A Long Weekend Break in SC’s State Capitol
We spent a long weekend in Columbia, and it ended up being one of those trips where everything just felt easy and relaxed. The weather was perfect — not too hot, not too cold, and not a cloud in the sky — which made exploring even better.
Every morning after breakfast and coffee, we’d head out for a walk around downtown. Columbia is a very walkable city, and it was such a nice way to start the day — slow, relaxed, and a good chance to get a feel for the place. We also ended up walking most evenings to dinner, which made it feel even more connected and easy.
Right to Left: Saturday Morning Vendor Market ; Sally the Salamander; SC State History Museum TV Display
On Saturday morning, Main Street was full of vendors and farmers market stands, and we stumbled into this really fun scavenger hunt for Sally the Salamander — the state amphibian! Little salamander statues are hidden all over downtown, and you can either use an app or a paper map to track them down. It was such a simple thing but made the morning feel like an adventure.
Later that day, we visited the South Carolina State Museum. We walked through the history exhibits, and then went to a planetarium show that focused on the constellations you can see right now — it was so good, I actually wished it was longer.
That night, we went out for drinks and tapas. First stop was the rooftop bar at the Sheraton downtown, which used to be an old bank — the lobby still has the original vault tucked off to the side when you walk in. The rooftop bar had beautiful views of the city, even though it was enclosed (maybe they open it up in warmer weather?). After that, we went to the Moxy rooftop bar, which was open-air — they have a little ledge built into the wall so you can set your drink down and just look out over the city. We finished the night at Bourbon, a cocktail bar known for bourbon and whiskey, but they had a full drink menu and some seriously good spicy pimento cheese and crackers.
Right to Left: View from the Moxy Rooftop Bar; Main Street Lights; SC State Capitol at Night; Downtown Sheraton Main Lobby Old Bank Vault
The next day, we went to Congaree National Park — I had no idea Columbia even had a national park! We did the boardwalk trail, and even though part of it was under renovation, it didn’t take away from how peaceful it felt. I learned that the whole floodplain is supposed to flood — the boardwalk is actually built to go underwater when it does. On our way out, we spotted a barred owl just sitting calmly in a tree, totally undisturbed by us.
Right to Left: Water Tupelo Trees at Congaree National Park; Barred Owl at Congaree National Park; Columbia Craft Famously Hop IPA, California Dreaming Restaurant in Old Train Station
Afterward, we visited the USC campus and wandered around the Horseshoe before heading to Columbia Craft for drinks (loved their Famously Hop IPA and Alien Hat Sour). We ended the night with dinner at California Dreaming, which is inside an old train station — really cool setting, and the perfect last stop before packing up to head home.
Definitely one of those trips where you leave feeling like you got to really enjoy a place.