Storm Chasers: The ‘Canes fan travel guide to Clemson, SC

This is a summer series for Miami Hurricanes fans who plan on attending away games for the 2022 season. The ‘Canes have five away games in ‘22, taking trips to: College Station, TX; Blacksburg, VA; Charlottesville, VA; Atlanta, GA; and Clemson, SC.

Different contributors from around the country will offer their answers to set up Miami Hurricanes fans for the perfect trip to watch the ‘Canes beat the home team.

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Miami @ Clemson, Nov. 19 (Clemson, SC)

Matt Goldin, Shaking The Southland

Plug your social: @MattFG53

How are you familiar with the city/town? Graduate, class of 2017

Google My Maps

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What’s the best strip/street/neighborhood to visit that’s away from campus?

It’s common for some people to stay in Greenville and drive in. Downtown Greenville has a lot of great bars and restaurants. It’ll be more of a post grad vibe.

What’s the best strip/street/neighborhood to visit that’s close to campus?

College Avenue. It’s literally across the street from campus. There’s probably nine or so bars on that strip. Not a bad walk to the stadium so you could definitely do pre-game downtown and walk to the game closer to kickoff.

Best pizza in the city/town?

Todaro’s is definitely the most popular and is right off of college avenue. They also stay open late. However if you like Chicago style, Columbo’s is the spot. Columbo’s is a little further from campus/downtown, but is pretty great stuff.

It’s also next to a little beer shop called ”Wall of Beer” that has a phenomenal craft beer selection and is a great place to stock up for the tailgate if you want something different than typical beer options.

Best breakfast place for the next morning?

All In Coffee is a neat little coffee shop. Good coffee, fresh baked pastries. SunnySide Cafe is also a good breakfast spot.

Best dessert (cookie, cupcake, donut) place for late nights?

Slightly different than what you asked, but for dessert you need to try the ‘55 Exchange on campus to get Clemson Ice Cream. It’s award winning stuff. Also Homefield released an amazing t-shirt in their Clemson collection celebrating the ‘55 Exchange.

Best local beer / cocktail type place?

Nick’s is definitely the best craft beer bar. Very chill, grad student and professor friendly bar. Awesome selection on draught.

For cocktails, I’d say 356 is probably the best spot, although really most of the bars will have a good selection and can probably make whatever you want.

If you go to TD’s definitely get a pitcher of Clemson Goodnight for your group. BUT GO SLOW. It taste good going down, but will sneak up on you quick.

Any hotel recommendations, or Air B&B neighborhoods?

Hotels can be a tricky thing as they fill up quick.

The Martin Inn on Campus is the nicest, but hard and expensive to get a game day room. For Air BnB, the good thing is there are a lot of folks with vacation homes, lake houses, etc in the general area. And a lot of those folks have realized they can make some nice money on football weekends.

My advice is just to look in those areas. Don’t be freaked out if it isn’t in Clemson proper. Just know you may find an awesome spot to stay by the lake, but it may be a 20 minute or so drive in to town.

Best place to watch the other games?

A lot of Clemson tailgaters have TVs at their set up, so if you have a friend you’re tailgating with, they may have that. Esso Club has a cool set up in their parking lot for games with screens outside and stations for beer, Bloody Mary’s, and such. It’s also the closest bar to the stadium.

If you’re downtown (College Avenue), TD’s, Tiger Town Tavern, Study Hall, and Backstreets all have ample TVs and good drink selection. They will be crowded but are a lot of fun.

Is there a prime tailgating location for game day?

All around campus. If you don’t have a friend with a tailgate already I’d suggest looking around Stubhub at spots and getting one there. My favorite lot is the upper intramural field right next to the stadium. Those will be pricey on Stubhub but even if you park elsewhere I’d definitely recommend walking through there and enjoying the atmosphere.

There are some lots that are a bit further out that are cheaper and have shuttle service to get you closer to the stadium. Really anywhere you are on campus is going to be a fun time.

What is the first place you would take someone from out of town to see/eat/visit?

Grabbing a beer and a bite to eat at the world famous Esso Club is a must. If you get to town earlier during the week, taking a tour of the John C. Calhoun house on campus is great for history buffs. Lake Hartwell is an awesome lake, so if your group likes boating or fishing, a lot of fun there.

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The wrap

Having personally been to Clemson’s campus for a coaching clinic a couple of years ago (Dabo sang karaoke, BTW), and spending time on College Avenue with my cousin who was a Tiger, I can attest that the Clemson, SC campus area has a great fall atmosphere. For us Floridians not exactly used to hills, get ready to hike a bit through campus but it’s a beautiful place with great food.