By HelloFlorenceSC.com · Last reviewed: April 2026 · Florence, SC & the Pee Dee region
Florence, SC doesn't brag about itself. It doesn't need to. While most people blow past on I-95 without a second thought, the people who actually stop — and the people who live here — know something the rest of the world hasn't figured out yet. This city is full of places, experiences, and hidden corners that never make the tourist brochures but never leave the hearts of the people who find them.
Here are ten of the best kept secrets in Florence, SC. Consider this your insider's guide.
You'll smell it before you see it. Driving down Old Marion Highway in the Mars Bluff community, the smell of smoked meat fills the air and you'd be wise to slow down. D'z Pit BBQ sits at 5248 E Old Marion Hwy — a permanently placed food truck on the side of the road that locals have quietly loved for years. Pulled pork and ribs smoked low and slow, served at picnic tables or in the small dining area next door. No fanfare. No sign you can't miss. Just some of the best BBQ in the entire Pee Dee region sitting right there on a rural road.
This is a favorite stop for Florence locals who take Old Marion Highway toward Myrtle Beach. They know. Now you do too.
Julia Belle's has earned its reputation as one of the most beloved restaurants in the entire Pee Dee — and the locals who know it are fiercely devoted. Now located at 2106-50 W Lucas St right off I-95 Exit 164, the menu is the stuff of Florence legend: shrimp and grits, Lowcountry boil, BBQ egg rolls, homemade buttermilk biscuits, and a White Russian Pecan Pie that people genuinely plan trips around.
Most people know Lynches River County Park. Far fewer have made it to the Environmental Discovery Center inside the park — and fewer still have walked the canopy walkway that takes you through the treetops above the Lynches River swamp. It is genuinely unlike anything else in the Pee Dee.
Towering cypress trees, Spanish moss, and a perspective on the swamplands that you simply cannot get from the ground. Go on a weekday morning and you may have it entirely to yourself. This is the kind of experience that people drive hours for in other states. Here it's free and fifteen minutes from downtown Florence.
Hidden behind the Florence Center arena on Woody Jones Boulevard is a six-acre park that stops people in their tracks the first time they see it. Florence Veterans Park is a tribute to Pee Dee military service members featuring the Wall of Honor, the Wall of Tears, and stunning bronze sculptures by world-renowned artist Alex Palkovich — who created them while living right here in Florence.
The Wall of Honor adds 21 names of local veterans every Veterans Day. It is one of the most moving public spaces in South Carolina, and most people driving past the Florence Center have no idea it's back there.
The Florence County Museum at 111 W Cheves Street in downtown Florence holds something genuinely extraordinary — one of the most significant collections of work by William H. Johnson anywhere in the world. Johnson was a Florence native and one of the most important African American artists of the 20th century, whose bold, expressive canvases now hang in the Smithsonian.
The full breadth of his genius is on display right here in his hometown, and most people passing through Florence have never heard of him or the museum. Admission is free. Go.
Florence has Lynches River Park, which gets all the attention. But Jeffries Creek Park — a 55-acre stretch of peaceful trails along Jeffries Creek in a quiet residential section of Florence — is the one locals actually disappear to on a slow afternoon.
Shaded pathways through protected wetlands, a playground at the entrance, and picnic areas make it a perfect escape that costs absolutely nothing. On a weekday you may see more herons than people.
Some places earn their reputation not through advertising but through decades of showing up. Cottle Strawberry Farm at 3712 W Palmetto Street has been welcoming Florence families every spring and summer for pick-your-own strawberry season for more than half a century. Run by Ms. Joy Cottle, it is one of those only-in-Florence experiences that residents look forward to every single year — kids running through the rows, buckets filling up, strawberries that taste the way strawberries are supposed to taste.
$5
per quart
$17
per gallon
Free
admission
Call ahead
on rainy days
This is Florence at its most itself.
Most people know Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, as a name on a highway sign. What fewer people know is that the swamplands he used to evade British forces during the Revolutionary War are accessible by kayak — right here from Florence.
The SC Revolutionary Rivers National Water Trail launches from Lynches River County Park and winds 66 miles through cypress swamps and river oaks that haven't changed much in 250 years. You are paddling through actual history.
The put-in is free, the scenery is extraordinary, and almost nobody outside Florence knows this trail exists.
Downtown Florence has a rooftop. Not many people outside the city know about it, but locals who have found The Dispensary on Evans Street tend to become regulars fast. Creative cocktails, finger food, and a rooftop atmosphere that gives you a perspective on downtown Florence that changes how you think about the city.
Arrive early on weekend evenings — the secret is getting out.
Most people think of the library as a place to borrow books. The Florence County Library System is something much bigger than that.
Free DVD Rentals
Free Kids Programs
Check Out SC Backpacks
Computer Access
Career Resources
Community Events
It is one of the most quietly powerful community institutions in the entire Pee Dee — and it costs nothing to use. If you have not been inside recently, go. You will leave wondering why you stayed away so long.
These ten secrets are just the beginning. Florence is the kind of city that keeps surprising you — the longer you stay, the more you find. The people who live here already know that. And now, so do you.
If you discovered something on this list you hadn't known about before, share it with a neighbor. That's what Florence is about — neighbors looking out for each other and passing along what they know.