Dip from the office + walk to one of these hot spots. 👟

It’s almost here – the only Total Solar Eclipse we’ll see in Cola in our lifetimes. No pressure.

If you’re stuck at work, school or home today, or if you haven’t yet made plans – but you still want to witness the eclipse – we’ve got you. Because it’s probably too late to buy tickets for one of the 70+ events, and with 700,000+ people on the roads today, how would you get there?

Here are 17 free places (with good views) to view the eclipse last-minute, based on where you are today. ⬇ We highly recommend only going to places within walking distance – and don’t forget your glasses. 👟 🕶

🌗 Downtown 🌓

Five designated City of Columbia parks: (glasses provided while supplies last; BYOwater bottle)

Drew Park | 2101 Walker Solomon Way (beside Drew Wellness)

Finlay Park | 930 Laurel St.

Owens Field Park | 1351 Jim Hamilton Blvd. (Rosewood area)

Riverfront Park | 312 Laurel St. + north end at 4122 River Dr.

Southeast Park | 951 Hazelwood Rd. (off Garner’s Ferry Rd.)

S.C. State House grounds | 1100 Gervais St. | a lot of Main St. workers will be here

Five Points Fountain | 728 Harden St. | pickup glasses from a nearby biz

Forest Park Shopping Center | 4711 Forest Dr. (parking lot of the old Bi-Lo/future Lowes Foods in Forest Acres)

The Horseshoe on UofSC campus | 902 Sumter St. | free entry to Kids Solar Craft Project

Intramural Fields on UofSC campus | Gadsden + Devine St. (near Colonial Life Arena) | free entry to Stellar Collision Disc Golf

Woodland Park | 6500 Olde Knight Pkwy. (off Garners Ferry Rd., near the VA Hospital)

🌗 Over the Bridges 🌓

West Columbia Riverwalk and Amphitheater | 109 Alexander Rd., West Columbia | free admission + parking to Solar Fest West

Lowes Foods parking lot | 5222 Sunset Blvd., Lexington (off Hwy. 378)

Target parking lot | 5119 Sunset Blvd., Lexington (off Hwy. 378)

Lexington High School parking lot | 2463 Augusta Hwy., Lexington

Lake Murray Dam | N. Lake Dr. + Bush River Rd. | free admission to Solar 17 festival, $3 parking

Lexington County Baseball Stadium | 474 Ballpark Rd., Lexington | free viewing party

Where •not• to go? On top of parking garages. The City is banning it due to weight distribution.

I can’t even begin to narrow down the most important tips and reminders for Eclipse Day (other than using #COLAtoday on all your eclipse posts) so I’ll just leave you with this important question to consider as you wait for totality + witness history:

Happy #TotalEclipseCAE, Columbia. See you on the other side.
–Chloe

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