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Posted: 2/27/2006 11:45:17 AM EDT
I will be spending a few days of my spring break (3/5-3/7) in Columbia, SC with my girlfriend.  I will be staying at my relatives house.  She is very excited that there is a zoo, so i plan on doing that at least for half of a day.  I noticed there are some forests nearby that are good for hiking.  it would be fun to go canoeing, stuff like that.

she's not a real outdoors-type girl, so keep that in mind if you offer suggestions.  But she is the one who thought hiking and canoeing would be fun.

Looks like the weather will be around 60.  

Anyways, enlighten me on what there is to do!

(i'm 21, she's 20).       also, we're driving from ohio.  i dont think that has much bearing though, just an fyi.

hanks everyone!!



edit: are there bears and/or mountain lions in the forests?   if so, what are the laws on open carry on either a pistol (its a 9mm so i know i'd still be mauled, but at least it would die slowly) or my ar15?

i have a feeling my g/f would kill me if i whipped out a gun, but i like living.  i dont have my ccw so i'd just have to put a belt holster on

Link Posted: 2/27/2006 5:04:36 PM EDT
[#1]
No fear of bears or lions unless you decide to hike through their enclosures at the zoo.  

Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Gardens are very nice and you should go.  It is on the banks of the SAluda River and the convergence of the  Saluda and Broad rivers into the Congaree.  There are two walking parks also on the banks of these rivers.  Riverfront on the Columbia side follws the canal, and the other is much newer and is on the West Columbia side of the rivers with an entrance at the West Columbia side of the Gervais St bridge.  There is also the State Museum also on Gervais St at the river.  The University of South Carolina is based here, and campus is spread all over the city.  There is Harbison State park about 10 minutes up I-26 from Columbia that has mountain biking and hiking trails.  It also has a canoe lauch as it is located along the Broad River.  There are several companies like River Runner Outdoor Center that offer canoing trips.  There is the Congaree Swamp National Park.  There is Lake Murray with fishing, boating, etc.  You can rent boats/waverunners from several places.  There is Stripper and Trout fishing on the Saluda from Congaree all the way up the the base of the Lake Murray Dam on the Saluda, if the Strippers are running by then.  You can walk around the Vista and Five Points, some of the local college hangouts.  There is also alot of shopping in Haribison and at the Villages of Sandhills.  You could take a day trip to Charleston (the Holy City) only about a 1 1/2 hour drive away.  In Charleston there are Aquariums, Fort Sumter, The Yorktown and Patriots Point, Folley Beach, Isle Of Palms beaches, shopping, deep-sea fihing, etc.  You could day trip above the Greenville/Spartanburg area to the mountians and Caesars Head, Jones Gap, Raven Cliff Falls, etc for trout fishing, hiking, 4x4, etc.

You are only here for 3 days so thats prob enough, if you want more though just shout!  Give me an idea of what you want to see and I can help better.  Places to shoot, history, etc.  This is my 'hood.

-Hershey

Oh yeah, and I work in Foodservice so I can reccomend some restaurants too.
Link Posted: 2/28/2006 4:37:21 AM EDT
[#2]
tag for stuff to do this weekend
Link Posted: 2/28/2006 6:53:01 AM EDT
[#3]

Quoted:

edit: are there bears and/or mountain lions in the forests?   if so, what are the laws on open carry on either a pistol (its a 9mm so i know i'd still be mauled, but at least it would die slowly) or my ar15?

i have a feeling my g/f would kill me if i whipped out a gun, but i like living.  i dont have my ccw so i'd just have to put a belt holster on




No open carry!  You can have a handgun in the console or glove box of your car, no permit required for that.  A permit is required for concealed carry.

As noted above, Charleston can be an interesting day trip.  Take in a carriage tour, walk along the Battery, do touristy stuff.  Lots of history, from Colonial times through the Civial War.
Link Posted: 2/28/2006 3:44:33 PM EDT
[#4]
are radar detectors legal in NC/SC?

and for that matter, WV or virginia?  (i am pretty sure they arent legal in virginia) - and i'm googling it, but it cant hurt to hear from someone who knows.





we'd like to do some nice canoeing where there arent rapids, and also i think it would be fun to rent bikes for some easy mountain biking.  basically, a trail she could follow but maybe some stuff i could go screw around on and get hurt, but so she doesnt get hurt.
Link Posted: 2/28/2006 5:05:04 PM EDT
[#5]
Radar detectors are legal.  The Saluda has rapids, but nothing big, although the water is VERY cold even in the summer.  Harbison State park has mountain bike trails, the hardest being mainly hilly, it also has canoe launches for the Broad River.  I reccomend checking in to River Runner or other outdoor center for canoe/kayak rental and guides etc.  They can help you out with a route matched to your skill level.  You could also canoe on the lake instead.


-Hershey
Link Posted: 2/28/2006 5:28:49 PM EDT
[#6]

Quoted:
Radar detectors are legal.  The Saluda has rapids, but nothing big, although the water is VERY cold even in the summer.  Harbison State park has mountain bike trails, the hardest being mainly hilly, it also has canoe launches for the Broad River.  I reccomend checking in to River Runner or other outdoor center for canoe/kayak rental and guides etc.  They can help you out with a route matched to your skill level.  You could also canoe on the lake instead.


-Hershey




cool, thanks for the tips.  by the way, what lake is 'the lake'?  for me its lake erie

judging from mapquest i'd guess murray


and what about gators and such in the waterways.  good idea not to hang aroudn the edge?
Link Posted: 2/28/2006 5:31:54 PM EDT
[#7]

There is the Congaree Swamp National Park



I second this. A real nice day trip, may even see some feral hogs
Link Posted: 2/28/2006 6:23:44 PM EDT
[#8]
new question: its gonna be 60ish, but i wasnt sure if you guys would recommend pants and stuff for hiking.  dont want to bring shorts and regret it.

also


i've been looking on the website for the congaree state park.  are there a lot of foot-access trails that go throughout the park?   it mentions that atvs arent allowed (duh) and that there is a

" 2.3 mile boardwalk loop trail that offers an opportunity for persons in wheelchairs to experience the park’s old-growth floodplain forest."          

i would definitely prefer to get some dirt under my feet while hiking.  another part on their site says "please stay on marked trails" - so i'm assuming there is a good network of trails that go throughout the park?

i'd like to do this for a few hours, so any more info you guys can supply on this park would be appreciated.  looks like it might be a good place to canoe too
Link Posted: 3/1/2006 2:55:12 AM EDT
[#9]

Quoted:
new question: its gonna be 60ish, but i wasnt sure if you guys would recommend pants and stuff for hiking.  dont want to bring shorts and regret it.




I always wear long pants out in the woods.  Less exposed flesh.

When it gets warm the skeeters come out, and there are also ticks in them thar woods.
Link Posted: 3/1/2006 3:44:59 AM EDT
[#10]

Quoted:
new question: its gonna be 60ish, but i wasnt sure if you guys would recommend pants and stuff for hiking.  dont want to bring shorts and regret it.

also


i've been looking on the website for the congaree state park.  are there a lot of foot-access trails that go throughout the park?   it mentions that atvs arent allowed (duh) and that there is a

" 2.3 mile boardwalk loop trail that offers an opportunity for persons in wheelchairs to experience the park’s old-growth floodplain forest."          

i would definitely prefer to get some dirt under my feet while hiking.  another part on their site says "please stay on marked trails" - so i'm assuming there is a good network of trails that go throughout the park?

i'd like to do this for a few hours, so any more info you guys can supply on this park would be appreciated.  looks like it might be a good place to canoe too




the boardwalk is the most used trail for those that go. The other trails are better, but may be impossible to hike because of flooding. If you can make the river loop trail it's by all means worth it. there are canoe trails there also, but I have never done those since I don't have a canoe or boat. If you like bird watching than this is the place to visit. The first time I was there I walked the river trail and walked up on a flock of wood duck of about 200. Scared the shit out of me. It's real quiet out in those woods
Link Posted: 3/1/2006 4:55:38 PM EDT
[#11]
Yes, the lake I was refering to is Murray, sorry, I thought I had reffered to it before.  No need to worry about Gators, at least around here.  As you get a little further south of the Midlands they are there but leave them alone and they'll leave you alone.  Snakes are a possibility, see above advise.  Bug spray is your friend, can you say DEET and lots of it.  It was 80 degrees here today.  I wear long pants, but I was born and raised here and get pretty used to just being hot and sticky.  To quote Good Morning Vietnam, "That's nice if you'se a lady, but sucks if youin the jungle", or swamp as the situation may be.  If you prefer more Terra Firma, you probably want Harbison Forest.  Congaree is more remote though.

-Hershey
Link Posted: 3/1/2006 5:01:38 PM EDT
[#12]
ok, so bugs are still a big problem this time of year?  i guess it makes sense, its warm there

right now there's snow outside in cleveland, so i forget bugs are out and about elsewhere.  i assume i can pick some DEET up down there somewhere.
Link Posted: 3/1/2006 5:32:41 PM EDT
[#13]
DEET he said DEET


boy, don't you know that the bugs down here live off that shit they eat that shit up. Infact they think its a pheremone for bug sex
Link Posted: 3/1/2006 6:02:37 PM EDT
[#14]
ok, so mr. hershey likes to wear bug attractants.  what should i use then?
Link Posted: 3/1/2006 6:48:12 PM EDT
[#15]
new question:  i've been looking at some websites on mountain biking in SC, i've found a few possible places.  i'm looking for a place where my g/f who has probably never ridden a bike on anything besides pavement, could go without too much trouble, but there might be a few neat things for me to screw around on.  i dont mountain bike, but i have a dirtbike and stuff, so i could handle some intermediate terrain.  

1. any trail recommendations?
2. can you rent mountain bikes anywhere, if so, how much do they cost?  (i'm trying to figure out if i should try to somehow squeeze 2 bikes in my car along with all our clothes)
Link Posted: 3/2/2006 12:36:20 PM EDT
[#16]
Hell, I dont know what everyone else uses, but just about every repellent I know of contains DEET.  The higher the level the better.  Now most times of the year, youll sweat it all of so fast it doesn't really matter.  But when I'm in the turkey, woods, deer stand, or bass fishin in four-holes-swamp, it's what I use.  You ever seen the horse-flys in four-holes-swamp, the gators are afraid of them.  I think one made of with my keys one time, cause they sure dissappeard, and a horse-flys mean enough to do that.  

Anyway, on the other hand my wife likes Skin-so-soft ...


-Hershey
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