Jones Gap is great place for a picnic, a hike or primitive camping. 
The Jones Gap Trail runs along the Upper Saluda River which is a beautiful river and home to brook and rainbow trout. It leads to a small waterfall as well as to a number of other more difficult trails.
Max Patch is a bald mountain located on the NC/TN border offering 360 degree panoramas. It can be reached through a variety of trails or you can simply drive to it via NC road 148. (Take exit 7 from I40.) It also offers plenty of good camping spots.
Click image to see larger view of 360 Pan of Max Patch.
It also has some great trails of varying degrees of difficulty. 
It has two RV/tent campgrounds, as well as primitive walk-in campsites and some very nice (although rustic) cabins for rent. One of the great things about the cabins is that they have large stone fireplaces that (unlike many cabins) burn real wood. 
Distance from downtown Greenville: 32 miles.
Over the last decade, the Blue Ridge Mountain range has quietly become a home to dozens and dozens of wineries. The highest concentration of Carolina vineyards can be found in the Yadkin Valley. Sadly though most of these east coast wines leave much to be desired and in addition are over-priced. Knowing this, my wife and I didn't expect much when we stumbled across the Victoria Valley Vineyards, but we were pleasantly surprised. We tasted 12 different wines and found them all to be quite good.
The Village of Linville Falls is located on Highway 221 atop the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, with an elevation of 3400 feet and an average summer temperature of 67 degrees. Unique in location, it is situated in three counties: Avery, Burke and McDowell. 
This is a 330 degree view from the Devil's Courthouse just off the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile marker 422. From this point, four states can be seen on a clear day, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. Click image for larger view.
The Cozy Cabin, located near Cashiers, NC, is great little place to run away to on a weekend. It's minutes from great hiking, fishing and golfing and the outdoor hot tub is a great way to both start and end the day.
Pleasant Ridge County Park is a great little park in northern Greenville County that appears to be practically unknown. Every time I've been there, there has never been more than a handful of people in the park. 
The park contains both car camping sites and primitive camping sites, hiking trails, a small lake which is good for both swimming and fishing and four cabins for rent. It also the future home of Camp Spearhead. To the right of the picture above were a flock of Canadian Geese and Great Blue Heron. Unfortunately they were all a bit skittish and I was not able to get a photo.
