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Horse Country & Hidden Gardens: Where to Eat, Stay & Explore in Aiken, SC
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items Some links on this list are affiliate links, so I may earn a commission. Aiken is a small Southern town with big horse-country history. Thoroughbreds train here every winter, thousands of acres of riding trails start right at the edge of downtown, an...
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Things to Do in Aiken
Aiken Horse Country
Where to Eat in Aiken
Where to Stay in Aiken
Aiken Gardens & Parks
Things to Do in Aiken
Downtown Aiken is walkable and full of character, with wide parkway medians, local shops and the brick Alleys lined with restaurants and bars. These are the spots worth working into a day in town.
Start here. It's in the old train depot, with free maps and tips, plus a little train museum with detailed model towns along the old rail line. Great for getting your bearings.
Aiken Visitors Center and Train Museum
Where everybody ends up for dinner and drinks. It's a brick-paved lane downtown lined with restaurants, bars and patios, and it gets lively on weekend nights.
The Alley in Downtown Aiken
Don't let the word museum scare you off. It's inside Banksia, a grand winter-colony mansion, with an old-time drugstore, a one-room schoolhouse and a miniature circus. Admission is by donation.
Aiken County Historical Museum
Pop in while you're walking Laurens Street. It's free, with rotating local art, and the gift shop is a good place to find a one-of-a-kind souvenir instead of another T-shirt.
Aiken Center For the Arts
Check the schedule before you go. Catching a musical or comedy here makes an easy evening plan after dinner on The Alley.
Aiken Community Playhouse
Aiken Horse Country
Aiken has been a winter home for horses and their owners since the Gilded Age. Thoroughbreds still train here every winter, and you can see that history up close.
Even if you don't know a thing about horses, it's fun to see how many champions trained right here in little Aiken. It's free, in an old carriage house at Hopelands Gardens. Check hours first, since they're limited.
Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame & Museum
Early bird? In season, you can watch young thoroughbreds do their morning workouts here, like they have since 1941. Come back in March for the Aiken Trials races.
Aiken Training Track
Never been to a polo match? Aiken is the place to try it. Polo's been played on this field for well over a century. Bring a chair, check the spring and fall schedule, and stomp divots at halftime.
Whitney Polo Field
Aiken's biggest party of the year. Jump races, tailgating and big hats every spring, plus a fall race day. Buy tickets or a tailgate spot early, because they sell out.
Aiken Steeplechase Racecourse
Where to Eat in Aiken
Local favorites in and around downtown, from casual breakfast and barbecue to the restaurant inside Aiken's grand old hotel.
Date night or a nice lunch downtown, this is your spot. A longtime Laurens Street favorite with a cozy, polished dining room and American and international dishes.
Malia's
Grab a patio table on a nice evening and order a few small plates for the table. It's a spirits and tapas bar right on The Alley with a long whiskey list.
Whiskey Alley
Quick, hearty lunch downtown? Sandwiches, burgers and Southern comfort food. Reviewers rave about the pimento cheese, so get it on your plate somehow.
What's Cookin' Downtown
Fuel up here before a morning of walking downtown. Breakfast, pastries and easy lunches, with a sidewalk patio under red umbrellas.
New Moon Cafe
For a true Aiken experience, eat breakfast where the trainers and jockeys do. It's tiny, cheap and full of racing history, right by the training track. Go early and check the hours, since they're short and seasonal.
Track Kitchen
Come hungry. It's classic South Carolina barbecue buffet-style, so you can try a little of everything: pulled pork with mustard sauce, fried chicken, hash and rice and all the sides.
Dukes Bar-B-Que Aiken
Where to Stay in Aiken
From a historic 1898 inn downtown to reliable hotels near Whiskey Road and the interstate.
This is the splurge. Aiken's grand old hotel has been open since 1898, with a big front porch, fireplaces, a spa, a pool and one of the best restaurants in town.
The Willcox
Want peace and quiet? This highly rated inn overlooks the golf course at Houndslake Country Club, a short drive from downtown. Perfect for golfers.
The Inn at Houndslake
Stay here if you want to park the car and walk everywhere. It's a charming small inn right downtown, close to The Alley, the Laurens Street shops and dinner.
Carriage House Inn
Dependable and budget-friendly, with free hot breakfast and suites that give you a little extra room. One of the highest-rated hotels in Aiken on Tripadvisor.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Aiken
Collecting Hilton points? This one's comfortable and reliable, with an on-site restaurant and plenty of parking near Aiken's main shopping and dining.
Hilton Garden Inn Aiken
Aiken Gardens & Parks
Some of Aiken's best stops are free and outdoors, including gardens on old winter estates and a state park with lakes for paddling and fishing.
If you only do one free thing in Aiken, make it this. Fourteen acres of giant mossy live oaks, shady paths, fountains and ponds on an old Gilded Age estate. Open daily.
Hopelands Gardens
Walk over from Hopelands. It's another old winter-colony estate with a camellia garden, a rose garden and huge oaks. Free to stroll when there's no wedding going on.
Rye Patch
Wear shoes you don't mind getting sandy. More than 2,000 acres of longleaf pines and trails start right at the edge of downtown, and it's free. Don't be surprised if you share the trail with a horse.
Hitchcock Woods
Want a day outdoors? Drive about a half-hour east. This park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, with spring-fed lakes, a canoe trail on the South Edisto River, hiking and camping.
Aiken State Park