Is Congaree National Park worth the visit?

I’ll get to the punch line first: It depends. Read on to find out what it depends on.

Congaree National Park protects the low lying floodplain around Congaree and Cedar Creek rivers in South Carolina, essential to preserving the fragile ecosystem. Before it became a National Park in 2003, it was the Congaree Swamp National Monument. I suppose if the word swamp was kept in the title, it may deter visitors.

The park is not far from Columbia, the capital of South Carolina. It’s easy to reach, but hard to plan. I’ll get to that a bit later.

Our Visits to Congaree National Park

The Inspiration for our Quest

Our first visit to Congaree was in 2016, on a rainy Monday morning in June. The air was warm, but not hot, especially for June in South Carolina. Our first stop was the visitor center and the bookstore. I saw the blue park passport stamp book and thought it may be interesting to visit all the National Parks and collect the stamps.

The more I thought about it, the more intriguing the idea became. We would travel around the country, going to places where we’ve never been. We accomplished this goal in 2024 and it was everything I thought and so much more.

Hard to plan, hard to visit (except one trail)

Being a floodplain, the park floods regularly. There are two main activities in the park: Hiking and Boating.

Hiking

The most popular trail in the park is the 2.6 mile Boardwalk Loop, a few feet above the floodplain. It’s flat, easily accessible, with educational signs about the various plants, history, and the ecosystem. This is where most of the people go, including us. This is the one trail that is easy to visit.

There are many other trails, as long as the 12 mile Kingsnake Trail. Many of these trails are difficult to follow and floods frequently. Ever after the water recedes, it is muddy for days.

All the trails in the park are flat. It is a floodplain, after all.

Boating

Cedar Creek is the main river for canoeing and kayaking. The marked Cedar Creek Canoe trail is 15 miles long and passes through primeval old-growth forest that contains some of the tallest trees in eastern North America, river otter, deer, turtles and birds of many species.

The other option is the Congaree River Blue Trail, 50 miles of river from Columbia to Congaree National Park. It’s a two to three day trip to run the entire length.

While there are no campgrounds along the river, you can camp on sandbars when the river level is low.

You will need to bring your own equipment, or arrange with one of the outfitters.

Hard to Plan

The visit experience, either hiking or boating is highly dependent on water level. Water level can fluctuate 10 feel in a matter of days. Because it’s a floodplain and flat, everything is flooded when the water level rises.

In addition, floods causes damage. The park service is forever in a catchup mode to clear downed trees, repair signs, and shore up erosion.

Since it’s difficult to predict rain weeks or months ahead of time, you can’t predict the trail or river condition. If you plan for a trip to Congaree more than a few days ahead, you are taking your chances on the condition of the trails and the river.

When to go

While you can’t plan for the rain and the water level, you can plan for the season. South Carolina is hot and humid in the summer. When you combine hot and humid weather with a swamp (sorry, a floodplain), you get lots of insects, some of which are relentless in hunting for your blood.

The National Park Service has a sense of humor with this. There is a large mosquito meter in the visitor center that ranged from “All Clear” to “War Zone”.

Winter in South Carolina is mild. The daytime temperature almost always rises above freezing and frequently reach the 60s. I recommend visiting in late fall to early spring, not during summer.

Boardwalk Loop Trail

The First Visit

We didn’t plan ahead for our first visit in June, 2016. We were on our way home from a visit to a friend and saw a National Park on the map. I’ve visited a few National Parks and all of them were grand and beautiful so we decided to see what Congaree was all about.

It was rainy and cool for June. The parking lot was pretty empty. We were the only ones in the visitor center. We were a little worried when we saw the mosquito meter at the visitor center, but fortunately for us, it was at level 2 – mild. The ranger did warn us that if the steady light rain stopped, the mosquitos would come out quickly.

The only trail that was open without heavy mud was the Boardwalk Loop Trail. Evidence of water was everywhere as we walked along the elevated boardwalk. We were lucky no part of the boardwalk was flooded, as it is often the case. There were markers for the self guided tour that explained the various trees, plants, mud, and birds, and how a change of a few inches in elevation can change the plants and the habitat.

Even though the mosquito meter showed “mild”, we were still bothered by deer flies. They keep buzzing our ears and we had to constantly swing our arms, umbrella and our hats. They do bite if you let them land on you. These critters made it difficult to just stand there, admire the tall trees and hear the birds.

We were among Loblolly Pines, some of the tallest trees in eastern North America. One of the stops on the trail was a 150 foot tall Loblolly Pine. We were fortunate the entire trail was open, and we made the full loop.

The Second Visit

We visited again in late December, 2023, after we visited 62 out of 63 National Parks, very close to the end of our quest that started with Congaree.

This time, it was a cold (by South Carolina standards) and sunny day, with the temperature in the 40s. This time, the parking lot was full and we had to park in the overflow lot.

The mosquito meter showed “All Clear”, which was what we expected in the cold.

The only trail that was open was half of the Boardwalk Loop Trail, so it wasn’t really a loop. We quickly saw why. Half of the trail was under water and the forest floor under the half was flooded. It had rained a few days before and the water had not receded yet. Many of the points of interest on the interpretive signs were under water.

This time, however, we were able to stop, linger, and soak in the forest and hear the birds because there were no bugs to swat. Even with many other people around, it still felt serene. It was a different view, with the flooded plain.

Unfortunately, we were not able to leave the boardwalk on our visits, but I suspect the scenery is similar but more secluded with more opportunity to see wildlife.

Paddling on the river could be a relaxing experience. Since we didn’t do it, I can’t comment more on it.

Fireflies

Between mid-May mid-June, Congaree is a very popular place when synchronous fireflies put on a show at night. It’s so popular the park service has a lottery system to distribute passes.

Worth the Visit?

Congaree ranked 52nd in visitation in 2022. All the parks below Congaree are hard to reach whereas Congaree is close to a lot of people. The main purpose of Congaree is to protect the floodplain ecosystem. It doesn’t have the “wow” scenery that’s the hallmark of most National Parks.

Yet, it’s still beautiful and provides unique scenery that’s well worth a day when enough trails are open.

While I don’t think it’s worth a visit as the main destination you plan a trip around, it’s well worth the visit if:

• You live close enough for a weekend trip.
• You are in South Carolina and have a few hours to a day to spare.
• You enjoy canoeing or kayaking on calm rivers.
• You can visit on short notice (when the water level is low).
• You are from the desert west and you don’t see lush green very often.
• You want to watch the magical show of synchronous Fireflies (planning well ahead is required).

Impressions of Congaree National Park:

Congaree, like all National Parks, has something special to offer. In this case, old growth forest in a floodplain. The Loblolly pines are majestic and the swamp (oops, I mean floodplain) is interesting. It’s not as majestic or awe inspiring as some parks, but it has a certain charm to it, especially when the bugs are not around.

Have you visited Congaree National Park?  Leave a comment below on your experience.  Click on the Follow link and get an email when new postings are available.  I will not share your email so no worries.

Congaree National Park Rating:

(Note: Ratings are on a bell curve, which means there are as many 5 star ratings as 1 star ratings.  All National Parks are wonderful, which makes this a very strict rating scale)

Top Attractions at Congaree National Park

• Boardwalk Loop Trail.
• Cedar Creek River Trail for canoeing and kayaking.
• Synchronous Fireflies in May/June.

One Day Visit Plan

• Stop by the visitor center to get oriented and check the condition of the trails and pick up the interpretive guide.
• Walk the 2.4 mile Boardwalk Loop Trail and follow the stops on the guide.
• If open and not muddy, hike the Weston Lake Loop Trail, which overlaps a bit with the Boardwalk Loop Trail.

Practical Info for Visiting Congaree National Park

• Check the status of trails and rivers on the NPS web site. They can change daily.
• On average, the park floods 10 times a year.
• Plan for half day to a day if you are hiking only. A day to two days if you are canoeing or kayaking.
• Columbia is a major city 30 minutes from the park with all the needed services.
• Don’t go during the summer. It will be buggy, hot and humid.
• Camping is available for tents only, no RV sites. Parking is not immediately next to the site. Permits are required and some campsites have a fee.

Congaree National Park Facts:

• Size: 26,546 acres, ranked 56th.
• Visitors: 250,114 in 2023, ranked 52nd. 2023 was a record year.
• Peak month in 2023: 28,994 visitors in May.
• Low month in 2023: 15,073 visitors in February.
• Entrance fee: Free.

Date Visited: