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Looking for something free or cheap to do with your kids in Columbia, SC? We’ve compiled a list, packed full of ideas, for you. Grab your family and make some fun-filled memories together. Here’s our list of free things to do in Columbia, SC with kids!

Free Things to Do Outside in Columbia, SC

Go on a walk: Head to Cayce Riverwalk for a walk with your family. With more than 20 miles of riverwalk and trails, it’s the perfect place to enjoy the outdoors. You can find shade under the trees and bridges, and parking is free!

Have a picnic at the Horseshoe at the University of South Carolina: The Horseshoe at USC is a perfect place to have a family picnic and spend the afternoon. Bring some outdoor toys and bikes and enjoy the weather together. While there’s plenty of shade, you will need to bring a little money to park.

Play tennis: Head to one of Columbia’s public recreational tennis courts.

Cool off at a pool or splash pad: One of the most fun things to do in the summer is taking your kids to a pool or splash pad. While the Maxcy Gregg and Greenview Pools have a small fee ($3 – $4 depending on age), the splash pads and spray pools are free and open to the public.

Spray Pools and Pads in Columbia *Be sure to call the Columbia Parks and Recreation Department at 803-545-3100 or check online for operating hours.

Play at one of the local parks or playgrounds: What kid doesn’t love to run around at a cool playground? There are plenty of beautiful parks with great playgrounds in the Columbia area. The Community Park of Irmo, Elmwood/Roy Lynch Park, and the Owens Field Skate Park & Pump Track are all great parks with playgrounds and other amenities such as walking trails, ball fields, zip lines, and splash pads.

In West Columbia, Carraway Park has an amazing playground space!

Sesquicentennial State Park has lots of amenities, including $5 kayak rentals. Park admission is required unless you have SC State Park Annual Pass. If you do, admission is free.

Check out all the parks and playgrounds in Columbia.

Ride bikes: Grab your bikes and go on a bike ride. Download the Sprocket app, an app created by The Cola Town Bike Collective, to help you find the perfect, safe bike route for you and your family.

Go fishing: Enjoy free fishing thanks to the South Carolina Fishing Tackle Loaner program where you can borrow a rod, reel, and tackle box for FREE. Some fishing spots to consider are Lake Murray (head to Dreher Island State Park) or Saluda Shoals Park.

Go see an outdoor movie: The Icehouse Amphitheater in Lexington shows movies every now and then. Be sure to check their schedule for upcoming shows.

Head out for a hike: There are plenty of hiking trails in Columbia. From paved multi-use trails to longer, more rugged trails, you’ll find something for you and your family to enjoy.

Stroll down Main Street for Soda City Market: Every Saturday from 9 am – 1 pm, vendors gather on Main Street for a European-inspired street market for the Soda City Market. Everything sold is unique, hand-crafted, and produced in the Southeast. While strolling and perusing what the vendors have to offer, you’ll hear music and be able to do a lot of people watching.

Throw a frisbee around at one of the disc golf courses: Grab your disc golf frisbee and play disc golf for free. Udisc has a list of courses in the area.

Go on a public art tour: You can treat this as a scavenger hunt if you’d like, but there are plenty of public art installations around Columbia that you can visit for free. One Columbia has an interactive map for you to find art spots.

The art in Columbia includes the “world’s largest fire hydrant” sculpture located on Taylor Street in Columbia, SC, between Marion and Bull Street.

First Thursdays on Main: First Thursdays on Main include free live music and even free admission to cultural venues, like the Columbia Museum of Art on select First Thursdays. Food and other items are available for purchase.

Free Things to Do Inside in Columbia, SC

Go Bowling: There are several bowling alleys in the Columbia area where kids up to age 15 can bowl for free. You’ll still need to rent shoes or bring your own.

Anchor Lanes – 1000 Columbia Avenue, IrmoRoyal Z Lanes – 8512 Two Notch Road, ColumbiaStars and Strikes – 700 Columbiana Drive, Irmo

Head to the library: Richland Library and Lexington County Library both have children[‘s programs you can participate in and include storytime, crafts, and movies.

Grab a free DIY Kit from Home Depot: Home Depot has free Kids Workshop kits that you can pick up on the first Saturday of each month from 9 am – 12 pm while supplies last.

Head to Lowes Home Improvement for a FREE Kids Workshop on select Saturdays.

Don’t miss 10+ FREE Things to Do for Kids Across the USA.

Tour the South Carolina State House: Want to get a little education with your activity? Head to the State House for a free guided or self-guided tour. Tours are given every half hour from 9:30 am – 3:30 pm Monday through Friday when the chambers are not in session. The State House is also open for tours each Saturday. You do not have to make a reservation, but you can call ahead if you’d like to.

Kids Eat FREE in Columbia: While you’re out and about on your free things to do adventure, grab a cheap meal by taking advantage of these kids eat free deals.

Bonus! Are you a homeschooling family? The SC State Museum offers FREE admission to homeschooling families.

Looking for more fun things to do in Columbia, SC? We’ve compiled the ultimate Columbia list for you.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has signed the ‘Save Women’s Sports Act’ into law.

Student athletes from elementary to college will be required to compete in events based on their gender assigned at birth. It prohibits transgender women from competing in women’s sports.

Advocates with SC United for Justice and Equality issued a statement in response to the bill signing which reads in part,

“It pains us to see lawmakers ignore thousands in SC – including parents, medical providers, faith leaders & trans people – who worked to #SupportTransYouthSC and reject this dangerous bill”

The Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Christiana Kiefer said in support of the bill signing,

“Girls deserve to compete on a level playing field. We welcome South Carolina to the growing number of states that have acted to preserve fair competition for all females, whether in grade school or college. When the law ignores biological differences, it’s women and girls who bear the brunt of the harm. We’ve seen this in the increasing examples of males dominating girls’ athletic competitions when competing as females, capturing championships and shattering long-standing female track records. We commend the legislature and the governor for supporting this important legislation and ensuring that female athletes will not face those losses in South Carolina.”

The Trevor Project also issued a statement in reaction to the signing of the bill, condemning it. Sam Ames the Director for Advocacy and Government Affairs at the project said, “Like every one of the sports bans we’ve seen passed across the country over the last three years, this is a solution in search of a problem, and it will only work to increase the isolation and stigmatization of an already-marginalized group of students.”

McMaster issued a statement Tuesday afternoon. It reads in part, “We have to do everything we can to protect the young men and women in our state who choose to pursue athletic competition, and that’s why I proudly signed this bill into law yesterday.”

The Save Women’s Sports Act is now the law of the land in South Carolina. We have to do everything we can to protect the young men and women in our state who choose to pursue athletic competition, and that’s why I proudly signed this bill into law yesterday.

— Gov. Henry McMaster (@henrymcmaster) May 17, 2022

RELATED COVERAGE:

Gov. McMaster has now signed the “Save Women’s Sports Act” into law. It requires athletes in SC schools from the elementary to college levels compete based on the gender they were assigned at birth, prohibiting transgender girls + women from competing in girls’ + women’s sports. https://t.co/FetrmDgcPh pic.twitter.com/YWcJEd4LUD

— Mary Green (@MaryGreenNews) May 17, 2022

Copyright 2022 WIS. All rights reserved.

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WIth prices for everything rising because of record inflation, knowing where to get a quality, but relatively inexpensive meal would be helpful.

Tripadvisor, an online travel company that collects user-generated content and compares retailers and restaurants, has plenty of data on what residents think are relatively inexpensive and good places to eat in the Columbia area.

A visit to the website shows rankings of the best ‘cheap eats’ in the city. The ranked, inexpensive restaurants run the gamut of cuisine, from vegetarian to Mexican and BBQ.

Below is a list of the 10 highest-rated ‘cheap eats’ restaurants in Columbia, according to Tripadvisor.

Rating: 4.5/5 (52 reviews)

Detailed ratings: Food (4/5), Service (4/5), Value (4.5/5)

Type of cuisine: Bar, American, pub

Address: 1200 Main St, Columbia

This popular subterranean bar at 1200 Main St., across from the South Carolina State House, has become known over the years for not only a solid craft beer selection, but for its diverse menu options, such as the Whig Chicken Sandwich and the Whig Burger.

Rating: 5/5 (31 reviews)

Detailed ratings: Food (5/5), Service (4.5), Value (4.5/5)

Type of cuisine: American

Address: 1311 Bluff Rd, Columbia

This long-time popular restaurant is best known for its delicious fried chicken. However, the restaurant also has a limited breakfast sandwich menu with choices like egg sandwich and fried bologna. Bernie’s also offers other lunch and dinner items like hamburgers, hotdogs and sandwiches.

Rating: 4.5/5 (41 reviews)

Detailed ratings: Food (4.5/5), Service, (4.5/5), Value (4.5/5)

Type of cuisine: American, barbecue

Address: 8604 Farrow Rd Ste A, Columbia

Big Boy’s offers a variety of freshly-smoked meats, from pulled pork to chicken, ribs, beef briskets and turkey. If you’re feeling extra adventurous, you could try out their smoked pig feet. Even smoked gumbo is on the menu. The restaurant also offers your typical BBQ place sides, like macaroni and cheese and collard greens.

Rating: 4/5 (189 reviews)

Detailed rating: Food (4/5), Service (4.5/5), Value (4.5/5)

Type of cuisine: American

Address: 7411 Nates Rd, Columbia

This restaurant got its start in Columbia more than 40 years ago and now has 14 locations. It focuses on traditional South Carolina home cooking, offering many choices, from steak and eggs and country liver pudding to southern fried catfish, hamburger steak, beef stew or chicken and waffles.

Rating: 4/5 (406 reviews)

Detailed rating: Food (4/5), Service (4.5/5), Value (4.5/5)

Type of cuisine: American

Address: 818 Elmwood Ave, Columbia

No, this is not a mistake. Lizard’s Thicket is so popular that two of its restaurants made it into the top 10 list. Like the other spot, this location offers the same menu items. What we didn’t mention earlier is Lizard’s is still owned and operated by the children and grandchildren of the couple that founded it, Anna and Bob Williams.

Rating: 4.5/5 (103 reviews)

Detailed rating: Food (4.5/5), Service (4.5/5), Value (4.5/5)

Type of cuisine: Japanese

Address: 1004 Gervais St, Columbia

Like the name suggests, this Japanese restaurant specializes in Ramen dishes. Do you want some spicy ramen with pork? They’ve got it. How about ramen with chicken? Yep, got that too. If you’re in a noodle/soup kind of mood, this is definitely a place to check out.

Rating: 4.5/5 (189 reviews)

Detailed rating: Food (4.5/5), Service (4.5/5), Value (4/5)

Type of cuisine: Mexican, Southwestern

Address: 1301 Main St Corner of Main & Lady St, Columbia

Cantina 76 is a Mexican-inspired restaurant and bar with five locations in South Carolina, two of which are in Columbia. Get yourself a Peruvian shrimp taco to balance out the drinks. The place is a lively, popular hotspot downtown, but if you cannot find a spot inside, there’s usually some outdoor seating available.

Rating: 4.5/5 (238 reviews)

Detailed rating: Food (4.5/5), Service (4.5/5), Value (4.5/5)

Type of cuisine: American, barbecue

Address: 819 Harden St Colonial Drive., Columbia

Nestled in Columbia’s Five Points district, this barbecue restaurant specializes in sandwiches. For instance, the Avita sandwich features churrasco barbecue topped with grilled pineapples, grilled vidalia onions, and roasted red peppers on a buttered French roll with asada vinegar BBQ sauce. Or you could try the King Kahuna, which offers Luau barbecue topped with pineapple, grilled maul onions, cheddar and applewood bacon on a buttered French roll with yum yum BBQ sauce.

Definitely not your standard barbecue joint.

Rating: 4.5/5 (413 reviews)

Detailed rating: Food (4.5/5), Service (4.5/5), Value (4.5/5)

Type of cuisine: Mexican

Address: 2421 Bush River Rd, Columbia

At this Mexican restaurant, you can get classic quesadillas, fajitas and tacos, or you can choose from a selection of specialty burritos. There’s the California burrito, filled with carne asada, avocado slices, pico de Gallo and rice and beans. Another option is the diablo shrimp burrito, filled with shrimp sautéed with spicy chipotle sauce and rice, rolled in a flour tortilla and topped with queso sauce, avocado slices and a side of sour cream.

Rating: 4/4 (266 reviews)

Detailed rating: Food (4.5/5), Service (4.5/5), Value (4.5/5)

Type of cuisine: American, cafe

Address: 2617 Devine St, Columbia

Owner Jody Kreush started the deli with her son, Richard, after years of food industry experience accumulated around the country. She found success making sweetbreads in Hawaii, managing a food truck in Pennsylvania and crafting solid deli sandwiches in New York and New Jersey.

Customers can choose between an original cinnamon roll for $2.70 or one of several specialty rolls at $3.65 apiece, including apple cobbler, black pepper bacon maple glaze and banana foster, to name a few.

Meanwhile, a mini cinnamon roll comes with each sandwich order so customers can still share in the restaurant’s namesake without having to commit to an entire roll.

One idea is to no longer requiring businesses that are 7,500 square feet or less to have parking for customers

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Columbia City Council's Economic and Community Development Committee is considering several ways to ease burdens on new business owners.

This as they look to revitalize communities from Main Street, North Main, to Two Notch Road and Five points.

The committee is considering no longer requiring businesses that are 7,500 square feet or less to have parking for customers and redoing the way on-street parking is currently done.

"Columbia has 3,000 people living in the city center. Greenville and Charleston have 9,000 people living in the city center," said city councilman Joe Taylor. "Frankly, we need to replace some of these empty parking lots with buildings."

The committee also proposed creating a grease trap rebate program that would lower the cost restaurants pay to remove waste. The city hopes this program will bring more restaurants to the area.

When Rhett Elliot opened The War Mouth six years ago, the Cotton town area in Columbia looked more like a ghost town.

“In those six and a half years it went from 0 foot traffic to people everywhere," said Elliot.

Elliot attributes the foot traffic to small businesses like Curiosity Coffee Bar, Gardener's Outpost, Indah Coffee, and more that have opened and transformed the area.

"It's definitely coming up which is exciting because every little bit that comes this way, helps," said Elliot.

Elliot hopes the area continues to grow and said even the discussion of helping small business owners in Columbia is encouraging.

"Any help you can get while you're putting that much of your skin in the game is certainly welcome," said Elliot.

Owner of Indah Coffee Nick Hauser tells News 19 he knows all too well how hard it is to open a business in Columbia.

“It felt excessively burdensome with the tax and some of the different requirements and that kind of thing," said Hauser. "If we could find ways to get out of the way of entrepreneurs and creative types, Columbia could be a city that could rival the best cities across the country."

Council is also working to cut commercial property taxes through their Tax Modernization Committee. That committee meets again Thursday.

The committee's ideas are in the early planning stages as they will present to full city council in the coming weeks.

Two more earthquakes were confirmed in the Columbia area Tuesday, as seismic activity continued following a powerful earthquake early Monday morning.

In less than 36 hours, seven earthquakes have been recorded in the Midlands, according to the South Carolina Emergency Management Division.

The most recent earthquakes, or aftershocks, were reported at 1:24 p.m. (2.3 magnitude) and 3:09 p.m. (2.8 magnitude), the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The seven recent earthquakes means 28 have been detected in the Palmetto State since the start of 2022, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. All but four of the quakes have been in the Midlands.

It was expected that the tremors would occur Tuesday, and aftershocks could continue for some time, after a 3.3 magnitude earthquake was recorded near Elgin at 1:32 a.m. Monday.

“We can expect aftershocks in the days and weeks following the larger earthquake early Monday morning,” the S.C. Emergency Management Division said. “Aftershock intensity varies, but they tend to be of lesser magnitude than the initial earthquake and decrease in frequency over time.”

The first four aftershocks recorded after Monday’s initial earthquake were confirmed at magnitudes of 1.6, 1.78, 2.1 and 2.9, according to the USGS. All seven of the quakes happened near Elgin.

In all, 31 earthquakes have hit the Columbia area since a 3.3 magnitude quake was recorded on Dec. 27, 2021, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

No major damage or injuries have been reported from any of the recent quakes.

Earthquakes that register 2.5 magnitude or less often go unnoticed and are usually only recorded by a seismograph, according to Michigan Technological University. Any quake less than 5.5 magnitude is not likely to cause significant damage, the school said.

It is typical for South Carolina to have between six and 10 earthquakes a year, the S.C. Geological Survey previously reported. There have been 56 earthquakes in South Carolina since Jan. 18, 2021, according to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.

An explanation for the recent outburst has eluded scientists.

Digging and blasting at mines, water seeping through the ground from lakes, or other changes in weight or pressure underground could all contribute to seismic activity, The State previously reported, but no one has settled on the single cause for the Midlands’ shaking.

This story was originally published May 11, 2022 7:40 AM.