Skip to content
Food And Drink › Barbecue › Barbecue Road Trips
Short answer: Two one-day barbecue drives: a Midlands mustard loop from Columbia through West Columbia, Gilbert and Batesburg-Leesville, and a Charleston day from whole hog downtown to mustard sauce in West Ashley and on James Island. Road times come from OpenStreetMap routing; days open come from each place’s own site. The Midlands day works Friday and Saturday, Charleston Monday to Saturday.
- 2Road tripsone day each
- 12Stopsall pinned on the map
- Fri-SatBest dayswhen every Midlands stop is open
- 10:30 / 11:00Start timesMidlands day 10:30 a.m. and Charleston day 11:00 a.m., our planning estimate
How we checked: each stop’s own website for its address and days open. All read on November 4, 2026. Hours, prices and dates change, so confirm with the place or organizer before you drive. Anything we could not read is marked Not confirmed where it appears. Road times between stops come from OpenStreetMap routing (OSRM), with no live traffic, closures or construction. Time at each stop, Essential or Optional, and arrival times are our own planning estimates. We rank nothing: no source we used ranks these places, and we did not taste, rate or compare them. Nobody paid to be listed.
Midlands Mustard Day From Columbia
One lunch-sized loop through the Lexington County mustard belt, where SC PRT places the yellow mustard sauce. Share a plate at each stop, then drive on. Go Friday or Saturday: Hite’s opens only those two days, Price’s is closed Monday to Wednesday, and Shealy’s is closed Wednesday and Sunday, per their own sites.
West Columbia, Gilbert and Batesburg-Leesville
Day at a glance: about 170 min at stops plus 114 min on the road, 4 h 44 min in all, done about 3:14 p.m. (our estimate from a 10:30 a.m. start).
- Stop 1: South Carolina State House (start and finish)10:30 a.m. arrival (our estimate)First stop. A public landmark used only as a start point in downtown Columbia. Start whenever suits; arrival times move with it.
- Stop 2: Hite’s Bar-B-Que10:38 a.m. arrival (our estimate)8 min, 4.9 mi by road from the last stop. About 30 min here, Essential (our estimate). 240 Dreher Road, West Columbia. Open Friday and Saturday only; its contact page says Friday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., its home page says 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Not confirmed The site says “family owned and operated since 1957.”
- Stop 3: Maurice’s Piggie Park BBQ (West Columbia)11:11 a.m. arrival (our estimate)3 min, 1.1 mi by road from the last stop. About 40 min here, Essential (our estimate). 1600 Charleston Highway, West Columbia. Open Sunday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., per its site, which names its “Southern Gold mustard-based BBQ sauce.”
- Stop 4: Price’s Bar-B-Que12:26 p.m. arrival (our estimate)35 min, 20.8 mi by road from the last stop. About 40 min here, Essential (our estimate). 408 Ervin Price Road, Gilbert (address from the state trail map). Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m., Thursday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed Monday to Wednesday, per its site. Aim to arrive before 3 p.m.
- Stop 5: Shealy’s Bar-B-Que1:26 p.m. arrival (our estimate)20 min, 12.2 mi by road from the last stop. About 60 min here, Optional (our estimate). 340 East Columbia Avenue, Batesburg-Leesville. Buffet 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed Wednesday and Sunday, per its site, which says “Established 1969.” A buffet suits kids who want to pick.
- Stop 6: South Carolina State House (finish)3:14 p.m. arrival (our estimate)48 min, 29.9 mi by road from the last stop. A public landmark used only as a start point in downtown Columbia. Start whenever suits; arrival times move with it.
If it is Thursday: Hite’s is closed, so start at Maurice’s, and reach Price’s by 2 p.m. Sunday: Hite’s and Shealy’s are closed; do Maurice’s and Price’s (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) only. Dogs and kids: none of these sites says whether dogs are allowed Not confirmed; plan for kids to eat at a table. Places sell out or change hours at times; check each place’s own site the morning you go.
Charleston Barbecue Day: Whole Hog and Mustard
A city day that tastes three of the state’s styles without a long drive: whole hog downtown, then mustard sauce in West Ashley and on James Island. Go Monday to Saturday: Melvin’s is closed Sunday, per its site; the other stops list Sunday hours.
Downtown, West Ashley and James Island
Day at a glance: about 155 min at stops plus 40 min on the road, 3 h 15 min in all, done about 2:15 p.m. (our estimate from an 11:00 a.m. start).
- Stop 1: Charleston Visitor Center (start and finish)11:00 a.m. arrival (our estimate)First stop. 375 Meeting Street, a public visitor center used only as a start point. Start whenever suits; arrival times move with it.
- Stop 2: Rodney Scott’s BBQ (Charleston)11:05 a.m. arrival (our estimate)5 min, 1.5 mi by road from the last stop. About 45 min here, Essential (our estimate). 1011 King Street. Open daily 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., per its site, which calls itself “Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ.”
- Stop 3: Bessinger’s Bar-Be-Que12:01 p.m. arrival (our estimate)11 min, 5.0 mi by road from the last stop. About 40 min here, Essential (our estimate). 1602 Savannah Highway, West Ashley (address from the state trail map). Open every day 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., per its site.
- Stop 4: Melvin’s Barbecue (James Island)12:51 p.m. arrival (our estimate)10 min, 4.4 mi by road from the last stop. About 40 min here, Essential (our estimate). 538 Folly Road, James Island. Open Monday to Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed Sunday, per its site, which calls the family “South Carolina’s Original Family of mustard based BBQ.”
- Stop 5: Lewis Barbecue (Charleston)1:42 p.m. arrival (our estimate)11 min, 5.1 mi by road from the last stop. About 30 min here, Optional (our estimate). 464 North Nassau Street (address from the state trail map), on the way back downtown. Open Sunday and Monday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Tuesday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., per its site. A Texas-style stop: our grouping, not its words Not confirmed
- Stop 6: Charleston Visitor Center (finish)2:15 p.m. arrival (our estimate)3 min, 0.8 mi by road from the last stop. 375 Meeting Street, a public visitor center used only as a start point. Start whenever suits; arrival times move with it.
If it is Sunday: Melvin’s is closed; swap in Swig & Swine at 1217 Savannah Highway in West Ashley (11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, per its site). Shorter day: skip Lewis Barbecue, the Optional stop. Dogs and kids: no stop’s site we read says whether dogs are allowed Not confirmed.
Map of Road Trip Stops
12 of 12 stops are pinned. Pins sit on the street address each place prints, placed by OpenStreetMap; they are not checked entrances or parking.
What We Could Not Confirm
- Time at each stop, Essential or Optional, and the arrival times: our planning estimates. Not confirmed
- Road times: OpenStreetMap routing, with no live traffic, closures or construction. Not confirmed
- Whether dogs are allowed at any stop: no stop’s site says. Not confirmed
- Hite’s opening time: its own pages give two different times. Not confirmed
- Price’s Bar-B-Que pin: placed by the US Census Bureau address geocoder, not checked on the ground. Not confirmed
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the Midlands mustard day?
The “day at a glance” line under the plan adds our time-at-stop estimates to the computed road time, from a 10:30 a.m. start at the State House. Drop the Optional stop at Shealy’s to shorten it.
Can I do these on a Sunday?
The Charleston day works on Sunday if you swap Melvin’s (closed Sunday) for Swig & Swine in West Ashley. The Midlands day shrinks to Maurice’s and Price’s, because Hite’s and Shealy’s are closed.
Where do the road times come from?
From OpenStreetMap routing (OSRM), computed between each pair of stops when we built the page. They include no live traffic, closures or construction, so add time for a weekday rush or a football Saturday in Columbia.
More Barbecue Pages
Sources
- OpenStreetMap routing (OSRM), read November 4, 2026 (road times, no live traffic)
- SC Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (SC PRT), Want Great Barbecue? Come to South Carolina, read November 4, 2026 (the four sauces, hash and rice)
- SC PRT, The Time and Tradition of Whole-Hog Barbecue, read November 4, 2026 (whole hog, pig pickings, rice and hash)
- Hite’s Bar-B-Que, read November 4, 2026 (address and days open)
- Maurice’s Piggie Park BBQ, read November 4, 2026 (address and days open)
- Price’s Bar-B-Que, read November 4, 2026 (address and days open)
- Shealy’s Bar-B-Que, read November 4, 2026 (address and days open)
- Rodney Scott’s BBQ, read November 4, 2026 (address and days open)
- Lewis Barbecue, read November 4, 2026 (address and days open)
- Bessinger’s Bar-Be-Que, read November 4, 2026 (address and days open)
- Melvin’s Barbecue, read November 4, 2026 (address and days open)
- Swig & Swine, read November 4, 2026 (address and days open)
- SC PRT, SC BBQ Trail Map (digital version), read November 4, 2026 (address and days open)
How we check: editorial standards. Spot a mistake or a closure? Tell us.
Cite this page: It's South Carolina, “South Carolina Barbecue Road Trips”, itssouthcarolina.com/barbecue/road-trips/ (updated ). By the It's South Carolina editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.