going on in this lively little city, nothing will.
After that lively lesson in Florence history, you can enjoy all the city has to offer — start with a leisurely canoe or kayak trip at Lynches River County Park. For a less strenuous outing, wander the manicured grounds of the Moore Farms Botanical Garden. And after that, dig into some delicious Southern comfort food at Julia Belle’s.
Georgetown
If a historic main street along the waterfront in the third-largest city in South Carolina sounds like your kind of spot, there’s plenty to hold your attention in Georgetown. With a Historic Georgetown district that prides itself on keeping chains out to let local businesses thrive, a beautiful waterfront location, and several excellent museums (check out the Rice Museum for the history of a prominent local crop and the Gullah Museum to learn about the fascinating cultural syncretism that’s thrived in this region for centuries), Georgetown’s cultural and historical attractions are no slouch.
Those who prefer more adventurous diversions will find a huge variety of fishing charter companies for anglers. And, as an added bonus, Georgetown is in a perfect location for a road trip stop: it’s halfway between the popular tourist spots of Charleston and Myrtle Beach.
McClellanville
McClellanville is South Carolina for nature lovers. This fishing town is set against the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge on the water and the Francis Marion National Forest on land, perfect for outdoor recreation of all kinds. A tour with Coastal Expeditions will guide you to wildlife hotspots where you might spot dolphins, sea turtles, or one of the area’s 300 bird species. If you don’t spot many critters on your tour, the Sewee Visitor & Environmental Education Center is home to both excellent exhibits about the local landscape and a pack of red wolves.
Land-based fun is abundant, too. There’s plenty of hiking and birding to be had in the Francis Marion National Forest, and if you prefer something a little more sedate, Pinckney Street is lined with live oaks and the town’s most picturesque manmade spot for a stroll. Although often overlooked in favor of buzzier Lowcountry spots like Hilton Head, it’s a perfect weekend escape or addition to a road trip down the coast.
Murrells Inlet
The “Seafood Capital of South Carolina” is as laid-back a beach town as you could hope to find. Though its fortunes were built on fishing and you’ll definitely want to sample the fruits of the sea at a local restaurant like Tide to Table, there are land-based attractions, too: start at Huntington Beach State Park, where the beautiful Atalaya Castle National Historic Landmark harkens back to the area’s past as a favorite winter vacation spot. It’s also a fantastic spot for birdwatching.
Brookgreen Gardens, an expansive sculpture park and botanical garden founded by the same wealthy family who built Atalaya Castle, offers beautiful strolls for those who’d rather not get their feet wet. And the MarshWalk, a raised boardwalk that takes you into a biodiverse saltwater estuary, is another option for getting some fresh air. For a tiny seaside village, Murrells Inlet offers an outsized variety of diversions.
Newberry
It’s not an accident that the Travel Channel once named Newberry one of the most charming small towns in America: it’s gone above and beyond to preserve a picturesque townscape and cultivate a thriving downtown. Though small, it punches above its weight on the arts scene with the Newberry Opera House, an unbelievably lovely Main Street where several of the well-kept storefronts are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and even a vineyard at the Enoree River Winery. There’s a town in South Carolina for every traveler, and if you’re the sort who wants nothing more than a photogenic, walkable downtown full of local businesses to explore, Newberry is the one for you.
Walhalla
That this town was named by its German founders after the Nordic afterlife is amusing, but not entirely unfounded: there really is something paradisiacal about this Blue Ridge Mountain town. If you really want to feel like you’ve died and gone to heaven, book a stay at the Majestic Treehouse at Bolt Farms: with a luxurious cabin connected by a swinging bridge to an open-air deck in a serene patch of forest, it’s the stuff of childhood dreams. Or, to get the adrenaline pumping, book a whitewater rafting excursion with Wildwater Chattooga.
Autumn visitors may have the chance to attend Oktoberfest, held annually in Walhalla every third week of October to honor the town’s German heritage. If you don’t happen to be in town just then, or to learn more about Walhalla before it was a German immigrant outpost, visit the Museum of the Cherokee, which educates visitors about the area’s traditional inhabitants. Though there’s plenty of scenic outdoor adventures to be had in this mountain town, its unique history is just as fascinating.
Why These Towns Deserve a Spot on Your Itinerary
Though it rarely gets the buzz out-of-state that it deserves, South Carolina is more than just the well-known cities of Charleston and Myrtle Beach. In these 11 small towns, you’ll find everything those spots are famous for and more: pristine beaches, outdoor adventure, rich history, charming downtowns, and sports from college football to steeplechase and golf. If you’re thinking about making your way to the coast or looking for a charming small-town road trip stop, it’s about time to give South Carolina a shot.
