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Add Some Adventure to Your Greenville Vacation

Marie McAden Marie McAden
A former staffer with The Miami Herald, Marie moved to SC in 1992. She is passionate about the outdoors, and enjoys exploring the state’s many natural treasures from the Lowcountry to the Upstate.
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The BMW Performance Drive experience includes a spin around the German car manufacturer’s Upstate track.

If you’re among the growing number of travelers looking for a little adventure on your vacation, you’ll find plenty to get your adrenaline flowing in South Carolina. All of the state’s top destinations offer an array of exciting activities and experiences, from hiking and kayaking to zip lining and rock wall climbing.

Visiting Greenville? For a big thrill, consider these six awesome adventures:

High-Speed Go-Karting
Buckle up and strap on your helmet! Speed Factory offers high-speed indoor karting that will make you feel like Mario Andretti. The technically advanced, European-designed, gasoline-powered racing karts reach speeds of up to 35 mph. You must be at least 16 years old and 4-feet, 6-inches to race. Along with a full-face, DOT-approved helmet, drivers will be provided with a balaclava (head sock) and neck brace for their safety.

BMW Performance Drive
Feel the need for speed but prefer a full-sized motor car? Sign up for the Performance Drive experience at BMW’s Performance Center. Take the wheel of a BMW X series vehicle and follow an instructor through a challenging off-road course. Then, it’s off to the track where you can put a variety of models to the test, driving through tight corners and fast straightaways. For the grand finale, hop in the passenger seat for a hot lap with a professional driver and experience the adrenaline rush of drifting just like you see in car commercials.

Downtown Segway Tour
For a different type of high-tech motoring experience, book a Segway tour of Greenville’s urban center with Greenville Glides. After a short, one-on-one training session, you’ll be maneuvering your two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transporter with ease. The West End and Falls Park tour will take you through downtown Greenville and the historic West End or take the Haunted Segway Tour for a jaunt through Springwood Cemetery and eerie locations along the Reedy River. There’s also a Taste and Glide Tour which includes stops where you’ll get to sample some of the city’s favorite bites. 

Flying Rabbit Adventures
Relive one of the great pleasures of childhood at this three-story aerial adventure park featuring 58 athletic elements and zip lines ranging in difficulty from beginner to advanced. While you won’t be climbing trees, the arboreal-spanning obstacle course offers plenty of challenges for every level of thrill seeker. There’s also a course for kids, along with a barbecue restaurant, brewery and observation deck for watching the fun.

Trampoline Park
If you loved jumping on beds as a kid, you’ll flip over the oversized trampolines featured at these three adventure parks—Sky ZoneBig Air and Urban Air. And that’s just for starters. These kid and grown-up fun centers feature an array of other attractions and games, including climbing walls, ropes courses, tumble tracks, slam dunk zones, ninja warrior courses, sky ladders and jousting.

Swamp Rabbit Trail
This extraordinarily popular 22-mile recreational trail is a highlight of any visit to Greenville. Following the Reedy River along the route of a former railroad line, the multi-use paved greenway runs from the city center to nearby Travelers Rest, offering an array of restaurants and breweries at both ends. Rent a bike at one of the half-dozen bike rental locations in town or slip into your sneakers and hoof it.

Marie McAden
A former staffer with The Miami Herald, Marie moved to SC in 1992. She is passionate about the outdoors, and enjoys exploring the state’s many natural treasures from the Lowcountry to the Upstate.