Adventure Outdoors Magazine Summer 2016 | Page 54

Want to get away and head toward water? The Capital City/Lake Murray Country region, in the heart of South Carolina, offers lots of outdoor fun and water recreation. There’s Lake Murray with 650 miles of beautiful shoreline, 3 rivers that run through Columbia and many parks to explore. So, book your trip and get outdoors! When visiting Columbia, you are never more than a few minutes from one of the rivers. And, a number of outfitters offer river trips throughout the year. A small sampling: Adventure Carolina (adventurecarolina. com) has a 3-mile guided canoe trip; Palmetto Outdoors (palmettooutdoor.com) offers tubing packages for a leisurely way to explore the rivers and Carolina Outdoor Adventures (carolinaoutdooradventures. com) offers guided kayaking trips. Lake Murray, just 15 minutes from downtown Columbia, is a paradise for all. Dreher Island State Park, an island on Lake Murray, offers lakeside camping, picnicking, fishing and swimming. Lake Murray is known for its fantastic sailing year round. Lanier Sailing (laniersail.com) provides lessons, rentals and an unforgettable adventure. The hottest Lake Murray activity is Stand Up Paddle boarding. All ages can rent a board from California Republic (facebook.com/ calrepublic) for the day and get a little exercise while soaking up the Carolina sun. This yacht offers public cruises with unique themes including the Lake Murray Jam and Melodies on Murray. Lake Murray is known for its stunning sunsets. Watch an amazing sunset and enjoy dinner aboard the Spirit of Lake Murray Tour Boat (lakemurraycruises.com. Once you’ve planned your itinerary, there are many options on where to stay. Hotels, lake home rentals (LakeMurrayVacation.com) and quiet cottages at Spinner’s Resort & Marina (SpinnersResort.com) on Lake Murray are just a few. 52 Summer 2016 Adventure Outdoors For more information about Lake Murray Country, visit LakeMurrayCountry.com or call 1-866-SCJEWEL.