Looking for a playground in northern Greenville? Northside Park has a newer playground in addition to picnic facilities and basketball and tennis courts. We sent KAG Contributor Kristen Alcock to visit the playground and give our readers a review of the facilities.
Quick Overview of Northside Park
Favorites:
Newer playground structure
Unique playground features
Restrooms nearby
Drawbacks:
Across from Otter Creek waterpark (might be a problem for parents when not planning to visit the waterpark)
Are you looking for a Greenville, SC story time? There are some wonderful options for story time with your kids in the Upstate. You’ll find story times at libraries, bookstores, museums, and more! Plus, there are also some wonderful virtual story times you can check out from home. Many of these events are completely free, and others like museums require regular admission.
You’ll often find these organized by day on our Kidding Around Greenville calendar, so don’t forget to check that when you are looking for something fun and educational to do.
My kids and I love going to storytime. Ever since my days as a new mom, I found it was a great way to get out of the house, meet other moms, expose kids to literature, and support local businesses. Now that my kids are a little older, we love attending them at our favorite spots. Story Times are happening all over Greenville.
Free Storytime Events in Greenville
Looking for free story times? Greenville has several! These storytime events are completely 100% free. Pair them with a treat at a local coffee shop for an inexpensive morning out.
Greenville County Libraries
The Greenville County Library System has several storytime opportunities for you and your little one to enjoy. These events are regularly scheduled, so you can add them to your personal calendar as a fun thing to do weekly.
Bouncing Babies
30 minutes of music, rhymes, stories, and bouncing games for babies up to 18 months old. They’ll have a little playtime, too!
Tuesdays 10-10:30 am: Five Forks Library & Simpsonville Library
Wednesdays 10-10:30 am: Travelers Rest Library
Thursdays 10-10:30 am: Taylors Library
Thursdays 11-11:30 am: Hughes Main Library and Pelham Road Library
Toddler Tales
30 minutes of music, stories, and movement for your toddler (ages 19+ months). These library storytime events are great for young children to socialize!
Mondays 10-10:30 am: Greer Library
Tuesdays 11-11:30 am: Simpsonville Library
Thursdays 10-10:30 am: Hughes Main Library
Story Time at Greenville County Libraries
30 minutes of stories, music, and activities designed with preschoolers (ages 5 and under) in mind. These library storytime events are all FREE.
(always check with your local library for schedule changes)
Keep your eyes on the Greenville County Library Calendar to see when additional programs are reintroduced. Also, check the calendar – occasionally, there will be special, fun events after storytime!
Twice per month during the school year, the South Carolina Children’s Theatre offers Tell-Me-A-Story Theatre. Here, your child can enjoy a reading of their favorite children’s books, and then see it performed! The event is completely free and is located in the Prisma Health Lobby at SCCT. See when the next Tell-Me-A-Story Theatre is happening on the SCCT website.
Tell-Me-A-Story Theatre
Barnes and Noble
Barnes and Noble off of Woodruff Road offers a weekly Storytime on Thursday and Saturday, while Barnes and Noble off Haywood offers it once per month, and Barnes and Noble in Spartanburg offers a weekly Saturday Storytime. We also recommend keeping your eyes on local store event calendars for the most up-to-date storytime events.
If you head downtown on Wednesdays or Saturday mornings at 10:30 am, be sure to check out M. Judson Booksellers biweekly Storytime on the Steps. We recommend getting there right before 10:30 so you do not miss the start. They have one of the most fun story times Greenville has to offer, especially since there are cookies from Camilla Kitchen available afterward! If it is a cold or rainy day, you can find storytime in the kid’s section in the back of the bookstore.
Story Times: Greenville Reading Events That Require Admission or Tickets
These storytimes are included with general admission or require a paid entry. You’ll find everything from museums with story events to a pottery studio with craft and story events.
The Children’s Museum of the Upstate
The Children’s Museum of the Upstate holds various storytimes in its Dream Theatre. Story Time and More is a story and craft time for children ages 0 to 5. It is currently offered on Tuesday-Saturday at 12 pm. You can find any updates on changes on the TCMU calendar. This storytime requires admission to the Children’s Museum, but there is no additional charge.
Follow TCMU’s social media accounts for the latest news regarding these events (Instagram and Facebook).
Do you know of a local story time we missed? Please let us know in the comments.
Storytime Online for Kids
Story Time From Space
Ever wonder what it would be like to be read to by an astronaut? How about being read to by an astronaut in orbit on the International Space Station? Check out Story Time From Space, where astronauts read books to children that are space-themed.
Super Simple Storytimes
If you are a parent of small children, then it is hard not to know about Super Simple Songs. They also offer an adorable series called Super Simple Storytime, where children’s books are read to children through animated films. These books are generally classic stories like The Ugly Duckling and Hush Little Baby. The stories are simple, creative, and are perfect to sit back and enjoy a reading session with your toddler or preschooler.
Storytime Online
These virtual story times for kids offer some of the most famous celebrities reading books to children. Storytime Online is a great way to keep your children interested in reading, while also seeing some of your favorite actors and actresses. Sit back and let Oprah instill a love for reading in your young children while she reads The Hula-Hoopin’ Queen or have Chris Pine read Clark the Shark. There are dozens of videos to choose from, and the series is a fun way to have face-to-face interaction while reading.
Hagood Mill Historic Site and Folklife Center was built as a grist mill in 1825 by Benjamin Hagood. Today the site is managed by Pickens County Museum and features a grist mill, a working water wheel, historic buildings, and nature trails. It is a beautiful and interesting place to visit, especially if you enjoy stepping back in time and learning what life was like for the people who lived here years ago. Local mom, Kristen Alcock, brings us all the details and helpful hints to make your visit to Hagood Mill a wonderful spring adventure!
Folklife Center
Walking around Hagood Mill, you will see two restored log cabins, a moonshine distillery, a blacksmith shop, and a cotton gin. Inside the cabins are a giant loom, spinning wheel and other historical items. My son loved watching the cotton gin demonstration and touching the raw cotton. “Our favorite part was seeing the grist mill!” said Christel Price, a KAG reader. “The kids loved seeing it in action and learning how the whole process works.”
Nature Trail
The walking trail, through the woods and around historical buildings, is great for hikers of all ages. The trail is unpaved and a little bumpy. It’s short enough for little walkers to manage, and is usually very shady. My family did not walk the entire trail, but Elizabeth Lamb from Hike it Baby Greenville said, “It’s a beautiful 3/4 mile trail with a fun bridge. It’s perfect for young walkers.”
Petroglyph Site
This fascinating archeological site highlights 32 distinct petroglyphs, mostly human forms, and is one of the best petroglyph sites open to the public. Discovered in 1993, it is estimated that the drawings were left by a prehistoric culture 1,500 to 2,000 years ago. The drawings are pretty eroded but the exhibit has a great audio presentation, photographs and explanation of the historical significance of the drawing and the people who left them.
Special Events
My family was lucky enough to visit Hagood Mill during one of their monthly festivals which included banjo and fiddle music, local pottery, as well as moonshine, cotton gin, and gristmill demonstrations. The once-a-month events are noted on their calendar. Hagood Mill holds a kid’s fest in the spring, military celebrations and various music festivals.
Other upcoming events include the annual Fiddling Championship and Storytelling Festival. Look for a Native American Celebration in November and a Celtic Christmas in December.
Hagood Mill also occasionally offers some really interesting classes. Past classes include Hearth Cooking, fermenting wild foods, a Sketchbook workshop, and learning how 19th-century southerners survived winters on the homestead.
Gift Shop
Shop local at the Hagood Mill gift shop. You can buy products such as jams, honey, and jewelry, pottery and soaps made by local artists. They also have books about local history, t-shirts and CDs. The gift shop also sells cornmeal and stone ground grits made right there at the grist mill!
Hagood Mill, the trails and the petroglyph site are open every week; Wednesday through Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm. Admission is free, however on Saturdays with a festival there is a $5 parking fee.
Festivals are the third Saturday of each month. For a complete list and calendar of events visit their website.
We read a book that mentioned mills and what they do before our visit and it helped my son understand what he was seeing. Here are a few books that mention gristmills and petroglyphs:
Books that mention or explain mills, grain, flour, etc: Pancakes, Pancakes by Eric Carle Any version of the Little Red Hen The Grist Mill Secret by Lillie V. Albrecht
Books that describe or mention petroglyphs: There Was an Old Man Who Painted the Sky by Teri Sloat Early Humans (DK Eyewitness Book) Magic Treehouse #7: Sunset of the Sabertooth by Mary Pope Osbourne
Looking for some great hikes for toddlers and young children near Greenville, SC? Hiking with young children is possible! We put together this great list of the best hikes in and around Greenville, SC for toddlers. Peruse the list to find trails that are perfect for little ones in the Upstate.
Have you visited Greenville’s Pleasant Ridge County Park? Just north of Travelers Rest in Marietta, is Pleasant Ridge Park—one of my family’s favorite parks, although we’re nowhere close to exploring all it has to offer. Part of the Greenville County Parks Department, this beautiful, historic space has hiking and biking trails, a fishing lake, a playground, and several historical markers.
Pleasant Ridge Park has several amenities to enjoy. Scattered throughout the park are picnic tables, picnic shelters, basketball courts, public restrooms, and several small brooks and streams. There is a playground at Pleasant Ridge, but it is small; just two swings and a metal merry-go-round, with sand as ground cover.
Hiking at Pleasant Ridge Park
Pleasant Ridge Park has both easy and moderate trails, ranging from .03 miles to 6 miles, suitable for hikers and bikers.
Just off the playground is the steep entrance to the Leroy Smith Nature Trail, which takes you to a pretty little waterfall near an old moonshine site, Pleasant Ridge Falls, and the remains of an old gristmill. This is somewhat of a rugged trail, not appropriate for strollers, bikes, or anyone who needs assistance walking. The beginning of the trail is steep wooden steps which my three-year-old handled very well. You can access the fishing lake by taking the 0.3-mile Leroy Smith Lake Trail right off the nature trail.
The 6-mile JFA Trail is open to hikers and mountain bikers and follows a rotating directional schedule. The trail is open 7 days per week, and you can access it from Shelter #1. Be sure to check the information boards located throughout the park to find updates on the trails. If you are looking for a gentler climb to the upper sections of the trails, take Sassy’s Pass off of the JFA trail.
Fishing at the Lake
Fishing is allowed at the lake, and is open to anyone. Ages 16 and older must have a fishing license. The park does have limitations on how many fish you can take home, and you can find those guidelines on the Pleasant Ridge Park website. You will also find a weekly Trout Stocking Summary. The summary can come in handy when knowing what to expect in terms of available catch. The park does not allow boats, so off-bank fishing is what you will expect.
Quick Review of Pleasant Ridge Park
Favorites:
Great hiking with a variety of trails
Several natural water features
Woods setting
Drawbacks:
Small playground
Special Events at Pleasant Ridge County Park
Pleasant Ridge is also home to Camp Courage for children with cancer and other blood diseases. It is also home to Camp Spearhead for children with special needs.
A retreat center, which includes dining lodges, meeting rooms, and cabins for overnight stays, is available to rent for weddings, reunions, and other events.
