R&R is on the menu at Sunrise Farm B&B in Salem

If you need a home base while enjoying the lakes, gorges and mountains of Oconee County, the wrap-around porch at Sunrise Farm Bed & Breakfast in Salem is waiting.

Established as a 350-acre cotton farm in 1890, Sunrise Farm opened as a bed and breakfast in the 1980s and today is a 10-acre sanctuary and staycation spot for residents of South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia.

A gem when it comes to geography, Sunrise Farm is less than 10 miles from the natural beauty of Lake Jocassee and Lake Keowee and activities that range from waterfalls to wineries.

Greg and Suzanne Humphreys are in their second year as the establishment’s fourth innkeepers, welcoming a mix of visitors including hikers, kayakers, football fans, wedding parties, reunion guests, and those who simply need a few days away.Lake

Perhaps the most memorable guests were three women who were hiking the Palmetto Trail, a 500-mile trail that extends from the Oconee County mountains to the Intracoastal Waterway in Charleston County, the Humphreys recall.

“On Tuesdays, we go into town and get our supplies for the upcoming weekend, and when we got back about 3:30 in the afternoon, there were several voice messages,” Suzanne recalled. “I called her back and she said, ‘We’re desperate.’

“I asked about how long it would take them to get here and she said it would take them about an hour to travel a mile,” Suzanne continued. “They showed up at our doorstep with these backpacks and they looked pretty exhausted. I baked a big batch of cookies that afternoon to welcome them and they ate all the cookies.”

Added Greg, “They fell asleep on the porch. Suzanne offered to let me take them to the end of trail. We told them, ‘you don’t have to do this.’”

It is that genuine interest in relationship building and a high level of hospitality that prompted the Humphreys to purchase Sunrise Farm.

“We have a love for people,” Greg said. “I always try to talk to students and children that we’ve worked with that relationships are your most important legacy in life. For us, this is an opportunity to have relationships with people.”

Guests at Sunrise Farm Bed & Breakfast can stay in one of four upstairs bedrooms of the restored Victorian farmhouse, originally built in 1906 and occupied for three generations by a family with seven daughters and one son. Accommodations also include the June Rose Garden Cottage and the Corn Crib Cottage, which was the farm’s original corn crib built at the same time as the main house.

“People who’ve grown up in the area tell me that they used to pull corn from the fields and stick it in that corn crib,” Greg said. “It’s one of our most popular accommodations.”

Cottages have full kitchens and outdoor grills and are the only two areas on the property with televisions. And while internet service is available on the farm, guests spend time enjoying board and card games, relaxing on the wrap-around porch, and feeding the farm’s mini horses, sheep, llama and goats.

“The animals add a lot,” Suzanne said. “The guests really like watching and feeding and petting them.”

As for the breakfast part of the B&B experience, guests are treated to a three-course morning meal. Fresh baked cookies are offered at check-in, and the innkeepers will prepare picnic baskets for lunch or dinner with 24-hour advance notice.

“We’ve also tried all the local restaurants, so we can give good referrals for area restaurants, wineries and area attractions,” Greg says.

And as a memento of your visit to Sunrise Farm, guests can choose a pair of socks to wear indoors during their stay and take them home.

“When guests arrive, they put their shoes in the cubby, then choose a pair of our fun socks to express their personality,” Suzanne said.

Want to visit?

Sunrise Farm Bed & Breakfast, 325 Sunrise Drive, Salem, SC 29676, (864) 944-0121, sfbb@bellsouth.net

Visit the Sunrise Farm Bed & Breakfast online at sunrisefarmbb.com to view accommodations, room rates and special packages.

For information on more great Upstate destinations, visit Upcountry South Carolina at upcountrysc.com.