Greenville isn’t called “Green” for nothing — our city sits in the middle of a circle of gorgeous forests, lakes and rivers. There’s tons of nature out there to explore in every season of the year. If you’re in the mood for an adventure in the great outdoors, we’ve got a list of just a few of the fun activities available in and around Greenville County.
Saluda Outdoor Center
The Saluda Outdoor Center offers tubing tours of the Saluda River. For $20, you can rent an inner tube and ride down one of the Upstate’s best-known rivers for around two hours of relaxation and immersion in nature. The Saluda Outdoor Center also offers tiny homes and super-tiny “river pods” for rental, letting you spend the night on the riverbank. You’re also welcome to bring your own kayak or fishing equipment to enjoy the river on your own time and in your own way. The Center is only five miles away from downtown Greenville, so it’s a great spot for a quick afternoon getaway.
Treetop Quest
Treetop Quest is a high-octane outdoor adventure that lets you swing, climb, jump and zipline through Greenville’s tree canopy. Don a safety harness and a helmet and explore one of four different courses, all with different degrees of difficulty and adrenaline rush. This choose-your-own-adventure experience gives you the option to challenge your brain and body on aerial obstacle courses or soar through the trees on an all-zipline course.
This is one of the more costly items on our list, with adult tickets for the two-and-a-half-hour experience costing $229. Outdoor enthusiasts and adrenaline junkies may find this close-to-campus activity worth saving up for.
The Gorge: A Zipline Canopy Adventure
Located in Saluda, North Carolina, The Gorge bills itself as “America’s steepest, fastest zipline canopy tour.” Consisting entirely of treetop platforms so you’ll never touch the ground, this zipline tour lets you fly on 11 different ziplines, cross a sky bridge, and plunge a total of 1,100 vertical feet through the North Carolina treeline. The experience gives you dazzling views of beautiful protected forests and the Green River.
Tickets for adults are $125 per person for a four-hour, one-of-a-kind adventure.
Tour Lake Jocassee
Unwind with guided expeditions across one of South Carolina’s largest manmade lakes. Lake Jocassee and its surrounding forest are included in National Geographic’s “50 of the World’s Last Great Places” list. Lake Jocassee and the Jocassee Gorges provide a home for rare plants and endangered animals and feature one of the highest concentrations of waterfalls in the eastern United States. The lake used to be a thriving community before the valley was flooded to create the reservoir, and relics of the former town remain at the bottom of the lake, including a playground, a lodge, a post office and a cemetery.
Jocassee Lake Tours offers a $55, four-hour-long informational tour of the lake guided by an experienced naturalist. You can also rent a kayak from Jocassee Lake Tours (or bring your own) to explore the lake on your own. Jocassee Adventures offers lake tours above and below the water, including scuba tours of the submerged town; a group of seven can dive the lake’s depths for $64 a person. All these activities make for a fun day trip located about an hour from the BJU campus.
Sunrift Adventures
Located in Travelers Rest near the popular Swamp Rabbit Trail, Sunrift Adventures is an outdoor outfitter that sells and rents equipment for all kinds of outdoor adventures and all skill levels. Sunrift is a popular local retailer of hiking boots, mountain bikes, tents, climbing equipment and more, helping outdoor athletes and enthusiasts get the equipment and expert advice they need for over 40 years.
Though this outfitter is a preferred resource for experienced outdoor enthusiasts looking to restock on equipment, it’s also a great starting place for folks who want to try an outdoor sport without the commitment of purchasing equipment. Sunrift rents gear for all kinds of outdoor adventures, including tents and other camping gear, climbing equipment, kayaks, canoes and mountain bikes. If you’re not into the guided tours or group activities in other parts of this list but aren’t yet equipped for a solo adventure, Sunrift is the ideal one-stop shop.
Head over to Sunrift to gear up for an overnight trip in one of South or North Carolina’s state parks, borrow a bike to explore one of the bike trails around Greenville County, or pick up a kayak for a lake or river adventure of your own.
Don’t miss the rest of our Around Greenville series to see more of what our city and the area around it has to offer.
