Two Saturdays carry most of the holiday season in Travelers Rest this year, and both use the same two places. On Nov. 28 the day starts at Trailblazer Park and ends under the City Christmas tree on Main Street. On Dec. 12 it starts on Main Street with the parade and ends at Trailblazer Park. About a mile of Swamp Rabbit Trail connects the two, and each Saturday is set up so you can follow it from one end to the other.
| Saturday, Nov. 28 | Saturday, Dec. 12 | |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | Open | "A Mayberry Christmas" parade, Main Street, 10 a.m. to noon |
| Midday | Small Business Saturday market, Trailblazer Park, noon to 3 p.m. | Very Merry Christmas Market, Trailblazer Park, noon to 4 p.m. |
| Afternoon into evening | Holiday Hop & Christmas Market, downtown, 3 to 7 p.m. | Market wraps at 4 p.m. |
| Direction of the day | Park, then downtown | Downtown, then park |
The mile between them
Visit Greenville SC's Swamp Rabbit Trail itinerary puts Trailblazer Park one mile up the trail from Main Street in Travelers Rest. The City lists the park at 235 Trailblazer Drive, right on the Swamp Rabbit Trail, and you get there on the Trailblazer Park spur. The trail itself runs along Main Street through downtown. That means the walk between the morning event and the afternoon event on either Saturday takes place on the same trail.
That mile matters most when you pick a parking spot. If you park at the end where the day starts, you finish a mile from your car. If you park at the end where the day finishes, the walk back comes at the start, while you're still fresh.
Nov. 28 starts at the park
The Saturday after Thanksgiving opens at noon, when the Travelers Rest Farmers Market's Small Business Saturday market brings more than 60 local makers to Trailblazer Park until 3 p.m.
The City's Holiday Hop & Christmas Market starts downtown at 3 p.m., the same minute the park market closes. The Holiday Hop has its own Christmas Market of hand-picked vendors set up along the Swamp Rabbit Trail from 3 to 7 p.m., so the shopping keeps going as you walk the mile into town.
Downtown, the afternoon runs on a schedule that narrows toward the tree lighting:
- 3:00 p.m. Santa and Mrs. Claus settle onto the porch of the historic Spring Park Inn until 7 p.m., with photos on Santa's lap, story time with Mrs. Claus on the side porch, and a North Pole Mailbox for wish lists.
- 3:00 p.m. The TR Train starts boarding at the TR Methodist Church parking lot, 19 S. Main St., behind Tipsy Tacos. The ride runs along the Swamp Rabbit Trail, through a holiday light tunnel and around the clock tower.
- 3:00 p.m. Make & Take craft tables open at TReehouse Cafe, 27 S. Main St., and TR Makers Co, 3 S. Main St., until 6:30 p.m.
- 5:00 p.m. The Jingle Paws Parade kicks off at Swamp Rabbit Animal Hospital on Old Buncombe Road, heads along the trail near TR Oriental to Whistle Stop Café, and loops back to the Christmas tree area.
- 5:30 p.m. Best Dressed Pup judging takes place by the City Christmas tree on Main Street, with treats for every dog in the parade.
- 6:30 p.m. The TR Train makes its last boarding and the craft tables close.
- 6:45 p.m. Carols and a countdown to the tree lighting next to Loftis Printing.
- 7:00 p.m. The Holiday Hop and its trail market end.
The train and the craft tables both close at 6:30, which is 15 minutes before the tree lighting. If you have kids along, the last hour of daylight is when to fit in the train ride and the craft table, before the crowd gathers at the tree. Dog owners can register for Jingle Paws through the City's registration page.
Dianne's School of Dance is also on the program with a holiday clogging performance downtown.
The grown-up route runs through seven storefronts
The Holiday Hop also has a riddle crawl for adults called Hop, Sip & Shop. You sample wine and craft beer, solve the riddles, and fill out the form to be entered for a $50 TR Bucks gift certificate good at local businesses. The City lists these participating shops:
- Community Tap
- The Tasting Room, behind AM/PM Butchery
- Urban Hare
- The Crescent Olive
- Swamp Rabbit Brewery
- Wilder Plant Shop
- Bespoke Wine Shop
The entry form will be posted on the City's Holiday Hop page. Because the crawl moves from door to door along the same blocks as the craft tables and Santa's porch, adults can do it while the rest of the group works through the family schedule above.
Dec. 12 runs the other way
Two weeks later the day runs in reverse. The Greater Travelers Rest Chamber of Commerce holds its annual parade, themed "A Mayberry Christmas" this year, on Main Street from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Dec. 12. The Bank of Travelers Rest is the Santa's Sleigh sponsor, and the parade raises money for local nonprofits, which can apply through the Chamber to receive a share.
At noon the day moves up the trail. The Travelers Rest Farmers Market calls its Very Merry Christmas Market its largest event of the year. More than 120 local artisans and food makers set up at Trailblazer Park from noon to 4 p.m., timed to follow the parade, with Santa and live music.
That's twice the 60-plus makers at the Nov. 28 market, in the same park. The bigger of the two markets comes after the parade, so people walking up from Main Street around noon get there just as the stalls open.
The Chamber's parade page carries the official route for this year. In an earlier year, the City's parade page described a route that started on North Main in front of Travelers Rest High School and ended on South Main by Roe Center Court. That year, South Main from Glenview to Henderson closed at 9 a.m., and North and South Main from McElhaney to Roe Center Court closed to through traffic at 9:45 a.m. If this year follows a similar pattern, drivers should expect Main Street to start closing about an hour before the 10 a.m. start. Check the Chamber's parade page for the 2026 details before you head out.
Parking for each direction
The City says downtown parking is free, with several lots within walking distance of the shops, restaurants and the Swamp Rabbit Trail, and posts a map on that page. At Trailblazer Park, the City's park page, updated in October, lists parking north of the park by the pavilion and south of the park by the amphitheater off Old Buncombe Road, with ADA spaces in both areas.
Matched to each day's direction:
- Nov. 28: The day ends downtown at the 6:45 p.m. tree lighting, after dark. A downtown lot puts your car near the tree. Your one-mile walk out to the park market comes at midday, and the walk back follows the Holiday Hop vendors along the trail.
- Dec. 12: The day ends at Trailblazer Park at 4 p.m. If you park at the park, you walk down to the parade in the morning and finish the day next to your car. With early road closures on Main, the park lots off Old Buncombe Road also keep you clear of the parade route.
Two smaller dates around them
Between and after the two big Saturdays, the park has two more evenings and afternoons on the calendar. The City's First Fridays: Movies in the Park series shows The Land of Sometimes at Trailblazer Park on Friday, Dec. 4, starting at dusk, with the listing showing 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. On Saturday, Dec. 19, a separate Christmas Market at Trailblazer brings more than 60 small businesses, food trucks and Santa to 235 Trailblazer Drive from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Dec. 19 is the last Saturday before Christmas, so this market is the season's last Saturday shopping stop at Trailblazer Park.
If the holidays have you thinking about a move to or from Travelers Rest next year, or about what your home would appraise for, the team at Atherley & Pearson Real Estate is happy to talk it through over coffee downtown or by phone. Contact Us whenever you're ready, before the tree lighting or after.
