Capital City/Lake Murray Country area named top destination

Listen to this article

The Capital City/Lake Murray Country tourism region has been named a top Southern Destination of 2021 by Forbes.

The area, which encompasses Columbia and surrounding areas, joins Highlands, N.C., Dunwoody, Ga., Shenandoah Valley, Va., Birmingham, Ala., and Lake Nona, Fla., on the list.

“This is wonderful publicity for our region and it’s a great time for our region to stand out from the rest,” Miriam Atria, president and CEO of Capital City Lake Murray Country, said in a news release.

Capital City/Lake Murray Country’s regional tourism board promotes tourism in Richland, Lexington, Saluda and Newberry counties.

The Forbes article noted the area’s culinary, cultural and entertainment offerings, including Riverbanks Zoo & Garden and EdVenture Children’s Museum.

 “It’s rare indeed to discover a region that artfully combines historic charm while bursting with every modern necessity, not to mention some of the south’s finest food,” Forbes said. “Such is the case with Lake Murray Country, South Carolina, where visitors can peruse 40 art galleries, collect timeless wares and fun threads at specialty shops and taste their way through the more than 60 restaurants and bars.”

In April 2020, Capital City/Lake Murray made Leisure Group Travel’s list of seven areas in the country where virtual tourism, including Riverbanks’ “Z learning” online program, thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic.