regional recreation

Columbia

Columbia, located just across the river from Lexington County,  is a city of beauty and history. Amid swaying palms on a balmy summer day, the white elegant Governor's Mansion with its black shutters, large flags and sparkling fountains, stands to one side of this fascinating Southern town, the capital city of the State of South Carolina. George Washington himself remarked that the city site was well-chosen, as he viewed the beginnings of Columbia, which sits on a bluff above the Congaree River below the confluence of the Broad and Saluda Rivers from the north.

Established in 1786, Columbia was a planned city, built to be the seat of state government. Today, ever mindful of its history, the city continues to plan and evolve, keeping its past remembered and its future bright and forward-thinking.  Columbia is enjoying one of the most exciting urban revitalizations in the United States. At the heart of this renewal is an area known as The Vista, a 1200-acre district in the heart of the city. This historic area features a high concentration of historic buildings, which have been rehabilitated with contemporary flair. Restaurants and bars, art galleries and museums, unique shops and professional office space, sporting arenas and entertainment venues add up to make this area popular with area residents and visitors. 

The Vista area of downtown Columbia serves as the home to Koger Center for the Arts, and EdVenture which is the South's largest children's museum.  The South Carolina State Museum is a comprehensive museum with exhibits in science, technology, history and the arts. It is the state's largest museum and one of the largest museums in the Southeast.  Other venues include The Columbia Museum of Art which features changing exhibits throughout the year, McKissick Museum which located on the University of South Carolina campus and offers visitors changing exhibitions of art, science, regional history and folk art, and The Confederate Relic Room and Museum that showcases a relic collection from the Colonial period to the space age. The museum houses a wonderful collection of relics from the South Carolina confederate period.  Columbia also boasts no less than 11 professional theaters, and more than 10 music and dance companies

The Colonial Center is the largest arena in the state and is home to the University of South Carolina's men's and women's basketball teams. With seating for 18,000, the arena hosts the Columbia Riverbanks Region's most exciting entertainment, from A-list stars like Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Chesney, Jimmy Buffet, Billy Joel & Sir Elton John, to Shania Twain, Prince and Tim McGraw. Family shows like Sesame Street Live and the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus are presented throughout the year.

Another significant asset in the Vista is the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, opened in mid-2004. This state of the art facility contains nearly 150,000 square feet of exhibit, classroom and ballroom space, and will bring much new convention and meeting business to the Vista area. A new Hilton Convention Center Hotel is being built, along with an 800 space parking garage. Main Street is undergoing a beautification project, conducted block by block, replacing curbs and gutters, adding brick pavers for sidewalks, angled parking, new street lights, plantings and site furnishings. Downtown Columbia is one of the most beautifully landscaped cities of the South.

Columbia's spectator sports include University of South Carolina Gamecock football, basketball and baseball. Hockey fans love watching the Columbia Inferno, an ECHL team in the American Conference, battle it out on the ice at the Carolina Coliseum. 

Sesquicentennial State Park is located in Columbia as is the Congaree Swamp National Park. Riverbanks Zoo & Botanical Gardens is a top ten zoo in the U.S. and offers extraordinary gardens and woodland paths.

The list of annual events is long and...fun! The people of Greater Columbia love to have a good time. Three Rivers Music Festival,  the South Carolina State Fair, the Catfish Stomp, the Greek Festival...they all celebrate an aspect of life in the Riverbanks Region

For more information about attractions, events, festivals, entertainment, the arts, and recreation in Columbia, visit the Columbia Convention & Visitor’s Bureau web site.

The South Carolina Upstate Region

Located two hours to the west of Lexington County is the Upstate Region of South Carolina.  The cities of Greenville and Spartanburg are the largest in the region.  The City of Greenville is home to several events and festivals each year and the Bi-Lo Center hosts several sporting and entertainment events each year.

The Upstate offers a host of recreational opportunities including hiking, camping, sightseeing, and hunting in the Blue Ridge Mountains, fishing, boating, and watersports on Lake Keowee, Lake Jocassee or Lake Hartwell.  There are several state parks and recreation areas in the region as well.   The Cherokee Foothills Parkway is a beautiful drive that is full of history and scenery.

Charleston, the South Carolina Low Country, and Myrtle Beach

Full of history and beauty, Charleston and the South Carolina Low Country is located two hours east of Lexington County via Interstate 26.  The City of Charleston, one of the oldest cities in the nation, is one of the nation’s top tourism cities.   Charleston is the 6th "Top City in the United States & Canada" according to Travel + Leisure magazine’s tenth annual World’s Best Poll, featured in the August 2005 issue. Also honored this year were Charleston area accommodation properties including The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Resort, Planters Inn, and Woodlands Resort and Inn. Independence Air, which services the Charleston Area, also received kudos, ranking 3rd Top Domestic Airline.

As a T+L Best destination for 2005, Charleston accompanies five U.S. and four Canadian cities to receive this honor – New York, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Chicago, Vancouver, Quebec City, Montreal, Victoria, British Columbia, and New Orleans respectively.

The South Carolina Low Country also includes the coastal areas of Beaufort, Kiawah Island, and Hilton Head Island.  The entire region has dozens of historic homes and sites full of history from the Revolutionary War period and before through the Civil War and today.  There are several state parks in the region including several public beaches.

For more information about this area contact the Charleston Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, the Town of Kiawah Island, the Town of Beaufort, or the Hilton Head Convention & Visitor’s Bureau.

Located only 2.5 hours from Lexington County is one of the nation’s top family tourist destinations – Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand.  Millions of vacationers visit Myrtle Beach each year for the beautiful beaches, shopping, dining, history, entertainment, and the arts.  Myrtle Beach is also the golf capital of the U.S. with more than 100 courses located.

Charlotte Metro Area

Located on the border of North Carolina and South Carolina to the north of Lexington County only two hours away on Interstate 77 is the bustling and growing metropolitan area of Charlotte.  The second largest financial center in the U.S. only to New York City, Charlotte is home to dozens of corporate headquarters including Bank of America and Wachovia.  The City boasts the second highest per capita spending on the arts and offers visitors an outstanding number of artistic, cultural, recreational, and entertainment venues. 

The City is home to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers football team which plays in 78,000-seat Bank of America Stadium, and the Charlotte Bobcats of the NBA which play their games in the new state-of-the-art 18,000-seat Bobcats Arena downtown.  Just south of Charlotte in Fort Mill, SC, the Charlotte Knights play their AAA International League baseball games in Knight’s Stadium.  Charlotte is also home to the Charlotte Checkers of the East Coast Hockey League.

Charlotte boasts outstanding cultural and artistic venues such as the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, The Mint Museum, and Discovery Place Museum.  If you enjoy theme parks, Charlotte has one of the best – Paramount’s Carowinds theme park which is located on the South Carolina-North Carolina state line south of Charlotte and near Fort Mill, SC.  The area is also rich in history and architecture as well as fine dining and shopping at dozens of restaurants and upscale malls such as SouthPark Mall, Carolina Place Mall, and Concord Mills Mall north of Charlotte.

For more information about the Charlotte area, visit the Charlotte Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.