Explore Columbia through a range of interests: trails along Riverfront Park, museums featuring art, history, and science, and a weekly market on Main Street. Which of these aspects you focus on depends on whether you’re more interested in discovering landscapes, collections, or local products.
River Trails and Green Spaces
Riverfront Park is a nearly 167-acre linear park between the Columbia Canal and the Congaree River. Its linear trail is three miles long; a one-mile spur runs through a floodplain forest. The different trail lengths and the forest passage offer two specific ways to plan your visit. Work or changes to access may affect individual areas of the park. Check which areas are currently accessible before visiting.
Granby Park offers a historical perspective: it was the first completed section of the Three Rivers Greenway. The City of Columbia’s park rangers also offer the public a range of guided programs on history, features of local parks, and their wildlife. Individual program dates may change, so check what’s on offer during your stay in advance.
Museums: From South Carolina to Art History
The South Carolina State Museum features permanent and changing exhibitions across four floors, covering South Carolina history, art, and natural history, as well as science and technology. This brings a range of subject areas together under one museum roof. The museum also features a 55-foot digital domed planetarium named the BlueCross and BlueShield of South Carolina Planetarium. The program may change; if you have a particular event in mind, check the museum’s current information.
The Columbia Museum of Art has a different focus. Its international collection includes American, Asian, and European art, as well as modern and contemporary works. The museum cares for more than 7,000 works reflecting over 5,000 years of human history. As a result, the collection spans a period far beyond any single era. Since displays may change, it’s worth checking the current exhibition selection before your visit, especially if you’re interested in a particular area.
Architecture and History at the State House
The South Carolina State House in Columbia offers tours. They begin with a 15-minute film about the building’s history and architecture. The film provides a thematic introduction before the tour of the State House begins. Tour times and arrangements may change, so check the latest information if you’re planning a tour.
Saturdays at Soda City Market
Soda City Market takes place year-round on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Main Street, rain or shine. It is described as a producer-only market: vendors make or grow their own products. The goods sold there are handmade and produced in the southeastern United States. The focus, then, is on the makers and their products. Since the mix of vendors may change, check the current market date and offerings before you travel.
For a culture-focused stay, the museums offer different ways to explore: the State Museum covers art, history, natural history, science, and technology; the Columbia Museum of Art focuses on an international art collection spanning a broad range of time. If you’d rather spend time outdoors, Riverfront Park has two named trail lengths and a spur through a floodplain forest. This distinction can help you choose the focus of your stay without having to link the individual destinations into a set itinerary.
Discover more destinations: Woodfield, Elgin, Blythewood, Hopkins, Eastover.
For the overview of the wider area: Richland.
