The town on Irmo is located Northwest of Columbia. It is close to Lake Murray and just 10 miles to downtown Columbia. The population is around 12,000 people and the area is still growing every year. Irmo was named one of the most affordable places to live to live by Money Magazine in 2006. It was rated #12 among 25 affordable communities in the country. The median home price in 2006 was $119,003 very affordable.
Irmo is very centrally located. Close to Lake Murray, the dam, beach at the lake, bicycle and walking path across the dam to the Lexington area, downtown, Columbiana Mall has all the shopping you need and want is only minutes away. A large variety of restaurants, several movie theaters, an ice skating rink off the Peak Exit and I-26, and lots of parks for outdoor recreation too. Most people find it a plus to live that close to Lake Murray for outdoor recreation.
To some people it can be a little confusing at first because there is Lexington and Richland county in the Irmo area. Most people think of Richland in the NE and Columbia rather than the NW and Irmo-Chapin areas. You can have Lexington County on one side of the street and Richland on the other. The schools are a big attraction to many people as well. There is the St. Andrews area, closer to downtown, the Dutch Fork area ( The name stems form the German word Deutsch. Irmo had many German immigrants just like the town of Chapin). www.sciway.net/city/irmo.html
There is no large downtown area, but there is a town park near City Hall and the police station. The park features also concerts in summer. Many stores and restaurants are along Lake Murray Boulevard and St. Andrews Road. Irmo has the OKRA Strutt every year in October. There will be a parade, crafts, music and street dancing. A great couple of days of fun and you can taste Okra in many different variations. www.townofirmosc.com/
Visit http://www.IrmoSC.com for more details and don't forget to visit the Visitor Center on Lake Murray Blvd. and near the Dam or here http://www.lakemurraycountry.com
Like the outdoors?
There is something for everyone in Irmo. Several Parks feature hiking, biking, boating and more. There is a nice park off Old Bush River Road in Irmo and not too far from the Lake Murray Dam called Saluda Shoals Park. You can rent canoes here, there is a landing for allowing boats into the water and much more. Trails for walking and your bicycle. It is all lit up and decorated during Halloween and Christmas too. More information about Irmo-Chapin Recreation can be found here: http://www.icrc.net/saludashoals/. There is also the Harbison State Forest with trails for walking, bicycling, jogging, and hiking. It features also a landing where you can let a canoe or kayak into the Broak River. Call 803-896-8890 for details and you can find more information at this site http://www.columbiasouthcarolina.com/forest.html and also here http://www.state.sc.us/forest/refhartg.htm
Because of our fairly mild weather you can do outdoor recreation almost year-round. There is a public beach on the Lexington side of the lake. You can purchase an annual sticker for the car or pay per visit. You can launch a boat in one of the many landings around the lake for fishing and boating fun. Every year 4th of July there are fireworks on the Dam and at Dreher Island State Park.
Irmo has a state-of-the art YMCA right off I-26 and Exit 102 B on Kennerly Road. It is so popular they built one like this in the NE at Lake Carolina as well. You can call them at 803-407-8007 for all the programs they offer. www.columbiaymca.org
Ballentine is a small community between Irmo and Chapin. It is off Rt 76, also called Dutch Fork Road just minutes to I-26 and the Peak Exit, as well as to the new Walmart on Dutch Fork Road. You find commercial businesses here and some new residential developments. It is small and you may not feel that it is different than Irmo as you leave Irmo and head towards Chapin. Anywhere you drive through Irmo it feels rural and you can find here or there fields with cows, goats and horses. People have large gardens and grow their own vegetables. And while it feels you are in the country you are just 5-8 minutes to the mall or Lake Murray.
AWARD WINNING SCHOOLS
The school district for the Irmo-Chapin area is Lex/Rich5 and you can visit this link for more details about the schools and programs. http://www.lex5.k12.sc.us
Chapin and Dutch Fork high schools are known to be among the best in the state and the country. www.lex5.k12.sc.us/dfms/ Dutch Fork High School and this site for the district www.lex5.k12.sc.us/
RECREATION
There is a new Sports Complex in Irmo on 1019 Broad Stone Rd, Irmo SC 29063 call 803-732-1900 for schedules and details. You may find some information on this site:
http://www.plexindoorsports.com
Like I said earlier, there is something for everyone in Irmo and in Columbia. Columbia has an Ice Hickey team and there is an Ice Skating Rink off the Peak Exit and I-26. Check out this site for the Irmo Ice Hockey Federation and details: http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=iihf
There are two sail clubs on Lake Murray. Columbia Sail Club and the Lake Murray Sailing Club (803) 345-0073 and you can check it out here http://www.lmsc.org/ and here for the Columbia Sailing Club http://www.columbiasailingclub.org/ A beautiful view when one drives across the Lake Murray Dam and can watch the sail boats on a gorgeous weekend.
Sailing on Lake Murray
Olympic teams come here to train on our many rivers and due to our stable weather. While most states have cold winters and the teams cannot train as well as here many teams have come and trained right here in our Columbia area.
Purple Martins at Lake Murray
This is a very popular annual event. Many boaters drop anchor on the lake near Bomb Island and watch this beautiful migration of the Purple Martins. You can also rent a boat or join in on a charter tour for this. A local artist, names Michael Story, painted some beautiful pictures to capture it as well. http://purplemartin.org/roost/
http://www.birdersworld.com/brd/default.aspx?c=a&id=956# 
Sunset at Lake Murray
Columbia Downtown is only 10 minutes away
Downtown Columbia has a lot to offer. There are several colleges and The University of South Carolina. Gamecock football and sports are very popular. Columbia has one of 5 EdVenture Children Museums in the country. You will find the State Museum, the Koger Center, Colonial Center for all sorts of events and much more. Please find more details under our Columbia link here. http://www.columbiasc.net
www.koger.sc.edu For the arts and concerts downtown
View of Downtown Columbia SC
Dow
Down
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