Gaffney, SC Outdoor Activities

Haunted rides amble through picturesque stretches of the Latta Plantation Nature Preserve, surrounding guests in the season's spine-tingling chills and frightful sights on select October evenings. Rolling through the dark shadows of the haunted forest, the ride activates guests' latent scream sensors while it creeps past eerie haunts and awkward zombie family reunions. After hopping off the macabre vehicle, groups are free to peruse the premises' plethora of fall activities, such as a jaunt through the twists and turns of the straw maze ($3), a ride on the cow train ($2), or malicious marshmallow roastings over an open flame ($1) (additional activities are not included with this offer).

Founded in 2010, the EHCL's Greenville Road Warriors don't have the rich legacy of their parent squad, the NHL's legendary New York Rangers. But judging from their first two seasons, the team is eager to make up for lost time. The Road Warriors took the league by storm in their debut season, earning the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference before losing in overtime of Game 7 in the second round of the playoffs. Their quest for Kelly Cup glory continued in the 2011–2012 season, when they yet again made it to the playoffs and fell in the conference quarterfinals. Although championship hardware may have eluded the Road Warriors in their short history, the squad has produced enough top-notch regular-season performances to keep NHL scouts, fans, and trophy-case carpenters on their toes.

A disfigured outcast in his community, Daniel bonded with the rats, snakes, and spiders in the nearby woods. After he was caught tying up a neighbor and emitting odd hissing noises, his parents locked him away in a mental institution. When Daniel escaped, he stole dental tools from his father and took to the trees, where he still stalks his next victims whenever he’s not busy recruiting birds for his whistling choir. Daniel is only one among many sadistic figures lurking on Camp Fear’s petrifying trail. There, half-dead guides haunt the rock maze, spooky dolls occupy the living-dead dollhouse, maniacal patients clamber about the insane asylum, and creepy clowns terrify passersby at Clown Chaos.

Fresh springs in the mountains of North Carolina feed the Catawba River Chain, a network of 11 lakes that wind through woodlands verdant in the spring and ablaze with color come autumn. Bash Outdoors launches visitors into this system at nine locations. Four of those are along Lake Wylie, whose calm waters lap against 325 miles of shoreline with vacation homes and sandy coves emerging from dense forest and a thick layer of whipped cream. The Bash Outdoors crew curates a collection of rental and retail standup paddleboards from brands such as Ron House and their own signature line, Riviera. Single and tandem kayaks from Perception are also available for guided trips and unsupervised excursions on the lake. Bash Outdoors' bus shuttles kayakers to five additional outlets along the Catawba River, including the Fort Mill Dam and a waterway reserved exclusively for Olympic hopefuls.

Featured on NBC and CBS, John Nolan’s Greenville History Tours provide access to the city’s storied past via educational strolls through the West or South End, landmark-peppered drives, and samplings of the city’s restaurant scene. Nolan founded the company in 2006 after spending a decade immersed in local history as a museum docent and time-traveling crime fighter. Since striking out on his own, Nolan has authored A Guide to Historical Greenville, South Carolina and has remained at the top of TripAdvisor’s rankings. Participants can reap the benefits of Nolan’s knowledge of history, culture, and architecture on traditional tours as well as special VIP tours.

The idea for an annual barbecue expo began slow-cooking in 2010 at a family lunch. The Boyds thought about organizing a little barbecue competition and ended up luring 8,500 barbecue enthusiasts to their "small" cook-off and fundraiser. Now in its third year, the charitable event continues to develop flavor and raise money for local schools while packing bellies with some of the area's best barbecue recipes.

With napkins in hand, attendees can follow the smoky scents and sounds of sauce-splattered high-fives from the tents of a variety of vendors. Ten teams of grilling gurus face off in a whole-hog cook-off, with the winners earning a cash prize and a spot in the state championship later this year. A new Chick-fil-A sauce competition sifts through the day's top toppings until a winner is crowned. Between bites, guests can also savor the festival's many attractions, including a police dog demonstration, a petting zoo, and a BMX bike show, where riders wow onlookers by performing tricks and bunny-hopping over smokers.