10 Great Places To Explore in Columbia
Check out our INSIDER GUIDE to 10 Places You Can Explore on your own in Columbia!
Justin Rule founded Discover Columbia LLC when he saw a problem: the town he had grown to know, love, work in, and live in was not being recognized for its historic and unique past, appreciated in its present state of beauty, nor celebrating for the possibilities of its future. It was not capturing positive attention online. So – Discover Columbia began to tell a better story than the at-that-time first page of Google and YouTube.
Columbia has a story that needs to be told.
Yes, like every small town in America, there are good seasons and some we wish were not part of our story… but isn’t that America? Isn’t that our lives?
Tourists, current and future business owners, and potential homeowners need to know how special this river town is.
So we exist to help people discover our history, enjoy our people, and explore our shops, architecture, and natural resources.
A small town needs big hearts, coordinated efforts, and some larger support structures and resources (finances) to elevate itself as a destination for food, drink, tourists, shops etc. We knew that Columbia already had the key: Big hearts.
Passionate people are the lifeblood of our town.
Sometimes too passionate.
Sometimes – just like our paternal families – it takes an outside perspective to help us see what we actually have to be thankful for. As a ‘transplant’ from Columbus, Ohio to Lancaster County in 2000, Justin stumbled upon Columbia around 2013 and was able to move his web design business (Launch Kits) to Columbia and later his family of five to their home off Kinderhook Road.
Discover Columbia LLC was simply a way to help promote the town as a great place to work, explore, visit, eat, stay, live and it was a revived rivertown needing some air under its wings.
Using the creative team at Launch Kits (designers, writers, developers, photographers, videographers), Justin spent the first few years of Discover Columbia just elevating the ‘first page’ results of Columbia, PA through the lens of positivity and the mentality of “do good if good needs to be done.”
Discover Columbia now uses its own website, social media following, YouTube content, print media partnerships, and network of local businesses to help elevate Columbia and influence the conversation, change the narrative, and impact the future of this great rivertown.
We exist to help people discover our history, enjoy our people, and explore our shops, architecture, and natural resources.
Justin Rule, Founder
The professional videos, published articles, local and national press, print magazines, apparel, stickers, and time we give are all out of the overflow of our desire to see Columbia thriving as a revived river town.
Launch Kits uses its profits from designing websites for clients around the world to help our town of Columbia – at no cost to Columbia business owners.
In 2021, Discover Columbia LLC took a huge leap of faith and purchased Freedom Home and became Columbia’s first historic BnB that brings visitors to Columbia, customers into stores and restaurants around town, and has produced an enormous economic impact on small businesses in town.
The results have been amazing at elevating the perception of our town to those visiting the local and greater region.
Just read the google reviews or check their feedback on AirBnB. Freedom Home is in the Top 1% of all AirBnbs… on the planet!
It is our hope that eventually the success of this historic airBnB in Columbia can self-sustain some staff to work for Discover Columbia for the long haul. Meaning, rather than Launch Kits staff and profits being used, that Discover Columbia would have its own team – all funded by the revenue from Freedom Home.
That is a few years out, but I think we can do it.
We also pay for photographers, videographers, national and local print articles, news coverage, social media ads, social influencers, and pour tens of thousands of dollars into these efforts each year at NO COST to local businesses.
So Discover Columbia will continue to celebrate our people, places, past, present, and future as Columbia is revived and its story continues to grow.
Come Discover Columbia!
Our town borders the waters of the Susquehanna River. Enjoy biking and hiking trails and time by the water.
Our downtown area has restaurants, breweries, antique shops, boutiques and historic buildings to explore.
Established in 1726, our town has a rich history that’s still alive today. Learn about our roots and take a historic walking tour.
5 Bedrooms with Queen Beds + A Secret Room!
Reserve on AirBnb or Directly on Website!
Check out our INSIDER GUIDE to 10 Places You Can Explore on your own in Columbia!