Spartanburg, SC Road Trips

In the 19th century, Spartanburg was dubbed the Hub City because it was a railroad center. Today it is the center of an arts revival, historic preservation, and becoming an active lifestyle city. Spartanburg is a beautiful city with southern charm. Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it has a moderate climate that encourages year-round tourism. History buffs enjoy Cowpens National Battlefield, which marks the site where Gen. Daniel Morgan’s troops defeated the English. Population in Spartanburg: city 39,407, county: 265,790. The warmest month is July and the coolest month is January. Most rainfall is in March. Spartanburg is not as well equipped for snow and ice as more northerly cities; significant accumulations of snow (more than 2cm) or ice on the roads can disrupt activity city-wide. Usually, this includes the closing of local businesses and schools, and happens about once a year on average. Spartanburg's inland location usually protects it from being hit directly from Atlantic hurricanes, though it often receives heavy rains due to passing tropical systems. A treaty struck with the Cherokee Indian nation in 1753 opened SC’s frontier to settlers. The county has more Revolutionary War sites than practically any locale in the US. After capturing Charleston in 1780, the English troops might have secured victory had they not so savagely violated their own terms for surrender. Subjected to slaughter, torture and humiliation, the rebel patriots fought back with a vengeance.

1 Spartanburg Regional Museum of History, 200 E St John St, ☏ +1 864-596-3501. Permanent exhibits at the Spartanburg Regional History Museum offer a walk through time from early Spanish explorers like Juan Pardo to the late 20th century. You'll also find exhibits about our rich textile and military history, beautiful handcrafted furniture and other decorative arts from Spartanburg County and the surrounding region. (updated Sep 2016) Cowpens Depot, 120 Palmetto St, Cowpens. The Cowpens railroad depot was built in the 1870s for the Southern Railway. Local citizens saved the depot from destruction, and moved it to its current location to serve as a community center and museum. The museum houses items donated by crewmen and local citizens emphasizing the naval history of several U.S. Navy warships named for the Battle of Cowpens in the American Revolution. (updated Sep 2016) Pacolet Museum, 180 Montgomery Avenue,Pacolet. The museum reveals the story of Pacolet. Beginning with the natural resources: the Pacolet River, Granite Quarry and Urban Forest and expanding to the cultural heritage of the Cherokee, Catawba Indian presence, early settlers, American Revolution, textile industry and historic district. (updated Sep 2016) Walnut Grove Plantation, an 18th-century farmhouse, has been diligently preserved by the Spartanburg County Historical Association. It lies south of Spartanburg near the town of Roebuck and is open to the public for tours as well as during annual festivals.

Craft Axe Throwing (Axe, Hatchet or Tomahawk Throwing), 226 W Main St Suite D, ☏ +1 864 727-8277, [email protected]. A destination for axe-throwing, tomahawk, and hatchet enthusiasts. Craft beverages are available. Groups and parties welcome. Experts will guide you through axe-throwing, ensuring a safe and entertaining experience for all skill levels. (updated Oct 2023) Spartanburg and its county owns a lot of bike trails and hiking trails. Please see chapter "Get around--by bike". Croft State Park, 450 Croft State Park Rd, 864-585-1283 The Creek Golf Club: 640 Keltner Ave., +1-864-583-7084 River Falls Plantation: 100 Player Blvd., Duncan-864-433-9192 Village Greens: 13921 Asheville Hwy., Gramling-864-472-2411 Woodfin Ridge Golf Club: 215 S. Woodfin Ridge Dr., Inman-864-578-0023 Yogalicious: 183 Dunbar St, +1 864-707-9088 RiverBend: Excellent location for shooting skeet or sporting clays, paint ball, organized field hunts, tower shoots, and corporate meetings. HomeSpun Bluegrass provides live acoustic music shows twice monthly on the 2nd and 4th Saturday night at 7PM. Bands from the SC and NC area perform traditional bluegrass favorites and southern gospel. Good family entertainment in a relaxed atmosphere with no alcohol and smoking is outside only. Hub City Farmers' Market is Spartanburg's resource for fresh produce and local food. The markets are open air, seasonal markets. All of our markets are producer-only markets, meaning everything sold is grown or produced by the person selling it.

Spartanburg has a wide range of dining options, from soul food to Asian fusion. Most of the innovative options are located in and around downtown, although some of the best eateries are located in odd corners of the county. Venus Pie Pizza, 400 E Main St. Delicious, low cost, non-chain pizzeria serves oversized thin-crust slices, calzones, cheese bread, and more. The inside is a little run-down, but it's clean and has a certain integrity to it. It's much better and cheaper than the Mellow Mushroom 2 doors over, but doesn't have as many specialty pizzas. The Beacon Drive-In, “world famous” for its greasy a-plenty platters and very sweet tea, this restaurant is more of an institution than a greasy spoon. It is said to be the world’s largest seller of iced tea. Be prepared in advance so that J.C. doesn’t have to wait to call your order. “Walk and talk!” Wade’s Restaurant started off as a roadside barbeque joint but has evolved into a country-cooking mecca. No one can beat their yeast rolls and for “greasy greens” they are the best place this side of momma’s kitchen. Avoid on holidays and Wednesday nights unless you want to wait outside. Wasabi Sushi is on the complete other end of the spectrum. Fresh, tasty and reasonably priced, Wasabi has a wide variety of genuinely tasty Japanese dishes. Don’t skip the appetizers, they’re really good and they help make the sushi worth the wait. Monsoon Noodle House and Lime Leaf, both located on Morgan Square, are home to some wonderful Asian fusion dishes.

Spartanburg has a number of great watering holes that can suit any taste. 1 Nu-Way Lounge, 373 E Kennedy St, ☏ +1 864-582-9685. Is a mainstay for a certain crowd of Spartans, who go there for the cheap beer, fried food and eclectic music. As the oldest bar in Spartanburg, it has a following and a certain down-home cheap-wood-veneer flair. (updated Sep 2016) 2 Delaney’s Irish Pub, 117 W Main St, ☏ +1 864-583-3100. Has some of the best local brews around and serves a good sandwich to boot. It’s located on Morgan Square (updated Sep 2016) 3 Carriage House Wines, 196 W Main S, ☏ +1 864-582-0123. Offers an alternative to the bar scene by offering a fine selection of great wines. Go there for some samples and some wonderful recommendations from the staff. (updated Sep 2016)

1 Spartanburg Marriott, 299 N Church St, ☏ +1 864-596-1211. Downtown’s high-rise hotel, featuring ballrooms, suites and other plush accommodations. (updated Sep 2016)

Spartanburg is served by two airports: the private Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA) and the public Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP). Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport is located in Upstate South Carolina, midway between the cities of Greenville and Spartanburg on I-85 (Exit 57). There's daily Amtrak service to Spartanburg with the Crescent train, operating between New York City and New Orleans. 1 Spartanburg railway station, 290 Magnolia St (Just east of downtown). (updated Mar 2020) Two major Interstate Highways intersect a short distance from Spartanburg, making highway travel into the city quite easy. Interstate 85 and the Business 85 Loop run on an east-west axis along the northern edge of the city and Interstate 26 runs on a north-south axis to the west of the city. Major U.S. Highways 29 and 221 also run through the heart of the city. A Greyhound Bus terminal is located at 100 North Liberty Street.

Downtown traffic can stop-and-go. Downtown bypasses such as Daniel Morgan Avenue and St. John Street make the traffic flow easier. Spartanburg is serviced by an efficient public transportation system called SPARTA. There are a lot of beautiful bike tours and routes. Please visit the following homepages for details and recommendations. [1], [2], [3]. Spartanburg has a lot of bike lanes and bike-friendly roads. Please see the homepage of Partners for Active Living. This is a community-based initiative in Spartanburg. [4]. Cyclists of all ages and abilities converge downtown every Friday at noon to take part in an easy-going, end-of-the-workweek bike ride. Meeting place: Mary Black Foundation Offices, 349 E. Main Street, Suite 100. Bring your bicycle and helmet. Bike ride leaves at 12:15. The ride follows the Mary Black Foundation Rail Trail to the Duncan Park neighborhood, where each pearson can take as many or as few laps around the 3-mile loop as they choose. Total distance is generally 8 to 12 miles, riding as the pace of the slowest rider. The group returns along the trail together and is back by 1PM. There are a lot of walking routes in Spartanburg. Please see [5] for details.