Saluda Shoals Park

The Road to Vegas- Outdoor Adventures, Parks- Sarah

We had a few hours on Tuesday afternoon to do some exploring and didn’t want to travel very far so we ended up somewhere close to Irmo, SC. Saluda Shoals Park.

Lincoln wants everyone to know the park was AMAZING and SO BIG!

I have to say I was also really impressed by the park! We entered on the side of the park by the environmental center and wetland preserve (5606 Bush River Road, Columbia, SC, 29212) but ended up driving through the park to the east entrance which has Leo’s Landing. this is the playground area.

A few things we didn’t realize prior to going was that the park charges and entrance fee and that the dog park is for members only. Some of the other parks/state parks near us also charge entrance fees and since we are currently “adventuring on a budget a.k.a broke” we opted to go to a park that didn’t have an entrance fee listed. If we have learned anything, it is that I don’t know how to accurately read the information Google tells me because…. When we arrived, we found out a day pass was 5.00 per vehicle or 60.00 annually! (Both of which are 100% worth it it turned out) The website for Saluda Shoals says 4.00 and 55.00 but I believe that may be outdated. The dog park looked really cool, and Lucy would have loved it! (Sorry Bones you still don’t get along with other dogs so you can’t go!) Once we paid for our pass, we were given a map (I love maps!!) and a schedule of events for the park. I also love collecting all the pamphlets from the information centers and reading them, but typically I only get around to reading them when we have left an area. Basically, I’m just future trip planning and not actually helpful, as Chris so kindly pointed out to me while I read him info about the city we just left while driving to a new spot on our big trip.

Back to Saluda Shoals, another amazing Amazing AMAZING thing (now I’m quoting Lincoln, but it was amazing) was the inclusivity of the park. While I have no aspiration to work in human services ever again the individuals I worked with and the population I served will always have a special place in my heart! This place, it wasn’t just a place to swing, run and slide, but it had areas for music, reading, resting, and pretend play, in addition to all the standard playground stuff! There was a little library, shaped like an owl, with lots of books to look at for the kids who would rather find a quite spot and take an adventure of the mind. There were so many swings, merry go rounds, seesaws, and even a zip line that were wheelchair accessible, it was great! The main play area had a big sign in Braille and another with sign language on it. How awesome is that?!? As soon as we walked in, we could hear music and there was a ton of percussion instruments that the kids could play on and a tunnel that played music as you ran through it. Hammocks were in the back of the playground for mom and dad to chill out on and playhouses were there for the kids to engage in pretend play. There was also an area that reminded me of “over the river and through the woods” that was really neat! Also, no dogs allowed in the playground area either so if you're bringing your four-legged friends stick to the other side of the park!

We drove to the other side of the park, and I wish that we had time to explore the river center or environmental center, but we will definitely be spending the whole day there once we get back from Pennsylvania (Finalizing some house sale stuff). We also saw signs indicating two boat launches but didn’t have time to explore either one because we wanted to walk a trail and it was already late in the day. We ended up deciding on checking out the wetland preserve, and it was really neat. It reminded me a bit of our day at Congaree because of the boardwalk area, and took us to a really cool sign, pictured below. I did see a few other trails through the woods but wasn’t able to explore them this time.

If you are visiting the Irmo/Columbia area I definitely recommend the 5.00-day pass for a fun way to spend the afternoon. There is enough to do here that you could probably spend the whole day, especially if it is summer because they have splash pad as well (though I didn’t see it while there).

This is probably my last SC post until we return from PA in about 10 days. I am so beyond bummed to be heading back to the cold but am excited to be spending my birthday with my sister, friends, and Chris’s (my new) family. I have an epic cooking challenge planned as well as a birthday cake flip competition (I’m looking at you Patrick!) so be sure to follow

The Road to Vegas Insta or our Facebook page The Road to Vegas Facebook to see some of our PA fun!

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Talk soon - Mrs. B