A few years ago my parents’ relocated to South Carolina between Greenville, South Carolina and Asheville, North Carolina. Visiting them gives us the perfect excuse to explore the Upstate. There’s an affordable direct flight ($80 each) on Allegiant Air from BWI to AVL (Asheville) airport.

Greenville

Downtown Greenville is a must see! It has an incredible bridge and waterfall, a wonderful bookstore, an underground coffee shop and mice statues set-up as a scavenger hunt throughout town. The library is worth a visit too. During the holidays, one of the hotels nearby displays incredible gingerbread houses you can see for free.

Inman

A very small downtown, but there’s some great street art, a consignment store, a coffee shop, an escape room and a few other stores to pop in. Nearby Lake Bowen has a fully fenced in playground (Anchor Park) with bathrooms. And if you come during the holidays, don’t miss The Christmas House (a beautiful drive through with a recommended donation).

Landrum

The market is great here, especially when you can see and hold the baby goats. The town is really cute too with The Shops at Landrum Antique Mall with a variety of vendors, a great pub, and coffee shop.

• Landrum Farmers Market

Spartanburg

Downtown Spartanburg houses the Denny’s World Headquarters and a fully fenced in playground that’s accessible in the evenings and weekends. There’s a bookstore with a kitty, a toy store, multiple coffee shops, an ice cream shop and other places to pop in. There’s also a really nice Children’s Museum.

• Cleveland Park (amazing wooden park with walking paths, shaded pavilion)
• Downtown Spartanburg Library (with fully fenced playground)
• Hub City Scoops (great ice cream spot in downtown)
• Miracle Park at North Spartanburg Sports Complex (fully fenced park with bathrooms)

If you’re looking for more in the area, you can venture to:

• Asheville, North Carolina (has an ASTC Passport museum downtown and tons of street art), included in my Memorial Day Mountains (Great Smoky Mountains) post
• Chimney Rock State Park (fee to enter) and Chimney Rock Village, North Carolina
• Hendersonville, North Carolina (bear statues each year)
• Lake Lure, North Carolina (lake, garden, hotel and ice cream)
• Saluda, North Carolina
• Tryon International Equestrian Center and Resort for special family events

About the Author

Lydia Garry and her family, TeamTravelsBaby, live in Silver Spring, Maryland, and are working to achieve “vagabond status”. Much of their affordable family travel experiences include U.S. travel, national parks and Europe. Adventure with them here, subscribe to their newsletter and follow along on Instagram!