Greenville, South Carolina is a booming city nestled an hour south of the Blue Ridge Mountains and threaded with small town charm. It is located in the upstate region – a term used by locals to describe the northwestern most area of the state – halfway between Atlanta, Georgia and Charlotte, North Carolina.
We were incredibly lucky to spend some time in this beautiful city recently and have put together a list of things to do in Greenville! This list is truly just the very beginning of what Greenville has to offer. There is so much more that we didn’t have a chance to do!
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Guided E-Bike Tour Route Along the Swamp Rabbit Trail
The first time that Amanda visited Greenville, South Carolina it was a perfect day. It was the first day that the weather began to have a glimmer of fall crisp in the air. The leaves were at peak color change with greens, oranges, reds, and yellows, and the sun was beaming. Amanda and her wife did a three hour guided e-bike tour along the Swamp Rabbit Trail with Pisgah Day Ventures, and it was a dreamy ideal way to explore this growing city!
The guided tour begins with a scenic ride around a portion of the picturesque 28 acre lake at the Furman University campus located six miles north of downtown Greenville. This university was founded in 1826 and is the oldest private university in South Carolina!
After a quick loop around the lake, the tour takes you along the Swamp Rabbit Trail to the iconic Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery. This unique cafe and grocery opened in 2011 and is stocked with local cheeses, meats, farm fresh produce, baked goods and more – all sourced from the community! Amanda could have spent all day perusing the shelves and looking at all of the locally sourced items that filled the store. The cafe and grocery is nestled on the edge of the Swamp Rabbit Trail, making it incredibly easy to access on foot or bike.
It has a wonderful play area for children, open air picnic tables to sit and enjoy one of their craft coffees, seasonal sandwiches or one of their made from scratch baked goods. All of their items are baked fresh daily! Amanda and her wife loved this stop on the tour so much that when the tour was finished they went back to the cafe and grocery to peruse the shelves one more time and have lunch from the cafe! Amanda had a delicious seasonal sandwich (on gluten free bread!), and her wife enjoyed a melt in your mouth cheesesteak. This is a true gem in Greenville!
The guided e-bike tour then takes you to Falls Park and Cleveland park (more on these places below). You then make your way back to the starting point next to Furman University. It was a magical day and a fabulous first look at what all Greenville has to offer!
The Commons & Unity Park
Another fantastic food hub situated along the Swamp Rabbit trail and less than two miles from downtown Greenville is The Commons. This well designed converted warehouse space is focused on creating a community and a place for families and friends to gather. It boasts a 12,000 square foot food hall with indoor and outdoor dining, shops and offices.
It is so easy to spend an afternoon here enjoying a classic coffee or tea from Methodical Coffee, one of the unique creations from the food hall, or a beer from the brewery. Amanda fell in love with Methodical Coffee’s seasonal coffee – The Montecristo!
Next to this thoughtfully curated space is Unity Park – a 60-acre park that features four playgrounds, a massive splash pad, expansive green spaces, basketball courts and a baseball field, as well as three pedestrian bridges!
Falls Park On The Reedy
In the heart of the West End Historic District is Greenville’s greatest treasure – Falls Park On The Reedy. This 32-acre park is truly a special oasis amongst the downtown hustle and bustle. It has been named a Top U.S. Park on Tripadvisor for a reason! There are two magical features in this park – the waterfall that the park is centered on and the 345 foot pedestrian suspension bridge that curves around it.
Feeling the bridge sway slightly beneath your feet makes some people uncomfortable, but Amanda didn’t mind it one bit! The park hosts multiple events throughout the year, but one of the more famous events held within the park is the Upstate Shakespeare Festival. During this free festival every summer, two Shakespeare productions are performed every evening Thursday though Sunday from May until August (one production is performed May – June and a second one is performed July – August).
Fun Suggestion: We are absolutely KICKING ourselves for not checking out Group Therapy while we were in this part of town. It is a bar / pub right next to Falls Park that has wildly themed mini golf, axe throwing, duckpin bowling, and more! It looked like such a fun time and we were disappointed that we didn’t plan enough time to enjoy it!
Gather Greenville
Just a seven minute walk from Falls Park is Gather Greenville – an outdoor dining space filled with large tables, fire pits, and a main stage for entertainment. It is enclosed by food vendors housed in shipping containers! As if it couldn’t get any better, they have thirteen diverse restaurants ranging from Mexican, Greek, Sushi, Italian, Pub food, Burgers, and Donuts! We visited during lunchtime on a Saturday and while it was a peak time, we didn’t have to wait in line to order food, and it was ready within fifteen minutes!
We ordered the Chopped Cheese and Mac and Cheese Bites from Mama Mozzarella and the shrimp, sausage, and potatoes low country boil with cajun fries from Palmetto Seafood Company – both meals were spot on and delicious!
In addition to food, Gather also has craft beer, wine, frozen wine drinks, cocktails and a full bar. It really is a great place to take a break, enjoy some delicious food and drinks and Amanda’s favorite pastime – people watching! While they didn’t have anything special going on while we were there, Gather does have regularly scheduled events and entertainment on a weekly basis if you are looking for a little something extra!
If you love fantastic food (especially seafood!), check out one of our most popular posts – The Top 10 Places To Eat in Hilton Head, South Carolina
Main Street Shops
A five minute drive (or 20 minute walk) up the road from Gather is a collection of adorable shops on Greenville’s main street. Our favorite stores to stroll around were the Mast General Store – an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise, OP Taylor’s – a toy store that is exciting for kids and adults who are kids at heart, and River Street Sweets – chocolate covered apples and pretzels, bear claws, pralines and all other sorts of little treats! We really enjoyed a rice krispie treat covered in chocolate and sprinkled with Reese’s Pieces!
Hot Tip: The Richardson Street Parking Garage has free parking from 6pm on Fridays to 6am on Mondays – something that blew our minds being from Atlanta, Georgia where we have to pay $20 or more for parking and that’s on the low end!
Mice on Main
A fun way to explore all that Main Street has to offer is doing the free Mice On Main scavenger hunt! There are nine bronze mice hidden in plain sight along the Main Street sidewalks. This fun activity was designed for children in mind, but us adults had far too much fun hunting for these adorable little statues. Can you find all nine?
Greenville Zoo
Last, but certainly not least, is a trip to the Greenville Zoo! We met up for an afternoon in Greenville and of course had to take Kayla’s mini adventurer to the zoo! The zoo sits on fourteen acres in Greenville’s Cleveland Park, which is a perfect location. There are two large playgrounds right outside the zoo, connected to the Swamp Rabbit Trail and minutes from downtown Greenville! The zoo is home to lions, giraffes, monkeys, emus, reptiles, flamingos and so much more. This is a great place to bring children as well as animal lovers of all ages!
Info to keep in mind – the zoo is on the smaller side (but we are also a bit spoiled with the 40 acre Atlanta zoo). It only took us about an hour and a half to work our way through the zoo, but that can be a great thing too! If trying to squeeze in multiple sights in one day, you could certainly see all of the amazing animals here AND all the other Greenville treasures around town!
We had so much fun exploring Greenville! The activities on this list could easily fill a weekend or be done over the course of a few day trips if you’re lucky enough to live in the area. We hope you enjoyed our list of things to do in Greenville!
Tell us your favorite things to do in Greenville in the comments below!
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Hello! What a pleasant place! Mice look too cute 🙂 Thanks for sharing this route!
Hey!
I’m from the U.S. and I’ve never heard of this adorable little city! Thanks for putting it on my map <3
I loved all the photos too, great post!
We use to live in Greenville and it’s one of my favorite cities, not to mention it’s one of the prettiest downtowns! I also love all of the many coffee shops. We still visit from time to time and I’m always amazed at how much it has grown.
I love Greenville! I’ve had the pleasure of visiting a few times and found it to be really charming. The view at Falls Park on the Reedy is one of a kind. I’d like to check out Gather Greenville for some grub and catch a Shakespearean show the next time I visit.
The Mice on Main sounds really fun. I love when cities have unique surprises like that
I’ve never heard of Greenville but it looks amazing! Thanks for the inspiration and introduction!
The bike your on along the Swamp Rabbit Trail looks like a lot of fun, especially during the Fall.
This looks like so much fun, especially the biking and fall colors! The food looks really yummy too. I love that unique cafe and grocery had so many local cheeses, produce & baked good – all sourced from the community! Beautiful photos and I am sure your daughter loved the zoo!!