Hartsville is one of the smallest American cities to host a Fortune 500 headquarters (Sonoco), home to a liberal-arts university (Coker), a state Governor's School, and South Carolina's tenth Cultural District. For a town of eight thousand people, there is a surprising amount to do, and almost all of it is on foot from downtown.
Start with Kalmia Gardens: 35 acres of botanical trails and a black-water boardwalk given to Coker College in 1965, at their best when the azaleas bloom in spring. Spend the afternoon downtown in the hARTSville Cultural District: the Hartsville Museum in the old post office, the 1936 Center Theater, the galleries of the Black Creek Arts Council, and the shops along Mantissa Row.
Eat well. Sam Kendall's steakhouse sits in our breezeway; Black Creek Bistro and The Blind Pig round out dinner; The Rooster 136 does breakfast a few doors down and Crema Coffee Bar pours espresso a couple blocks west; and Wild Heart Brewing Company and Vintage Craft Beer & Wine handle the evening. Catch the sunset from The Rooftop, two stories above Carolina Avenue.
For the outdoors, Lee State Park's cypress river is twenty minutes away, and Burry Park hosts summer movie nights and festivals. For the racing fan, Darlington Raceway, "The Track Too Tough to Tame," is about twelve miles up the road, with two NASCAR Cup weekends a year.