Anderson

Blue Ridge foothills city nicknamed The Electric City for its early hydroelectric power.

Anderson sits at the western edge of South Carolina, a small city in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains that calls itself "The Electric City" — it was one of the first cities in the southeastern United States to have electricity, powered by a hydroelectric plant on the Rocky River in 1895. The Anderson County Museum tells this story alongside the broader history of the upstate region.

The downtown historic district has a pleasant old-fashioned character with brick storefronts along Main Street and a handful of local restaurants worth stopping for. Anderson is a practical base for exploring the upstate region, with Lake Hartwell just minutes away — a massive reservoir on the Savannah River popular for boating, fishing, and swimming. Table Rock State Park, Oconee County's waterfalls, and the revitalised city of Greenville are all within easy day-trip range.

Guide

Day Trips

Anderson is a good base for the upstate South Carolina region, with several worthwhile day trips within an hour's drive.

Table Rock State Park (about 45 minutes north) has the most dramatic mountain scenery in South Carolina — granite domes rising above a hardwood forest, with challenging trails to the summit of Table Rock Mountain and shorter walks past waterfalls. The park is uncrowded by Appalachian Trail standards and genuinely beautiful.

Oconee State Park and Oconee County to the northwest have waterfalls, trout streams, and the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River, made famous as the filming location for Deliverance. The Chattooga is one of the best whitewater rivers in the East.

Clemson University (45 minutes east) is worth a visit for the South Carolina Botanical Garden and the Fort Hill plantation house, which was the home of John C. Calhoun. The campus is attractive and the Clemson Tigers football games in the fall draw enormous crowds.

Greenville (30 minutes north) is the most dynamic city in upstate South Carolina, with a revitalised downtown, the Swamp Rabbit Trail along the Reedy River, and the Greenville County Museum of Art, which holds the largest public collection of Andrew Wyeth paintings outside of Pennsylvania.

Guide

Things to Do

Anderson's main draw for visitors is Lake Hartwell, a massive reservoir on the Georgia-South Carolina border a few minutes from downtown, with public boat ramps, fishing, and swimming areas. Downtown Anderson has a well-preserved historic district along Main Street with independent shops and restaurants worth a browse.

The Anderson Arts Center and the Chrissy Express Children's Museum provide family options in town, while the surrounding upstate region has strong hiking in the Blue Ridge Foothills and waterfalls accessible as easy day trips.