Things to do in South Carolina Midlands

Walk the Boardwalk Trail or paddle Cedar Creek through an old-growth bottomland forest of towering trees.

Hopkins, SC

Watch NASCAR race on an egg-shaped oval open since 1950, or visit the stock car museum beside the track.

Darlington, SC

See giraffes, a coral reef aquarium and thousands of animals, then ride the Saluda Skyride over to the botanical garden.

Columbia, SCTransit: reachable by public transit

Tour the granite capitol of South Carolina, where bronze stars mark the spots Sherman's cannons hit during the Civil War.

Columbia, SCTransit: reachable by public transit

An art museum in downtown Columbia, South Carolina, with rotating exhibitions, a permanent collection, and programs for visitors of all ages.

Columbia, SCTransit: reachable by public transit

A large state park in the Sandhills region just outside Columbia, offering camping, a lake, trails, a dog park, and picnic shelters.

Columbia, SC

Free state park in the South Carolina coastal plain, centered on a rare elliptical wetland basin with a boardwalk and nature trail.

Olanta, SC

Riverside state park in Chester County with ruins of a 19th-century canal that bypassed Catawba River rapids.

Catawba, SC

A 10-acre nature preserve in Columbia with ten biomes, a waterfall, and a botanical garden, run by the University of South Carolina.

Columbia, SCTransit: reachable by public transit

A Columbia museum focused on the military history of South Carolina, organized around three main galleries.

Columbia, SCTransit: reachable by public transit

A 150-acre public garden in Sumter known for its iris beds, swans, and free admission.

Sumter, SCTransit: reachable by public transit

A hands-on children's museum in Columbia, South Carolina, with a second location in Myrtle Beach.

Columbia, SCTransit: reachable by public transit