Do you live in the Belton or Honea Path area and think there’s nothing to do? Or are you passing through and wondering if there’s any decent places to stop? You are in the right spot! I’m taking you on a day trip to Belton and Honea Path today!

Who Am I??

Hi! I’m Sharlie, wife to Benjamin and mom of six kiddos. Our oldest is thirteen and our youngest is three and a half months old. Belton and Honea Path are actually the hometowns of both Benjamin and me. We currently live just down the road in Donalds, SC. I’m a blogger and Instagrammer. You can find us sharing our lives over on Instagram here. Over the last two months or so, I’ve been visiting small towns in Upstate SC to share on Instagram and this blog to bring awareness to small business areas and to encourage people to shop local. It’s also been a fun opportunity for my oldest daughter, Pressley, and I to make some fun memories. Baby brother, Miller, goes with us.

A tad bit of info about these day trips

Disclaimer: There will be places left out. Some places are hard to visit with a newborn. A lot of the areas I visit have amazing hiking spots and I simply can’t visit those spots with just me and Pressley and the babe. It’s also a day trip, which means I try to stuff as much fun as I can in a day, normally between the hours of 10am (when most places open) and around 4pm. Lastly, our goal is to visit downtown areas and explore. We sometimes go off of the downtown if we know of a cool spot. So, if you are local to Belton or Honea Path and know there’s a must-stop that I don’t, PLEASE let us and our readers know in the comments!

If you are in Upstate of South Carolina, you may want to venture to some of these small towns I’ve already visited: Abbeville, Laurens, Easley, Fountain Inn and Simpsonville, Pickens, Pendleton, and Edgefield.

Let’s Head to Belton, SC

We started our day trip in Belton, SC. Our first stop is actually behind the square off a side road. You will want to drive there, not park in the square and walk. It’s an amazing antique store called Standpipe Antiques. Belton is known for the Standpipe which is a beautiful tower that I like to tell my kids is Rapunzel’s tower. Sadly, I did not take a picture of it to share with y’all. Standpipe Antiques is one of my favorite kind of antique stores…large and in a cool, old building.

The building used to be a mill. I’ve visited this antique store a few times over the last couple of years and it’s grown so much! The building is full now! Check out some of my favorite finds from here in the photos below. I purchased a cute set of silhouettes here (which seems to be a thing with me lately).

The Belton Square

Next, we drove over to the square to get out and explore. I know the people of Belton are hoping to revitalize their downtown and I can tell you, it’s so beautiful with so much potential! I hope stores begin to open up here and it just becomes a place for shopping, eating, and visiting. The old train depot is now home to the Belton Museum. And the Belton library is in the main downtown area. There’s also a walking area with exercise equipment on the trail.

On the main square, we stepped into one store called Custom Creations and it was full to the brim with cute children’s items, bags, bows, and some clothes. A super fun store and if I needed a gift for someone, this would be the place I’d run to!

We hopped in our car and drove just a little bit down the road to visit The Mercantile. I’ve heard so many good things about The Mercantile so I was excited to visit. Once my mother-in-law took Pressley and my niece and they were closed, but the owner actually opened up to make some ice cream cones for them! The owner was extremely friendly. The front part is an ice cream parlor and restaurant. In the back section are vintage and antique goodies.

Grits and Groceries

It was time for lunch and if you are anywhere near Belton or Honea Path, Grits and Groceries is a must-stop. Yes, it’s in the middle of nowhere and probably out of your way, but it’s worth the stop. It has been featured by many magazines and was even on Food Network! Pressley enjoyed a hamburger and I chose one of the daily specials, fried chicken.

Other Places to Visit in Belton

The Belton Museum is amazing! If you are local, check out the many events they offer. Belton also has two Mexican restaurants you can dine at: El Paso Mexican Grill is downtown and El Titanic is down the road. Pizza and Then Some, and Standpipe Family Restauran are other dining options that are near the downtown area.

Let’s Head Over to Honea Path, SC

The Honea Path downtown has one of my favorite old buildings ever. It’s gray with white trim and just adorable. The Honea Path square also has so much potential! There are a few stores in this downtown area that you can visit and restaurants to eat at. Our first stop was an antique store and it had lots of vintage and antique items.

From the antique store, we crossed the street and headed over to Three Girls Design. If you are in Honea Path and haven’t visited this store, it was a real treat! As a local, I had never been in there, but they had cute clothes, shoes, hats, and other goodies. I bought myself a wallet keychain holder thingamajig.

Stop at Every Door

As I’ve ventured from town to town these last few weeks, I’ve realized it’s important to stop and look in every door. You never know what building may be a store and just haven’t had the chance to get good signage up. Even though I ride through Honea Path quite often, I’d never noticed there is an antique store and thrift store off to one side of the square. Both were closed, but I hope to go back and visit sometime.

Time for a Little Coffee Break

We headed back across the street to end our day at The Black Cow Coffee. I’m so happy to see this coffee house back open in Honea Path. The new owner, Jeff, is friendly and helpful. The atmosphere is amazing. I absolutely love the colors and decor. There were animal heads on the walls, created by Sid Carter, and they are phenomenal. Jeff told me she makes them with bottles and recycled bags. And correct me if I’m wrong on that, Jeff or Sid! They had so much character! I loved them. Pressley had a milkshake and chocolate muffin and she enjoyed both of them. I had an iced caramel coffee and apple fritter. I’m really thankful we have this coffee and bakery back in town. Jeff also serves lunch and has live music events.

Other Places to Eat and Visit in Honea Path

There are a few restaurants in downtown Honea Path that definitely deserve a shout out. Town Cafe of Honea Path is a local favorite. Grab a burger or hot dog to take home. Grace’s Restaurant is a great spot for Southern cooking. Chadwick’s is also a popular breakfast and meat and three restaurant. All three of these restaurants deserve a visit!

I also love to run into the Haven of Rest thrift store in Honea Path. It can be a hit or a miss, of course, but that’s the case with all thrift stores. But it’s always fun to have a look!

Final Thoughts

Every time I go visit a local downtown, I get messages from locals that are surprised at some of the stores and places they didn’t even know about. As I prepared for this trip, I wondered if the same would be true for me. While I live in Donalds, Honea Path is especially close and I lived there for eight years. I was surprised to find an antique store that I didn’t know existed. Three Girls Design was also a great find! We hope you’ve enjoyed our day trip to Belton and Honea Path, SC!

A Note to Small Business Owners and Citizens

As I’ve visited and written about these small towns and the business owners, I’ve grown very passionate about helping drive business their way. I want to save these old buildings. I pray that each town I visit will be blessed by my visits and these blog posts. I’ve been blessed through each store and chat I’ve had with an owner. I can tell you that I’ve watched people share the blog posts about their town and have watched the excitement grow. Comments come in and you can see the love the people have for their town.

I urge you to share these small town blog posts. Sharing is a free way to support the businesses in your town. It’s a way to drum up support and camaraderie. It’s a free way to perhaps encourage growth in your downtowns so that new businesses might open.

I also encourage you to get out and go explore the towns near you. They hold so much adventure! Pressley and I are making wonderful memories each week.