Beautiful Greenville, SC - Falls Park - photo essay

Last week we decided to take a few days to get out and explore the mountains of South Carolina.  We live on the east coast and traveled northwest to the mountains just in time to see the fall colors starting to burst.  Our first day out we decided to stop in Greenville, SC and stay overnight which gave us the opportunity to see the beautiful Falls Park and rest up before traveling further north. 

About Falls Park found at this website.  Here you will find more information and some beautiful photos.  Here is their introduction about Falls Park.

"Long before white settlers arrived, the Cherokee lived and hunted at present-day Greenville.

In 1773, the first European settler in the area, Richard Pearis, purchased 10 square miles along the Reedy River from three Cherokee chiefs. Pearis later operated a grist mill at the Upper Falls of the Reedy.

In 1852, Furman Institution (now Furman University) bought the land. Three textile mills and a cotton warehouse operated in the early 1900s, all contributing to the pollution of the Reedy River.

In 1967, the Carolina Foothills Garden Club reclaimed 26 acres for the current park, with the support of the City of Greenville, Furman University and the Planning Commission. Over the next 40 years, the Garden Club and the City of Greenville have worked with individuals, corporations and state and federal agencies to further develop the park, clean up the river and restore the historic Falls Cottage. In 1990, landscape architect Andrea Mains introduced the concept of transforming the park into a regional attraction, with beautiful public gardens and a pedestrian bridge."

I have got to tell you, this is the most beautiful public park I have ever visited.  I took over 150 photos in the few hours we were there, some I am including with this post and the rest I will post in a photo-show separately later today.

A few photos of the beautiful waterfalls.

The next two photos are from park level looking up to the street level.  The first is of some amazing tree roots and the second is what appears to be very old steps leading up to the street, but I'm pretty sure they are no longer used.

Below is a photo of another area of the park with beautiful landscaping and stairway leading to the upper level.  The balcony you see on the left with tables is part of a restaurant which was converted from an old mill.

The gardens in Falls Park are just beautiful, here are a few photos I took and I was lucky enough to capture a butter and a bee playing in the flowers.

Below is another example of the beautiful landscaping.

Some very pretty flowers that I've never seen before.  They almost look like giant clover.

The cattails were beautiful in many earth tones.

These flowers were in giant cement planters at the entrance to the park.

There were also pretty fountains and a sculpture at the entrance.

More from Greenville -

Waterfall Slideshow #1

#2    

Floral and landscape scenes

The last of the photos

It's a shame we didn't take any videos at this beautiful park.