Discover the best things to do in 2 days in Greenville, SC, from scenic spots to vibrant culture for an unforgettable weekend getaway.
Greenville is a genteel Southern town that combines scenery, culture, and a vibrant downtown. It’s small enough to cover a lot in a weekend but big enough to keep you entertained. I found a lot to like when I visited Greenville. Here are my recommendations for what to do if you have 2 days in Greenville, SC.
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Where is Greenville?
Greenville sits in South Carolina’s northwest corner in an area known as “Upcountry.” It’s between Atlanta and Charlotte, and 63 miles south of Asheville. When I visited, I flew into Greenville’s cute little airport. But you could also fly into another nearby airport and rent a car.
However you get there, prepare yourself for a parade of Southern ladies in flouncy pastels and lots of good food.
Downtown Greenville, SC, is full of fun public art. Photo by Teresa Bergen
Outdoor Adventure in Greenville
I visited in May to run the eighth annual Mountains to Main Street Half Marathon, which starts in nearby Travelers Rest and follows the popular Swamp Rabbit Trail into downtown Greenville. This 28-ish-mile Rails-to-Trails project was finished in 2009 and is your best bet for running, biking, or strolling. As a rail line, it was “hilariously unprofitable,” according to bike tour guide George Oggero. However, as a bike and pedestrian trail, it has helped to revitalize Greenville’s outdoor recreation scene and promote bike commuting. “If you build it, they will come,” says Oggero. “And this trail has done that for this city in a fantastic way.”
The Swamp Rabbit Café and Grocery is one of people’s favorite stops along the way. Oggero and I stopped there during a bike tour with Reedy Rides. The market turned what was once a food desert into a place where people can buy fresh vegetables in a grocery store, or get a snack and a latte from a food stand. Oggero bought stecca bread—I’d probably gone two hours without eating at that point, which seems to be a criminal offense in Greenville—and we shared some fresh, salty loaf.
Stecca Bread from the Swamp Rabbit Cafe. Photo by Teresa Bergen
But you don’t have to venture far along the Swamp Rabbit Trail to enjoy Greenville’s outdoors. The most popular place, and downtown’s focal point, is Falls Park on the Reedy River.
People enjoying Falls Park. Photo by Teresa Bergen
This waterfall beauty spot was covered by a four-lane highway from 1960 until 2004. But in the last two decades, Greensvillians have made this park into their outdoor living room, where they can walk, picnic, and visit in the shade of the curved span of the Liberty Bridge.
Field Trip to Lake Jocassee
Everybody agrees that Lake Jocassee is the state’s most beautiful lake. If you’re spending a weekend in Greenville, SC, it’s worth driving 42 miles northwest to check out Devil’s Fork State Park. There’s lots of stuff to do in the park, including swimming, hiking, paddling, birding, and even scuba diving.
Lake Jocassee. Photo by Teresa Bergen
Springtime visitors can hike the 1.5-mile Oconee Bell Nature Trail. Oconee bells—small yellow and white blossoms with red stems—are a rare Appalachian flower, only found in a few mountainous parts of South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. Birders can use the park’s birding checklist to note their sightings.
I was at Lake Jocassee to paddle. Jocassee Lake Tours met me at a boat launch and helped me shove off. They gave me directions on crossing the lake to find hidden waterfalls, but as the points of land all looked interchangeable, I figured I’d be safer on my own, hugging the shoreline. It was surprisingly quiet for a pleasant Sunday in late May. I saw lush greenery and occasional turtles, but few people.
Lake Jocassee from my kayak. Photo by Teresa Bergen
Lake Jocassee has something fascinating under its clean, clear water: a flooded town and cemetery. Duke Power partnered with the state of South Carolina in 1973 to build Jocassee Dam. But this meant flooding some settlements, including a girls’ camp and Mount Carmel Cemetery, which was featured in the 1972 movie “Deliverance.” Don’t worry, the bodies were exhumed first, so the lake is probably not haunted. Divers can still see relics of the girls’ camp, plus headstones and artificial flowers in the cemetery.
Things to Do in Greenville
Since it was my first time visiting this part of the US, I headed for the Upcountry History Museum to better understand who had first settled here and why. The museum strives to cover the various populations that have lived there—Native Americans, whites, and Blacks—through interactive, well-built exhibits. The atrium is especially impressive, with two swooping staircases leading you into the façade of a faux-historic brick building. I especially enjoyed the museum’s Textile Hall, where visitors learn about South Carolina’s extensive textile industry history.
Upcountry History Museum. Photo by Teresa Bergen
That came in handy later when I visited the West Greenville Arts District. Its centerpiece is the Greenville Center for Creative Arts, where contemporary artists rent studio space in an old textile mill. You can even see the footprint impressions of where managers stood for a gazillion hours, ensuring workers remained at their machines.
Downtown Greenville features oodles of boutique shopping, cafes, and sculpture-sprinkled sidewalks. From March through September, locals and tourists converge to dance to live music, drink, eat, and people-watch during Greenville Heritage Main Street Fridays. You can also take a soy candle-making class at Greenville Soy Candle Company. It’s very easy. Simply mix your chosen scent and color into wax, and come home with your own handmade, professional-quality candle.
Candle-making class. Photo by Teresa Bergen
Those who prefer faster-paced thrills can race around the track at the BMW Performance Center in nearby Spartanburg. It promises fast turns, a straight for practicing speed exercises, and a “polished wet concrete skid pad.” You can also tour the factory across the street. Perhaps you’ll want to drive back home in a new BMW?
Must Eats in Greenville
As a vegan, I feared that a trip to South Carolina could equal starvation. Nope. As my old friend from Mississippi used to say, I spent my weekend in Greenville, SC, as full as a tick.
I arrived in Greenville on a Friday afternoon, just in time for dinner at Roost. This restaurant is attached to the downtown Hyatt Hotel, and its outdoor seating is perfectly positioned to watch the action on Main Street on Friday. There wasn’t a lot of vegan food on the menu. But Chef Zachary Leepper cooked up a feast of beautifully plated vegan courses, starting with a salad with chunks of watermelon, progressing through pesto pasta with wild mushrooms, and ending with the chocolate cake I had to save for later.
People are watching from Roost. Photo by Teresa Bergen
Pomegranate on Main is another excellent dinner option. I sat on the back patio, eating the vegetarian Fesenjan stew made from sautéed Portobellos in a sauce of chopped walnuts and pomegranate juice. Iranian-born restaurateur Ali Saifi opened the restaurant in 2007. “It’s family recipes,” general manager James Sifford told me. “All the food is inspired by his own country.”
Southern Pressed Juicery was my favorite breakfast place. This is where you get your acai bowls, smoothies, and detox juices. I ordered a Mama’s Jam bowl with banana chia pudding, jam, strawberry-banana smoothie, and cacao-kale granola! It takes a lot to impress a vegan from Portland, Oregon, but I’d never experienced this creative use of kale.
Breakfast at Southern Pressed Juicery. Photo by Teresa Bergen.
Not into kale granola? You will get a delicious treat if you can decipher Crème Shack’s complex menu of rolled ice cream options. Making rolled ice cream is a slow process of scraping ice cream and mix-ins together on a slab, cutting it into strips, and rolling them up. The result? A cup full of odd-looking little ice cream roll-ups. I ordered a vegan chocolate base with banana and peanuts mixed in.
Take a Vegan Food Tour
A food tour is a shortcut to finding a city’s best food. I toured West Greenville with DeAndra Reasonover-Winjobi, founder of VV Tours. This vegan dynamo has a master’s in health promotion, education, and behavior. She’s also a personal trainer. DeAndra started VV Tours to showcase her favorite local restaurants while promoting healthier vegan food choices.
DeAndra Reasonover-Winjobi at Coastal Crust. Photo by Teresa Bergen
Our first stop was Coastal Crust for arugula salad and pizza. Then we went to Kuka Juice for taco salad and grilled vegan cheese on artisan bread. Kuka offers lots of juices and some good-looking vegan cheesecake.
My favorite stop was Carolina Bauernhaus, where I sat outside in a hammock chair wishing I hadn’t eaten breakfast that morning. What was I thinking?! Co-owner David Thornton brought out plates of pickled vegetables, pretzels, and some delicious pizza.
“Bauernhaus is German for farmhouse,” Thornton says, showing off his bounty. “And farmhouse is our philosophy. Regionally grown, seasonal ingredients in our beer, cider, kombucha, and fermented foods.”
Pretzels and a pickle plate at Carolina Bauernhaus. Photo by Teresa Bergen
Let me reiterate: This is not one of those food tours where you get a precious little bite of something here and a carefully plated tidbit here. This is pizzas and trays of food. Come hungry. Pack an extra stomach. You’re in South Carolina, where people like to eat.
Greenville’s Best Mocktails
Looking for a delicious mocktail in a gorgeous, flower-bedecked Southern setting? Juniper is the place. Front of the house manager Jan Miles let me try all the nonalcoholic drinks at this downtown bar on the rooftop of the AC Hotel. The most popular? Kiwi Crush and Root for Me. The former contains house-made kiwi cordial, agave, pineapple juice, crushed ice, and soda water. The latter is blackberry puree with lime juice, ginger beer, and crushed ice.
“We’ve made it a focus and made it a purpose the last time we redid our cocktail menu to lean more towards the low ABV and the spiritless cocktails,” Jan told me. But if you’re a drinker, no problem. Juniper has the full range of alcoholic drinks as well in this absolutely beautiful bar.
Mocktails at Juniper. Photo by Teresa Bergen.
Where to Stay for a Weekend in Greenville, SC
Greenville has many lovely hotels. I recommend staying downtown, especially if you like walking. I didn’t have a car in Greenville, but I could walk almost everywhere I wanted to go. When the distance was too far, an Uber was easy to find.
The Grand Bohemian Lodge is near Falls Park in the heart of downtown. This luxury lodge has a big art collection, a grand stone fireplace in the lobby, and an acclaimed spa.
Another luxury property, Hotel Hartness, just took the number one spot in South Carolina and number three in the US in Travel & Leisure’s 2024 world’s best resort category. Expect amenities like a monthly mobile cigar lounge and romantic escape packages.
For a more casual stay, try the six-room Swamp Rabbit Inn. Located right on Greenville’s famous trail, the inn offers bike rentals.
I stayed at Modal Guesthouse, a modern hostel with a mix of dorm and private rooms. I stayed in a private room with a private bath, and appreciated the access to a full kitchen, comfortable common spaces, and a deck. Owner Joe Hindman explained the appeal of staying in a hostel for his experience-focused guests. “People want a socialized experience,” he says. “And they don’t want to spend so much on lodging when they want additional discretionary income to spend on food or drink or entertainment or activities.”
Spend a weekend in Greenville, SC, at Modal Guesthouse. Photo by Teresa Bergen
Check Out These Other Ultimate Guides
Wherever you stay in Greenville, expect a friendly welcome and loads of Southern charm. This is an ideal place to get away for 2 days in Greenville, SC. Or longer. Check out other Wander With Wonder articles about South Carolina.
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