Congaree was our 33rd National Park! I can’t believe we have visited well over half the nation’s National Parks, and we can’t wait to explore more! Congaree National Park is located in central South Carolina, about 20 miles outside of the state capitol, Columbia. To be honest, I have put off visiting this National Park because of its reputation for mosquitos. And we live in Florida, the mosquito capitol of the world (or at least it feels like it sometimes, haha). Truthfully though, I had no desire to tour a National Park while getting eaten alive by bugs. This is also the reason it took us so long to visit Biscayne National Park… it also has a very strong reputation for mosquitos. However, with the right timing, we have proven that both of these National Parks can be visited without becoming a mosquito’s meal. We toured Biscayne in November with no problem and we have now toured Congaree at the end of December with no problem.
Our visit to Congaree was very convenient, because we had planned a Winter Break trip to Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Blowing Rock is a 10 hour drive from our home in Florida, and we realized Congaree was only a slight detour from our route. We left our house very early on December 27th and arrived at Congaree around 2pm. To our surprise, the parking lot was packed! This is surprising because Congaree is one of the “least visited” National Parks in the system. But because many people have off during the time between Christmas and the New Year, in addition to the pleasant weather, it makes sense that Congaree was busy on the two days we visited. One very important point to note is that Congaree National Park is dog friendly! This was key for us, as we were traveling with our pet, and one of us would have had to stay behind in the car or hotel with him had we not been able to bring him into the Park.
Upon arrival, we checked out the Visitor Center and chatted with a Ranger to find the best hiking path for us for the day. There had been rain, and since Congaree is basically a swamp, many trails were flooded. We didn’t want to trudge through huge puddles or mud, so we tried to stick to the drier areas of the Park. The great news is that there is a 2.4 mile boardwalk loop that starts and ends at the Visitor Center/parking lot. This is the perfect way to see Congaree when the water is high or if you have limited time. We started with the boardwalk loop and really enjoyed it. There is a coordinating map with numbers that explain what you are seeing as you walk around the loop. The elevated boardwalk is also stroller and wheelchair friendly. Along this trail, you will see huge cypress trees that reach 130 feet into the air, old-growth forest, a lake, loblolly pines, and more. Interesting fact: only the redwoods stretch taller than Congaree’s biggest trees!
We detoured off the boardwalk loop towards the end and took Firefly Trail out to Bluff Trail. It was an easy hike through a young pine forest. The perfect way to stretch our legs after 7 hours in the car! We enjoyed the fresh air, peace, and quiet of the forest (except for when our boys were yelling or the dog was barking of course!). Once we finished our hike, we returned to the Visitor Center, let the dog drink out of the communal dog bowl they have, and went to our hotel in Columbia. Great first day!
The next day, we woke up and had a lazy morning at the hotel, then went back to Congaree to explore a little bit more before we drove 3 more hours to Blowing Rock. We didn’t necessarily need to go back; we felt like we had a good overview of the Park and to be honest, it all kind of looked the same to me… swamp, trees, more trees. But with two active boys and a dog, it was in our best interest to burn some energy before we hopped in the car for more driving. Again, we checked with the Ranger about the day’s conditions and were told that if we didn’t want to get too wet or muddy, we should explore the higher areas of the Park. So we started again on Firefly Trail and Bluff Trail, then continued onto Longleaf Trail. The sun was out, it was peaceful, pretty, and just nice to breathe in the fresh, forest air. We were out there for at least 2 hours, so it was the perfect amount of exercise and activity before we loaded everyone back in the car.
Congaree National Park is great because if you want to, you can see it in one day. There are options for camping, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and of course hiking. This Park is stroller and wheelchair friendly, and the trails seem very manageable for kids of all ages. We loved the fact that Congaree is dog-friendly too! Overall, this isn’t a Park that you need a week to explore, but it’s an ideal day-trip if you happen to be in the area or passing through. We enjoyed it and were happy to make it our 33rd National Park!
