Afternoon Drives from Columbia

2019 Hiking Week 26
Chester State Park & Musgrove Mill State Historic Site
Horseshoe Falls at Musgrove Mill

As I mentioned before, I enjoy little day trips around the area to see new places. The best is when you get there by back roads.

One Sunday afternoon, we decided to take a short trip up north of Columbia on Highway 321 to Chester State Park. The park is about an hour's drive from Columbia, outside of the town of Chester. We were pleasantly surprised by the park. It has a nice sized lake that has no motor boats on it. You can rent kayaks and other small boats to go out on the lake or you can fish from the long boardwalk they have crossing a section of the lake.









Fishing Bridge


There are gathering spaces, campgrounds, and playgrounds for people to use. They also have a disc golf course. It was a pretty quiet park, especially for a Sunday in the summer. Most of the people we saw were fishing. There are also a couple of trails around the lake. We thought it would be nice to come back to paddle on the lake or hike the trails. I would recommend bringing some food and spending an afternoon there. Admission is $2.00 per person. Chester was a really neat looking town but most of the downtown businesses looked closed. Winnsboro or Rock Hill look like the closest towns.






Downtown Winnsboro

Coming back, we drove a different road, Highway 215, by Lake Monticello and Jenkinsville. I hadn't realized that Lake Monticello was so big. It looked like a nice lake to check out and not too busy. Another place we might return to some day to explore some more.
Musgrove Mill State Historic Site

Musgrove Mill is also about an hour's drive from Columbia, outside of Clinton. It is the site of a Revolutionary War battle and the home site for the Musgrove family. The site is along the Enoree River. There are guided tours and historical info in the visitors center.

One feature of the park I didn't know about until we decided to visit was that near by there are some waterfalls that are handicap accessible and just a short walk from the parking area. We stopped by Horseshoe Falls and it looked like many locals use the area to cool off in the summer time. The water is pretty low right now in South Carolina so I imagine the falls can be a lot more forceful when we've had more rain. (See picture at the top of the post.)

Musgrove Mill is not far off of I-26 and I-385. It would be a nice place to stop if you were traveling through the area. You can get out, stretch your legs, and maybe have a picnic. Admission is free. We will be keeping this spot in mind since we travel through the area often.
Location: Columbia, SC, USA

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