Columbia gets afternoon thunderstorms most of the summer, and the useful question isn’t “what’s indoors” - it’s what’s actually open right now. Most Columbia listicles skip closed days entirely. Here are eight indoor options downtown, with the day each one is dark, so you don’t drive across town to a locked door.
What’s open today? (and what’s closed)
| Place | What it is | Closed |
|---|---|---|
| Craft Axe Throwing, 700 Gervais St | Indoor axe throwing + full bar | Mondays |
| Columbia Museum of Art | Art museum, Main St | Mondays |
| Transmission Arcade | Retro arcade bar + kitchen | Open daily (from 4pm Mon–Tue) |
| The Nickelodeon Theatre | Art-house cinema | Varies by showtime calendar |
| Bang Back Pinball Lounge | Pinball bar, Five Points | Open daily (afternoons on) |
| Historic Columbia house museums | Guided historic-house tours | Mondays and Tuesdays |
| Columbia Marionette Theatre | Live puppet shows | Saturdays only |
| EdVenture Children’s Museum | Kids’ museum, ages 0–10 | Open daily |
Hours change - especially at the smaller spots - so check before you go. The rest of this post covers what each is actually like.
Where can you go indoors right off Gervais Street?
Two of the best rainy-day answers sit on the same street, about half a mile apart.
Craft Axe Throwing is at 700 Gervais St, Suite B2, in the Congaree Vista. It’s fully enclosed - covered lanes, climate control, a full bar - which makes it the rare Columbia plan that a forecast can’t touch. Sessions are coach-led from the first throw, so nobody has to know what they’re doing. One-hour sessions run $25 per thrower ($22 for groups of three or more) and 1.5-hour sessions run $35 ($30 for groups of three or more), with ninja stars and premium axes included. Hours are Tue–Thu 4–9pm, Fri 3–11pm, Sat 12–11pm, Sun 2–7pm, and we’re closed Mondays. See axe throwing in Columbia, SC for the full session menu.
EdVenture Children’s Museum (211 Gervais St, about four minutes down the street) is open Mon–Sat 9am–5pm and Sun 12–5pm - genuinely useful, because it’s one of the few downtown attractions that doesn’t close on Monday. Admission is $15 for children and adults, $10 for first responders, military and seniors, and free under 2. It’s built for ages 0–10; adults without kids will be bored.
What’s worth the five-minute drive up Main Street?
Main Street is where Columbia stacks its indoor culture, all within about a mile of the Vista.
Columbia Museum of Art (1515 Main St, roughly 0.8 miles) is the anchor. General admission is $15, hours are Tue–Wed 10–5, Thu 10–7 with First Thursdays until 8, Fri–Sat 10–5, and Sun 12–5. It’s closed Mondays. Worth checking their visitor page before you go - they run dated free-admission promotions for South Carolina residents.
Transmission Arcade (1712 Main St, about a mile) is a retro arcade bar with a full kitchen and a long run of hours: Sun from 10:30am with brunch, Mon–Tue 4pm–midnight, Wed–Fri 4pm–2am, Sat noon–2am. It’s all ages until 8pm and 21+ after. Two things to know: they cap at 85 guests, and they don’t take reservations or book private parties - so a big group should have a backup.
The Nickelodeon Theatre (1607 Main St) is South Carolina’s only nonprofit art-house cinema, in a restored art-deco house, showing new releases alongside indie and classic film. Showtimes rotate weekly - check the Nick’s site for the current calendar.
Historic Columbia runs guided tours of the city’s house museums - the Robert Mills House, Hampton-Preston Mansion, the Mann-Simons Site, the Museum of the Reconstruction Era at the Woodrow Wilson Family Home, and the Modjeska Monteith Simkins House. All tours start at the Robert Mills Welcome Center, 1616 Blanding St, about six minutes from the Vista. The houses are open Wednesday through Sunday; tickets are on their tours page.
Where do you go indoors in Five Points?
Bang Back Pinball Lounge (741 Saluda Ave, roughly seven minutes from Gervais St) is a pinball lounge and bar - dozens of machines, cheap, and open late. Recent listings put hours at Mon–Thu 3pm–1am, Fri 3pm–2am, Sat 11am–2am, Sun 3pm–1am, but call ahead rather than trusting that. It’s the best low-cost indoor plan in town if you just want somewhere dry with something to do.
Slightly further north on Main, Curiosity Coffee Bar (2327 Main St) is the quiet daytime option - coffee, plus beer and wine, open mornings through late afternoon most days. It’s a good place to wait out a storm before an evening lane, not a destination on its own.
What can you do indoors with kids on a rainy Saturday?
Two picks, both cheap.
Columbia Marionette Theatre (401 Laurel St) runs live marionette shows - Saturdays only, typically 11am and 3pm - for $7 general admission, free under 2. It’s a genuinely odd, genuinely charming Columbia institution, and Saturday-only is exactly when you need it.
EdVenture (above) is the seven-day fallback.
For older kids and teens who need to burn energy rather than look at things, axe throwing is coach-supervised and works well for family groups - see our Columbia venue page for age requirements before you book.
What is there to do in Columbia when it rains?
If it’s raining and you want one recommendation, it depends on the day:
- Rainy Monday - the hardest day downtown. The art museum, the Historic Columbia houses, and our own venue are all closed. Go to EdVenture with kids, or Transmission Arcade after 4pm without them.
- Rainy weekday afternoon - Columbia Museum of Art, then dinner. It’s indoors end to end.
- Rainy Friday or Saturday night - book a lane at 700 Gervais St. Nothing about the plan is weather-dependent, and the bar is right there.
- Rainy Sunday - Transmission Arcade opens earliest (10:30am, with brunch); our lanes open at 2pm.
For dry-weather Columbia, we’ve written a separate local’s guide to things to do in Columbia, SC, and if you’re planning a night out for two, our Columbia date night itinerary is built to be walkable from the same block.
Booking an indoor lane in Columbia
Axe throwing is the one item on this list where you do something rather than watch something, and it’s the one that scales to a group. For groups, our Columbia packages cover 20 throwers across 4 lanes for 1.5 hours at $400, or 40 throwers across 8 lanes for 1.5 hours at $750. New to it? Read what to expect your first time and what to wear - closed-toe shoes are required, rain or shine.
Reserve a lane at 700 Gervais Street, or send a group inquiry through parties and events. Walk-ins are welcome, but a storm brings everyone downtown at once - booking ahead is the safer call.