Renovated Finlay Park in Columbia, SC: Review and Guide

Finlay Park in Columbia, SC: A Short History

Columbia’s Finlay Park is located on a huge 18 acre piece of land in the heart of downtown Columbia.

It’s almost like Columbia’s Central Park.

The site actually has an interesting history.

From Uninhabited Ridge to Industrial Land to Public Park

According to this history of Finlay Park on the Richland County Public Library’s website, the park is located on a ridge and valley that was likely a popular crossroads of trade between different Native American tribes hundreds of years ago.

The uninhabited land was parceled out after Columbia’s founding but much of the land was not usable for construction.

In 1819, a private waterworks was built here. It was sold to the city in 1838.

Considered an eyesore in the period leading up the Civil War, city warden Algernon Sidney Johnston promoted the idea of turning it into a public park with pathways and trees. After his death in 1852, the park was renamed Sidney Park in his honor and was home to concerts and other public events.

During the Civil War a foundry above the park was used to manufacture weapons, and a blacksmith shop and cotton mill were also located on the park’s modern day grounds. Meanwhile, the park still hosted concerts and other public events, with a US Army band playing here shortly after the conclusion of the war in August 1865.

A parcel of the land was purchased after the war to erect a monument to Confederate soldiers, although, but it was determined the slopes were too unstable. So, the monument was eventually placed on the State House grounds, where it still stands today.

An 1893 update saw new fencing and even a small zoo added to the park.

Shortly afterwards, in 1899, there was a railroad terminal here, and the land was used primarily for industrial uses in the opening years of the 1900s.

Often called Seaboard Park, after the name of the railroad terminal, the park was once again considered more of an eyesore than anything else.

During World War II, there was a USO center overlooking the ridge and Congaree River beyond on Laurel Street.

In 1965, the site next to the park was chosen for the new Post Office building (that remains today).

In 1974, newly elected mayor Kirkman Finlay promoted a revitalization of the entire downtown, including the Vista, with an updated park at the site of the old Sidney Park as its centerpiece.

Construction at the new park began in 1987 but was subject to numerous delays. It finally opened in 1991 as Sidney Park.

The Modern Finlay Park

The park was renamed to Finlay Park in 1994 after Kirkman Finlay, who has a nice statue on a bench dedicated to him today.

I remember going to Finlay Park as a kid.

I remember loving walking through the water in the stream down the hill and going behind the big waterfall that comes down from the iconic fountain that sits at the top of the park.

I also have a not so fond memory of wanting to go to the Fallout Music Festival to see Incubus, among other bands, here when I was in Middle School and my parents not letting me after I bought a ticket.

Besides Fallout, the park also hosted the yearly Three Rivers Music Festival. There was also a massive Hootie and the Blowfish concert here in 1996, and Finlay Park was home to numerous other smaller concerts and local events over the years.

Finlay Park Falls into Disrepair

But something happened…

To be honest, I’m not really sure what the heck happened with Columbia’s keystone park. I moved up to Charleston to attend College of Charleston and then went on to live for over a decade in the city of Cartagena in the Colombia with an O.

Not long after I returned back to my hometown Columbia with a U, probably sometime in late 2022 or early 2023, I was on a run nearby and thought, oh I’ll go run in Finlay Park. That place was beautiful when I was a kid.

Not so much!

Honestly, the park looked nearly post apocalyptic!

Like seriously, with some CGI vines on the skyscrapers in the background, you could have filmed a zombie movie here or something.

The ponds were black and overgrown with algae. The fountain and stream had run completely dry.

And the park had several homeless camps set up.

In short, Finlay Park obviously desperately needed a makeover and looked to have needed one for some time.

I’ve never been able to find any clear explanation of what happened.

That history on the library’s website says the fountain ran dry in 2015, and an update was announced in 2019 that ended up being put on hold during Covid (by the way, there are some great old photos in there if you scroll back up and follow that link!).

Reading between the lines, I guess at some point the city just stopped maintaining it properly, people stopped coming, the homeless starting using it as a refuge, which meant even fewer people kept coming, and the city just gave up entirely.

It’s hard for me to not place the blame on the city for that.

Frankly, I was a bit ashamed going through there, and it seems like city officials finally also started to feel that way.

The city officially closed the park not long after my ill advised run through it, and announced a nearly $25 million dollar expansion sometime in 2023.

The New Finlay Park

Finlay Park finally reopened again on November 15, 2025.

According to this article from the Post and Courier, it has 5 miles of walking paths and over 400 feet of bridges.

The park held a two day music festival in honor of its reopening. I stopped by with Aaliyah for a while on opening day. We didn’t stay for much of the music, but we did walk around and check out the playgrounds plus the renovated fountain.

Overall, I was really impressed!

The park looks great. It has a similar set up to what I remember as a kid but also different.

We’ve since been back to the park a number of times, and we look forward to hopefully having some childhood memories with Aaliyah and her eventual little sister or brother here in the coming years.

There was a great turn out to the reopening event, and hopefully the park will help inspire a sense of civic pride. Maybe more importantly, hopefully, the city will be inspired to properly maintain it this time around!

Below, I’ll go over what to expect if you want to visit yourself based on our own first hand experience, including some info on the controversial new rules about what you can and can’t take into the park.

So, read on to learn more about what to see and do at Finlay Park in Columbia, SC.

Columbia, SC Finlay Park Guide

In the sections below, I’ll go over everything you need to know to visit Finlay Park in Columbia, SC yourself, split out by the different sections of the park.

Finlay Park Map and Layout

The truth is Finlay Park is a bit of an odd location, sort of like in a big bowl in downtown Columbia, just a short distance from the State House, Main Street, and the Vista district.

That gives it a layout where there is a large flatter lower section with lots of green space and then a hill to walk up to the top, where the park’s iconic fountain is located along with some nice views of the Columbia skyline.

Besides several nice grassy lawns, you’ll also find a beautiful stage, a small snack bar, known as the Landing, the playgrounds, a splash pad, an exercise area, and a few ponds on that lower level.

Oh, and there are also bathrooms here.

As you make your way up the hill, you can detour back to the renovated waterfall, or head up on the stairs alongside the rocky stream, complete with some cool, new turtle statues.

You’ll eventually come to a cool, circular area that has great views of the skyline along with some amphitheater style seating and steps.

Up just a little higher, you’ll find another set of bathrooms and the park’s beautiful fountain, which looks exactly like how I remember it with nice, clean water flowing nowadays.

On the other side of the hill, you’ll also find the building known as The Nest, where there is some additional seating.

Below, I’ll go over a bit more info on some of the highlights and things to see at Finlay Park, such as the Finlay Park playgrounds.

Finlay Park’s Playgrounds

Unlike the old Finlay Park I remember, where there were several playgrounds nestled into spots along the hill, the new playgrounds at Finlay Park are located in the main, lower area of the park.

There are two main playgrounds.

A smaller one, perfect for toddlers or slightly older kids, is located near the splash pad.

It’s a good size, and Aaliyah enjoyed playing on this and going down the small slide several times.

There are some bigger slides as well as rope nets to climb on for kids a little bigger than Aaliyah as well as some neat little instruments and other things to play with in the area.

Behind that and built into the side of the hill is a larger playground.

Especially cool here are some super long toboggan style slides that come down from the top of the hill!

These are maybe still a bit much for Aaliyah, but big kids seem to really enjoy them.

Actually, on our second trip, when it was a little less crowded, we did brave the hill and she went down one of the big slides a few times and loved it!

There are some other smaller slides built onto the hill as well, which is sort of leveled off to several flatter spots as it goes up.

Oh, and the whole hill is covered in soft padding by the way, which made me feel a bit more comfortable letting Aaliyah climb away.

On the far side of the playgrounds, there is a swing set.

The Finlay Park swing set has two normal swings, two infant/toddler swings, and two of the ADA accessible swings with pull down harnesses.

Given Aaliyah’s current obsession with swings, I would have liked to have seen at least one more set.

While the park isn’t nearly as crowded normally as during that opening event, I still think more than 6 swings should have been in order at the city’s landmark park, and I suspect waiting for and taking turns on a swing will be a common thing.

The only other thing I think would be nice is if there was a bit more shade on the playgrounds. Come summer time, I think the heat might get brutal here at times.

Overall, I thought the playgrounds at Finlay Park were really nice though.

The kiddie playground may not be much more different than you’ll find at most decent parks, but those huge slides on the bigger one are definitely a unique draw. I think they did a good job incorporating the natural geography to make something you don’t see at every park there.

Speaking of making use of the geography, on the far end of the hill, there is a turf that kids can walk up and then slide or roll down.

Aaliyah and I did do this, and it was a lot of fun, and there were tons of kids of all ages really enjoying it.

The hill going up is a bit of a tough hike, but there is a nice little rope kids can hold on to as they walk up.

Because this has been really popular on all our visits so far, it would also be nice if it was a little wider too with more space to spread out so kids don’t run into each other. I definitely dodged some kids flying down helping Aaliyah get up and down it.

Oh, and I do think a bit more space on the outside side of the rope or maybe even some stairs here would be nice.

There is a large section of hill covered in soil next to it, just saying!

Still, I think this was a cool thing I had never seen in a park before.

Given our famously hot summer, I would say that even on the opening day on a relatively warm November morning, that turf definitely felt hot on my butt sliding down with Aaliyah.

I did see a few people more clever than me sitting on their jackets to slide down, which seems like a really smart idea when it’s hotter.

On our second visit, we noticed a lot of people were going down on cardboard boxes, a clever idea to avoid any rug burn and glide down a bit faster.

Given our not so famously cold winters, this might be the closest most kids growing up in Columbia can get to sledding down a hill.

Exercise Area at Finlay Park

Across the lawn opposite the playgrounds, there is a neat little exercise area, sponsoered by Prisma Health (whose name you’ll definitely see there!).

We did not really check everything out there, just walked by, but it looked nice. I definitely noticed some exercise rings and some other equipment.

For those coming to run through the park or get some other type of exercise, it’s a nice touch.

Pickleball Courts

Behind the Prisma exercise area, you’ll find 4 pickleball courts.

I imagine these are public, but it’s not clear if you need to reserve or rent them out.

Future Dog Park

According to the Post and Courier article linked above, there are plans to build a dog park somewhere behind or near the pickelball courts.

The Landing Snack Bar and Bathrooms

At the center of the lower area and just past the main entrance here, there is a large building that houses bathrooms and a small snack bar and covered seating area.

The park has officially dubbed this The Landing, and it seems to be the main crossroads of the updated park.

I did notice they were selling waters, sodas, and potato chips here for relatively reasonable prices during opening day.

It remains to be seen what kind of regular hours it has and if they will serve anything else (there were several food trucks here for the opening event), not to mention if those prices stay reasonable.

Roller Skating at Finlay Park

We did notice there was a table with roller skates at the opening event.

According to that Post and Courier article, the plan is for the Landing to rent out roller skates, and it seems like all the paved sidewalks are fair game for where to skate.

The park’s rules and regulations specifically state that skateboards are prohibited, however.

Finlay Park Splash Pad

There is a small splash pad located between the snack bar seating area and the kiddie playground.

It didn’t look like much more than a concrete slab with a spigot for the time being, but I imagine it’s possible they will spruce it up before it officially opens.

The sign up did say the Splash Pad at Finlay Park would be open from May 30 to September 1 (so Memorial Day to Labor Day, a fairly standard splash pad operating season around here).

Finlay Park Main Stage and Oval

I think the big stage area they build is gorgeous!

It has big wooden (well, at least they look wooden) beams with a diagonal roof.

It overlooks the main lawn, now officially dubbed the Oval, where there is plenty of space to sit on the grass.

According to that Post and Courier article, there is space for 8-10,000 people here.

Towards the back there is one great shade tree, but again, more shade might be nice.

Still, this is definitely a good spot for an outdoor concert, and I hope they’ll hold frequent events and concerts here.

That looks to hopefully be the case, since they announced the Finlay Fridays Finlay Park concert series to run from late February through the end of October 2026 (learn more about that at that link, by the way).

Finlay Park Secondary Stage, Lawn, and Ponds

There was a second stage set up to the right side of the park (towards Assembly Street). I’m unclear if that was just a temporary set up or is a permanent structure like the main stage, so will have to updated once we get back to visit a few more times.

There is a smaller pond here that is nice and has some cool little sail boats as well as a big grassy area with a nice paved path around the edges.

Finlay Park Disc Golf Course

I did notice several disc golf holes built into parts of the hill above this area (sort of coming down from the corner of Assembly and Laurel Streets.

I’ll have to check that out more on a solo visit sometime soon.

Finlay Park Waterfall and Grotto

Tucked up behind the small pond, you’ll find the back of the waterfall that plummets from its spout above.

When I was a kid, you could go back here and hop between rock or stone platforms.

It was closed off, but I did notice that there does look to be a path around to the back of the waterfall.

So, it’s possible during the summer season, this is open to explore. Or it’s possible it will remain permanently closed.

We’ll have to wait and see.

Finlay Park Stream, Stairs, and Ramps

Coming down alongside the grotto is a stream, or maybe an imitation of a mountain brook or something.

It looks much the same as I remember it as a kid, with a narrow stream of water coming down between rocks.

I seem to remember as a kid you could walk through or hop over this stream or at least walk over a few little bridges.

If you look closely, you can see where those areas were. It was definitely closed with no access with railings on the main stairwell that runs alongside it.

So, like walking behind the waterfall, we’ll have to wait and see come Spring time if that is still allowed.

In addition to several sets of stairs, there are also ramps up the hill. They are a pretty gently slope for those of us pushing strollers or anyone who needs them.

The Nest

This is a building located near the top of the hill along Laurel Street. There’s a map here as well as some seating, and I believe this building is primarily used as a ranger station.

This is one of the few structures that remain from the previous iteration of the park, although it’s had a pretty nice makeover.

The Lantern: Finlay Park’s Circular Lookout Point

I don’t remember this being here before, and I think it’s a really nice addition.

About 3/4 of the way up the hill, there is a cool circular area that overlooks the lower levels and lawns of the park below and gives a great view of downtown Columbia towards main street.

Known as the Lantern, it was supposdely built to mimic the shape of a Carolina Wren’s nest, a cool touch.

Columbia doesn’t exactly have the most impressive skyline in the world, but this is a pretty neat view of it.

There is a small grassy area here as well as some benches, and a sort of amphitheater style set of stairs that come down from the very top of the park above.

Supposedly, this area will also be used for event rentals like weddings as well as smaller public events.

Finlay Park Fountain

At the very top of the park, you’ll find Finlay Park’s iconic fountain.

It looks exactly like I remember it, complete with the concrete stairs along the side (again we’ll have to wait and see if you can actually walk on them like back in the day).

There are nice railings with stairs that go along the sides, and you can get some great photos and views of the fountain and the city skyline behind it.

FYI, if you need a ramp up here, it’s sort of semi-hidden beyond the circular viewing area as you come up.

There is also a building with bathrooms here at the top of the park and a small parking lot.

Finlay Park Rules and Regulations

Now that we’ve covered what you can see at Finlay Park, let’s talk a bit about the logistics of planning a visit.

Given how the park had fallen into such disrepair and the massive investment the city made into revitalizing it, there are some new rules and regulations, including at least one that has been controversial since its announcement.

I should probably point out clearly that I am not associated with the city of Columbia or the park in any official way, so it might be worth double checking hours and the rules and regulations listed below on this park policies page just in case there are seasonal changes made or updates along the way.

Finlay Park Hours

Finlay Park is open 6 am to 9 pm daily.

Finlay Park Rules and Prohibitions

Check that link above for a more complete list, but here are a handful of the most significant Finlay Park rules and things prohibited in Finlay Park:

• Animals must be on a leash
• There is no smoking or vaping allowed in Finlay Park
• No firearms or concealed weapons are allowed in Finlay Park
• Fireworks or other kinds of fires, including grills, camp stoves, or griddles are prohibited
• Camping is not allowed
• Groups of 25 or more need a permit
• Alcohol is not allowed, although special events may allow sales and consumption with the proper permit (for example, there were beer vendors during the grand opening music festival)
• E-bikes and electric scooters are prohibited
• Traditional bicycles are also prohibited

Finlay Park Entrances

There are several entrances to Finlay Park, but the park has fencing around much of it. Here are the main entrances:

• Intersection of Taylor Street and Lincoln Street
• At the top of park, by the fountain, and from the parking lot along Laurel Street
• From the parking lot near the top of the park and just above the playgrounds off Gadsen Street
• Near the corner of Assembly Street and Laurel Street

It’s worth pointing out that the trail of the Vista Greenway that runs by the playgrounds (along Gadsen Street) is fenced off, so that anyone entering the park must enter from the entrance at Taylor and Lincoln.

Finlay Park Parking

There is a relatively small (maybe 30ish spots?) at the top of the park on the corner of Gadsen and Laurel Streets (you’ll generally have to enter from Laurel Street).

There is also lots of standard city street paid parking along Taylor Street, in addition to Laurel Street. Keep in mind that standard city street parking rules apply.

We’ve generally had decent luck finding spots along the street since the park has been reopened.

The parking lot on the corner of Taylor and Lincoln Streets was open for free parking for the opening day event, and I’d suspect that will be the case for future big events.

There are, of course, multiple parking garages within a 5-10 minute walk from the park as well.

Finlay Park Clear Bag Policy

Now, let’s talk about the policy that’s caused all the controversy.

Shortly before the grand reopening of Finlay Park, the city announced a clear bag policy, including the prohibition of small purses and backpacks.

After some initial confusion over whether that would only apply to the opening concert, a larger event, or to everyday entry to park, the city clarified that it would, in fact, be a permanent policy to ensure public safety.

That sparked a lot of criticism.

It sounds like a decent idea until you think about it for about 30 seconds.

This is a public city park that doesn’t require a ticket or anything.

Many critics pointed out that this policy would make it hard for someone who just happened to be walking around downtown and had a backpack or purse to be able to just stop in the park.

For parents, most diaper bags would be a no go.

Coolers or baskets for a picnic also would be impossible under this policy.

While the city has maintained this will be the policy going forward, they did walk it back a little bit and added some exceptions.

So, diaper bags and other medically necessary items are allowed in non-clear bags.

If you’d like my two cents, I tend to agree with the criticism. It seems reasonably to require clear bags for a big concert or other gathering, but it doesn’t seem reasonable regularly.

There seems to be a lot of chatter online that this policy was meant to prevent homeless people from camping out in the park or even entering at all. Some even have said they suspect this policy will be selectively enforced.

I sort of suspect that this policy will eventually be quietly changed or just not really enforced. To be honest, I hope that’s the case.

So far, after a few visits to the park, that is the impression I get. Our visit on the park’s opening day, a guard did take a quick look at and squeeze my clear diaper bag.

However, we’ve been back at least one time with our regular, non clear diaper bag and had no one stop us at all. We did of course have a toddler in tow too.

I suspect, on most nonevent days if you’re walking in with what looks like a diaper bag and have an infant or toddler with you, no one is going to give you a hard time.

If you walk in with no child and/or have a huge backpack, tent, and sleeping bag with you, they’ll probably give you a hard time.

My opinion on this policy is that I’d be perfectly fine with a quick peek in my bag, diaper bag or otherwise, anytime I entered the park if the city cares that much about safety and wants to keep people employed working the entrances.

I also think the idea that homeless people need to be kept out of the park is bordering on the absurd. It makes zero sense to me that homeless people were responsible for the city abandoning the park and not maintaining it.

With proper maintenance plus security that makes sure the homeless are reasonably behaved and dressed and not camping out in the park, there’s no reason why the park can’t remain beautiful and a great place for everybody to enjoy.

If the public library can do it, seems like the park could.

Feel free to share your thoughts on the Finlay Park bag policy below though!

Columbia’s Finlay Park Reopening Final Thoughts

In conclusion, I really hope the city makes good on this investment and maintains the park in its gorgeous state.

I hope they reconsider the policy in a way that allows reasonable access but also security to everyone at the park.

And, well, I hope people go out and enjoy it, because we’ve already seen that if we don’t, and we don’t hold our city’s authorities accountable for maintaining our spaces, they apparently are perfectly willing to abandon them.

So, go out and enjoy Finlay Park! Burn your butt sliding down the hill, fight with your parents to go to a concert, and hopefully splash in that fountain.

I hope this guide helped you know what to expect when you do.

Cheers and Happy Exploring!