Cycling in Columbia, SC
If you can tolerate the ‘famously hot’ summer weather, there are many excellent places to ride bikes in Columbia, SC.
Mountain Biking
Harbison State Forest
Harbison is hands down the best place to ride mountain bikes in the Columbia area. About 15 minutes from downtown, Harbison has fast and flowy trails. Trails closer to the entrance are crowded on weekends and cyclists should be cautious of hikers. Trails further into the park are much less crowded. There are not many technical trails, but Spiderwoman II and Bluffs Trail offer some challenges. Official Website | Outer Loop
Sesquicentennial park
Sesqui is another mountain biking option in Columbia. The trails here are very sandy and best ridden after a hard rain. I normally ride here when Harbison is too wet to ride. Official Website | Main Loop
Road Biking
Fort Jackson
If you can tolerate a somewhat tedious sign up process and are willing to pay the annual membership fee, Fort Jackson has excellently maintained roads with almost no traffic. It is definitely worth the effort if you will be in the Columbia area many times over the course of a year, but likely not for a single visit. Cycle Center is a local shop with good instructions on how to register to ride on the fort.
Tri-City Loop
You may see this loop on Strava as it is one of the frequently ridden routes in Columbia. There are group rides that leave on this route every Tuesday and Thursday during DST. However, you know that significant parts of it are on 4 lane roads. These bigger roads are usually not very busy but do have 45-50 mph speed limits.