A Weekend In Greenville, SC With Kids

Three days of family fun biking, hiking, and walking around beautiful and lively downtown Greenville (and eating so much great food!)

Greenville has been on the trendy radar for some time, and I have seen it mentioned in multiple travel magazines and blogs for its fantastic food scene and beautiful use of the riverfront downtown.

You’ll also find a lot of outdoor activities in town and nearby.  I was particularly interested in the Swamp Rabbit Trail, a 20 mile paved bike trail running through downtown. Our family loves exploring a city by bike. 

There are also hiking trails not too far from downtown as Greenville is located in the Piedmont region of South Carolina, literally meaning “the foot of the mountain,” so the Blue Ridge Mountains are close by.

For fun urban explorations, Greenville is just about the perfect size– large enough to have a number restaurants, shops, hotels right in the walkable downtown area but small enough you feel you can easily get your bearings. And the city has made gorgeous use of the Reedy River that runs through town with a large park and pedestrian bridge over the lovely Falls of the Reedy.

A weekend in Greenville is right up there with Asheville as one of our favorite weekend getaways from Knoxville and the whole family enjoys it. Keep reading for a good example of how we like to spend 3 days in this southern city full of food and outdoors.

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Where To Stay In Greenville With Kids

If you decide to stay in a hotel, I would definitely pay the extra money to be downtown. You can drop your car off in a garage and not look at it again until you leave, unless you decide to drive to the nearby mountains.

Main Street really is the main street downtown, for 5 or 6 blocks on either side of the Reedy River. Stay as close to it as you can afford. *Just a fair warning- parking is generally extra if you are staying right downtown.

Possible Hotels

Hampton Inn & Suites Greenville Downtown @ RiverPlace. This hotel is right downtown along the Reedy River (in fact, it can be seen in the picture above this section). Breakfast included.

Swamp Rabbit Inn. This bed and breakfast has 6 rooms (all with private bathroom), a community kitchen they keep stocked with breakfast supplies, and a fun, quirky attitude. Rent out the entire place and have a family reunion. 

Airbnb and VRBO

If you would rather have the convenience of a kitchen and separate bedrooms, here are quite a few vacation rentals within walking distance of downtown.

Walk to Main St & Falls Park, Upscale Townhouse w/ 2 parking spots is a 2 BR/ 2 BA newish condo that is half of a duplex behind the SC Childrens Theater and with easy access to the Swamp Rabbit Trail and the main park downtown. Plus room for your dog!

Modern Condo in the Heart of Downtown Greenville is a 2 BR/ 2 BA apartment in a building right on Main St so you really are in the heart of downtown. Spacious but a bit bare- bones, the price is much better than most places you will find with this kind of location.

Day 1 – Explore Downtown Greenville

First Stop- Falls Park On The Reedy

This park rightfully tops just about every list of “Things To Do in Greenville” that you’ll find online.

Walk across the super cool, suspended pedestrian bridge, then explore the gardens below. There are flowers, open green space, ducks, and of course, the Falls to admire.

It is very hard to believe that a 4 lane highway was once here and kudos to every civic leader who had the vision to see this park instead.

Next Stop- Main Street and ‘Il Porcellino’

Cross over the Reedy River and walk north on Main Street. On the left, next to the Westin Hotel and Nose Dive Restaurant, look for the boar drooling water out of his mouth.

He is officially known as ‘Il Porcellino’ and is a recreation of a famous statue in Florence, Italy.

The legend says that if you place a coin in his mouth and it falls below, your wish will be granted. If you rub his nose, you will have good luck and return to him one day.

We rubbed and continued on our way. So I guess I need to go ahead and start planning my return vacation to Greenville?

Main Street’s Bronze Mice Scavenger Hunt

If you like the scavenger hunt idea, look for nine, very small, bronze mice sculptures scattered around the next few blocks of Main Street.

A high school student’s idea for his senior project, these mice are based on the nine mice found in Goodnight Moon, a book he loved as a child. Read more about the history and get some location hints from VisitGreenville.

Main Street Shops

If you aren’t into scavenger hunts, then just stroll up Main Street towards Springwood Cemetery to window shop. There are a plethora of local clothing boutiques and art galleries, as well as larger stores, such as Brooks Brothers or Anthropologie, that make for good window shopping.

Definitely stop at Mast General Store, which is one of my all time favorite places because it has good outdoor clothing equipment AND huge barrels of candy. Because those two should always go together really.

You’ll also find a really fun toy store called O.P. Taylor’s at 117 N. Main Street.

Linky Stone Park

If you have younger kids, head for Linky Stone Park, at the underpass of Academy St along the Reedy River. The park is about a quarter of a mile from The Falls Park along the Swamp Rabbit Trail, a pretty walk along the Reedy River.

The park doesn’t have a playground per say, but it is labeled as a kids discovery park. Younger kids can explore some sculptures, a small rock garden, and some giant percussion instruments. Probably not that fun for kids over 10, but the flowers and pretty setting along the river still make it a nice excursion. 

Day 2 – Bike To Travelers Rest On The Swamp Rabbit Trail

A rails to trails project, the Swamp Rabbit Trail is my favorite thing about Greenville. I love to get out on a bike, and this is an easy trail to do it. It is easy enough that even kids on striders can get out there on it (although you probably won’t make it to Travelers Rest ;).

Gaining only about 200 feet in the 10 miles between Greenville and Travelers Rest, it took us about an hour and 15 minutes to bike each way, at a leisurely pace. 

Start early-ish (maybe around 10am) and bike to the small town of Travelers Rest for a little walk around this cute small town, a tasty lunch, and maybe a craft beer. Then enjoy a leisurely ride back to Greenville.

There is plenty to see along the way, like Furman’s beautiful campus, a train car, and a neat grocery store cum cafe.

For more about the Swamp Rabbit Trail, including rentals, detailed trail description, and best restaurants in Travelers Rest, check out BIKING THE SWAMP RABBIT TRAIL.

If You Want To Bike But Not All The Way To Travelers Rest

Get on the Swamp Rabbit Trail going north (right) at River St and head north 2 miles to Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery, an eclectic little place with a great outdoor area for kids.

OR

Turn south (left) on the Swamp Rabbit Trail and bike about 1.6 miles to Cleveland Park. See the map from Day 1. This is a very scenic section of trail, crossing the Reedy several times.

Stop for a minute about halfway to Cleveland Park and brush up on a little Cold War History at the large airplane at Rudolf Anderson Memorial Park. The plaques will tell all about this Greenville native, whose U-2 spy plane was shot down over Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis. 

The Greenville Zoo is right off the trail by Cleveland Park, as well. It isn’t the biggest Zoo but that almost makes it better for younger kids as it doesn’t take too long to see everything. It is also very reasonably priced. And how fun is it for the kids to go to the zoo by bike!

Pack sandwiches from one of the many cafes in downtown and have a picnic in Cleveland Park, which has a few picnic shelters and covered picnic pavilions. 

You’ll find 2 good playgrounds in the park as well, right outside the Zoo Entrance. One is geared towards for younger kiddos ages 4- 8 and the other for ages roughly 8- 13.

Day 3 – Hike To Falls Creek Falls In The Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area

Falls Creek Falls is a 1.7 mile (3.2 RT) hike to a beautiful, 125 foot waterfall but it is not a walk in the park. The trail climbs 600 ft in this short distance but just when you think you can’t climb anymore, you are rewarded with an up close view of the huge waterfall.

I would say anyone in reasonable shape could do it, just take your time. And it is short enough that most kids could do it.

When you get near the falls, keep an eye out for the orange blazes that mark the trail. The trail curves around to the left and down to the falls themselves, but there is another trail that takes you up past the falls to an overlook at the top.

If the falls are on your left and you are going straight up a less well- trodden path, you might have missed the turnoff. We did on the way up but caught the turn-off on the way back down.

The trail does cross Falls Creek once so waterproof hiking shoes come in handy, although everyone else in my group had trainers on and managed to rock hop across. 

It took us a little over 2 hours to complete the hike, but we also hiked up beyond the falls to the overlook. It was a gorgeous spot, although I am not sure it would be worth the hike up in any other season besides winter as the leaves would obscure the view. 

It takes about 45 min to drive from Greenville to the trailhead. Use GPS or Google maps to get there as there are a number of turns. Input Palmetto Bible Camp, Marietta, SC as your destination.

Once you drive past the Palmetto Bible Camp, the trailhead is a few hundred feet beyond on your left. You must fill out a short form with your name, the number of people in your group, and emergency contact at the trailhead.

Have lunch in Travelers Rest on the way back into Greenville as it is about halfway and there is not much near the trailhead. 

*** Don’t be confused with another waterfall in South Carolina near the Georgia border called Fall Creek Falls. The “s” at the end of the first word is very important as the trail you want is called FALLS Creek Falls. Don’t let GoogleMaps steer you wrong. And if you are looking it up on AllTrails and they start talking about 3 waterfalls in succession, you are on the wrong trail.

Where To Eat In Greenville, SC With Kids

Greenville has an amazing number of restaurants, breweries, cafes, bars, et al, considering its size. Our Airbnb host gave us at least 20 places when we asked for recommendations and we did our best to hit as many as we could in 3 days.

Casual

Located on or adjacent to Main St

Tupelo Honey has locations all over the south and is beloved for a reason (hint- it’s the biscuits). Serving Southern food with a modern flair in a friendly atmosphere, the wide menu means it is a great choice if you have an in the grouparray of tastes or kids who just want chicken fingers.

Grill Marks has fantastic burgers and shakes in a relaxed casual atmosphere. A good value kids menu ($9 for food, drink, and side) plus a wing menu keeps us coming back.

The first time I passed Takosushi, I did a double-take at its far east meets southwest vibe. I still don’t understand how that works but it does. Who knew potstickers would go so well with tacos? Another one of our favorites for a quick but delicious lunch.

Chicora Alley (caribbean/ mexican) is like your favorite dive bar from college but with a kids menu. The burgers, tacos, and enchiladas are good but the jerk shrimp with mango rice and beans and fried plantains stole my heart. The “Pubic School Pizza” on the kids menu made me laugh.

Close to Main St and downtown Greenville

We loved Golden Brown and Delicious (burgers, sandwiches, noodles, fried things that can be described as golden brown). It is located in The Commons, a fun little modern food court just west of downtown and along the Swamp Rabbit Trail. You’ll also find Indian food, BBQ, and a craft beer taproom there as well.

We were specifically told to try the sweet potato cake at Brick Street Cafe and it did not disappoint. Located on Augusta St, just 0.5 miles south of Falls Park on the Reedy, it is worth the stroll here as you explore this end of town.

For the Foodies

In downtown Greenville

The Trappe Door (on W. Washington St, a half block from Main st) is a unique basement bar and restaurant that specializes in Belgian food and beer. The steak frites was delicious and I love a good Belgian beer which are often hard to find in the States.

Jianna is an Italian and oyster place in a modern, minimalist setting. It is on the second floor and has a beautiful outdoor deck overlooking Main St that was unfortunately too cold for us to enjoy when we went there in spring.

They make all their pasta in-house and I would definitely head for the pasta dishes. (One of our group had a non-pasta fish and it was blah.) The short-rib rigatoni, however, and my gnocchi starter, were delicious. The burrata appetizer was also a winner. We inhaled that. If you have younger kids that would not enjoy the fancier atmosphere of this place at dinner, try lunch or their “piccolo menu” that is served 2-5pm.

The Lazy Goat is an upscale Mediterranean place below the Hampton Inn located right on the Greenway in downtown Greenville. There’s pasta, paella, and lots of cheese on the menu. The fried goat cheese appetizer was delicious.

The dining room has great views of the river (it’s especially pretty at night with the lights) but the outside patio is the best if the weather cooperates. They serve an intermezzo menu in the afternoon that would be perfect for a stop as you walk/ bike through downtown on the Swamp Rabbit Trail.

O-Ku (sushi) and Indaco (Italian, wood- fired pizzas) are two other amazing, dinner-only restaurants you can’t go wrong with. The rock shrimp appetizer at O-Ku and the G.O.A.T roll are the bomb.

Outside of downtown Greenville

Anchorage is a delicious restaurant in the Village of West Greenville, 1.5 miles west of Falls Park downtown. Open for dinner Tues- Sat, this place focuses on small plates for sharing, great cocktails, and a good wine list.

Anchorage is popular, and doesn’t take reservations, so there can be a wait. We were fine at 530pm on a Thursday but it got busier as the night went on. Part of the reason for its popularity is because it was named a James Beard semifinalist in 2018.

***There are several restaurants and bars grouped together on this section of Pendelton St so if the wait is too long at Anchorage, there are other options. 

Other Things To Do Or If It Rains

Stone Pin Company is one of those new, hipster bowling alleys, with really good food and craft drinks. Under 21’s welcome until 8pm. 

Flour Field is the home the Greenville Drive, the single A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. It is just off of Main St and is a nice, new stadium perfect for catching a minor league game. 

Saturday Market closes down Main St at McBee Ave from May- October. You can find everything from produce to clothes to candles. If it is sold on Etsy, then there’s a good chance you might find something similar here.

The Children’s Museum of the Upstate (closed on Mondays during the school year) looks like a neat little place for kids to explore. There are waterworks, hands on science exhibits, and a very cool looking, multi-story climbing structure. Seems more geared to kids under 12, but I haven’t been there. 

The Runway Park at GMU is a playground located by one of the runways at the Greenville Municipal Airport. Not only can you watch small planes take off and land, but all the playground equipment is aviation themed. I immediately thought of several kids who could spend all day here.