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Pretty Place chapel — officially Fred W. Symmes Chapel — is a free, open-air stone-and-timber chapel at YMCA Camp Greenville in upstate South Carolina, about an hour south of Asheville. Visiting is free. But the visitation schedule changes daily, and the chapel closes to the public from mid-May through mid-August. Check the live schedule the day you go, not the week before.
Quick facts
| Detail | What to know |
|---|---|
| Location | YMCA Camp Greenville, Cleveland, SC — Greenville County, about an hour south of Asheville, NC |
| Cost to visit | Free, no charge, during open daylight hours |
| Schedule | Changes daily and sometimes hourly — check Camp Greenville’s own visitation schedule the day you go |
| Closed to the public | Mid-May through mid-August every year (camp season), plus any day reserved for a private event |
| Weddings and events | Yes — private bookings, fees support chapel upkeep and camper scholarships |
| Regular church services | No — Camp Greenville’s own policy states it does not hold public worship services here |
| Nearby hike | Rainbow Falls, a 140-foot waterfall — a short, steep route from camp property or a longer, gentler route via Jones Gap State Park |
What Is Pretty Place Chapel?
Pretty Place is an open-air chapel built in 1941 on land donated to YMCA Camp Greenville. Fred W. Symmes gave the chapel itself so campers would have the view year-round; the site was already known as “Pretty Place” by then. Hazle Baker Cleveland had donated the 28-acre mountaintop parcel the camp sits on. The structure is simple: a peaked wood roof over rows of plain benches, open on the mountain side, facing a low stone wall and a wooden cross, with the Blue Ridge running out behind it for miles. The chapel sits on the eastern ridge of the mountains, inside Camp Greenville’s roughly 1,400-acre property near Caesars Head State Park.
I’ve made the drive down from the Asheville side more than once, and the chapel is the easy part. The hike down to Rainbow Falls, right near the chapel parking area, is what people don’t warn you about. The trail, if you want to call it that, goes straight up and down a cliff face. A longer, gentler route comes in from the other side through Jones Gap State Park, but the direct one from Camp Greenville has no patience for switchbacks. Get permission from the camp office first, and don’t take it lightly.
Pretty Place Visiting Hours
There’s no fixed weekly schedule here. Camp Greenville posts a visitation calendar online, and it updates constantly. The chapel might be open from early morning through evening one day and closed entirely the next. That’s especially true during the busy wedding months of April, May, September and October. Visitation is free, with no ticket or reservation required when the chapel is open. But only the chapel area itself is public; the rest of camp property is off-limits. There are no indoor restrooms at the site, only portable toilets, and pets have to stay in the car.
One date range is fixed. Pretty Place closes to public visitation from mid-May through mid-August every year, while camp is in full summer session. Plan a trip for spring, early summer before the closure, or fall. Check the schedule again the morning you leave, not just when you’re booking the rest of the trip.
Pretty Place Weddings
The chapel is a genuine, popular wedding and elopement venue, along with memorial services and dedications. That’s a large part of why the schedule is so unpredictable for casual visitors. Booking fees go toward maintaining the chapel and funding camper scholarships. What it isn’t is a working church. Camp Greenville’s own policy is clear: Pretty Place doesn’t hold regular worship services of any kind. If you’re picturing a Sunday service here, that’s not currently how the site operates. Its role is a camp landmark and a private event space, open to the public between bookings.
Rainbow Falls Hike
Rainbow Falls is a roughly 140-foot waterfall a short distance from the chapel. There are two genuinely different ways to reach it.
The direct route starts on Camp Greenville property, close to the chapel parking area. It’s short, under two miles round trip. But it drops straight down a cliff face into the gorge, with sections steep enough that some hikers use fixed ropes to get down and back up. The route crosses private camp land, so check in with the camp office before starting down the trail. This is not a casual walk, and it isn’t the one to take with small kids, a bad knee, or wet shoes.
The longer route comes in from the opposite side, through Jones Gap State Park, and runs closer to five miles round trip. It’s still a real hike with meaningful elevation gain. But it follows an established, graded trail with bridges instead of a cliff scramble. The tradeoff is a much longer day for an easier grade.
Whichever way you go, the falls sit in a narrow gorge that only gets direct sun for a few hours around midday. Aim to be down there then, rather than early morning or late afternoon, if you want to actually see the water lit up.
Best Time to Visit Pretty Place Chapel
Fall is the draw for most visitors. The view from the chapel opens up over turning leaves across the Blue Ridge. Expect the visitation schedule to be tighter then too, since it overlaps with the busiest wedding season. Spring brings its own version of the same view, with dogwoods and rhododendron instead of fall color, and it’s open before the mid-May closure kicks in. Sunset is the single best time of day to be in the chapel itself, when the light comes in low across the ridgeline behind the cross. But sunset is also one of the more commonly booked wedding windows, which makes it exactly the slot most likely to be closed to the public. Check the schedule specifically for evening availability before planning around it.
What to Wear to Pretty Place Chapel
What you put on your feet matters more here than what you carry. Bring real hiking shoes with grip if Rainbow Falls is part of the plan, not sandals or sneakers. The direct route down from camp is steep and often damp, and the rock at the bottom of the gorge gets slick. Call the camp office ahead of a hike down that route, rather than assuming you can just start down the trail. If the steep route isn’t for you, the Jones Gap approach gets you the same waterfall without the cliff. At the chapel itself, bring cash if you want to leave a maintenance donation. Plan around the portable-toilet-only reality if that matters for your group. Above all, check Camp Greenville’s live visitation schedule the day of your visit.
Pretty Place Chapel Cost
Pretty Place itself is free, no ticket, no parking fee, no donation required. It’s a short stop, and the view earns its reputation. Pair it with the direct Rainbow Falls hike only if everyone in your group is up for a genuinely steep scramble, with camp permission in hand. Otherwise take the longer Jones Gap route to the same waterfall, or skip the hike and just do the chapel. Either way, the schedule is the whole plan here. Confirm it same-day, because nothing else about the trip matters if the gate’s closed when you get there.
Frequently asked questions about Pretty Place chapel
Where is Pretty Place chapel?
Pretty Place, officially Fred W. Symmes Chapel, is on YMCA Camp Greenville property in Cleveland, South Carolina, in Greenville County, roughly an hour’s drive south of Asheville, North Carolina.
Is Pretty Place chapel free?
Yes, there’s no charge to visit during the hours it’s open to the public. Donations toward chapel upkeep are welcomed but not required.
Does Pretty Place chapel have church service?
No. Camp Greenville’s own policy states the chapel does not offer worship services of any kind. It’s used for private weddings, memorials and camp programs, and is otherwise open to visitors during daylight hours.
Is Rainbow Falls a hard hike?
The short route from camp property is steep. It drops directly down a cliff face in well under two miles round trip, and camp permission is expected before you start down it. A longer, easier-graded route of around five miles round trip reaches the same waterfall from Jones Gap State Park.
Can you get married at Pretty Place?
Yes. Weddings and elopements are a regular, bookable use of the chapel through Camp Greenville, along with memorial services. That’s also why the public visitation schedule changes so often.
Published September 24, 2026.