Review of Congaree National Park: The only National park in the state of South Carolina
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| Congaree National Park, SC |
During our 3 months stay in Murrells Inlet (South Carolina), we discovered Congaree National Park, the only national park in the state of South Carolina. We were debating whether to visit this park as it is about a 3 hour drive from Murrells Inlet area.
In the end, we couldn’t resist the temptation of Congaree National Park after seeing awesome pictures of vast swamps and the iconic boardwalk that loops around the park. We were glad we got to visit the park as the park is surreal and otherworldly.
Congaree National Park is located in the town of Hopkins, about 18 miles southeast of the state capital, Columbia. The park itself is 27,000 acres, and it boasts the largest tract of old growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the United States.
Established in 2003 as part of the national park system, Congaree National Park is part of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The park preserves some of the tallest loblolly pines alive today, as well as bald cypress trees that are over 500 years old.
Congaree National Park offers over 25 miles of hiking trails, a 2.4 mile boardwalk, a dog friendly environment, and kayaking/canoeing through deep forests, swamps, wetlands, and lakes. Congaree National Park’s varied landscape has a rich cultural heritage, as Americans from all walks of life have called Congaree home, including Native Americans, Revolutionary War patriots, moonshiners, bootleggers, and escaped slaves.
Armed with this information, we set out to explore the park on a beautiful Tuesday morning in January, with highs hitting about 50 degrees. As usual, our pack (my wife, myself, and our Pomeranian Toby) prepared our lunch, snacks, and drinks.
We left our rental at 8:00 a.m. for the park. We knew the drive would take us northwest, and it would take close to 3 hours. Luckily, we didn’t hit much traffic after passing Conway area.
The roads opened up nicely revealing farms and ancient forests. We passed several small towns/villages that didn’t have any traffic lights, so we made good progress. As we got closer to the park, we passed Shaw Air Force base to our right. I was hoping to see some cool planes on tarmac, but that wasn’t the case. The planes were all hidden, out of sight from civilians…
As we got within few miles of the park, we passed through a small town with a railroad that goes through the Main Street. It reminded me of any number of movies that depict a small town that time forgot with a two block Main Street with stores, a railroad track, and old churches.
The location would be perfect as a setting for “Jack Reacher” series or any story about a blues musician! I was daydreaming as we drove through the town, mildly amused by my wandering thoughts…
I got my mind back to task at hand, which was to get us safely to the park!
In no time, we arrived at the main entrance to the park, and we followed the signs for the Harry Hampton Visitor Center. We noticed there is no entrance fees to visit this national park, which is cool.
We parked near the visitor center and got out to stretch our legs. We let Toby out so he can mark his territory, then we made our way to the visitor center for a pit stop as well as to grab a map of the park and its trails.
I went in to the visitor center and was greeted by a friendly ranger at the welcome desk. I asked for a map and was promptly given one with a smile. I love park rangers!
We all went back to the car to eat our lunch before heading out to the boardwalk trail. We ate for the next 10 minutes savoring our food, then we gave Toby some of his treats and water. We were finally ready for some exploration!
Most of the trails are accessible from the visitor center, including the Boardwalk Trail, which is a 2.4 mile loop trail that features a boardwalk. In fact, this trail is 99% boardwalk! There are small sections where you have to walk on gravel/dirt road, but it’s not more than 20 feet of that.
We started our hike behind the visitor center and immediately saw the boardwalk. There were few people coming back from their hike already when we started our hike. We greeted them, then jumped right in.
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| Entrance to the Boardwalk Trail, Congaree National Park, SC |
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| Congaree National Park Boardwalk Trail |
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| Another view of the entrance to Boardwalk Trail, Congaree National Park |
We already loved the trail with its elevated boardwalk to start the hike. We could see we were surrounded by trees of all types and sizes, and birds! It was rather nippy that morning but we didn’t mind. We loved the cool, crisp, clean air!
As the elevated boardwalk descended towards the swamp floor, we thought we were in an otherworldly place. It was full of gigantic cypress trees with its huge roots visible to all. When there was a break in the canopy, the trees looked even more impressive in the morning light.
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| View from the Boardwalk Trail, Congaree National Park |
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| Toby on the Boardwalk Trail, Congaree National Park |
We learned the dark colored mud on either side of the boardwalk is called Dorovan muck, which is eight feet thick, and plays an important role in the health of the floodplain. It filters water, traps pollutants then turns them into harmless compounds.
We continued on and stopped to take a look at small outcrops of tiny roots that mimic a small tree. We found out these were called “knees” that are produced from the roots of bald cypress trees. Their role is not fully understood, but it’s thought to be used as extra structural support during storms and hurricanes.
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| “Knees” visible on swampfloor |
We can tell Toby really enjoyed the hike on the boardwalk. He was in his element! His ears were perked up, tail was up, and he was actively sniffing the air all around him.
We continued and were mesmerized by the height and the width of many of the trees at the park. They were easily over 130 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide. In fact, thanks to the constant availability of water, the dense nutrients, and a long growing season in the swamps, Congaree National Park contains one of the tallest deciduous forests in the world.
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| Couldn’t get the entire height of this tree, but you get the idea |
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| Check out the diameter of the trunk! |
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| Bigger trunk! |
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| Weston Lake, Congaree National Park |
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| Saw few of these fallen trees |
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| Happy Toby! |
After taking few minutes resting, we got up to complete our hike. We knew Weston Lake is sort of the half way point of Boardwalk Trail, so we pushed ourselves, including Toby, to get this hike done!
The boardwalk again became elevated near Weston Lake. We noticed it actually continued all the way back to the visitor center. Good thing, as the ground was really wet and muddy.
Along the hike back to the visitor center, we made multiple stops, one of which was the area where bootleggers and moonshiners used to live. We saw equipment used to cook up homemade alcohol faraway in the distance.
We also read about escaped slaves who made their home within the confines of Congaree, as it presented a monumental challenge for authorities and slave owners to venture deep into the swamps. With history learning out of the way, we continued on, until we saw bunch of palmettos, specifically, the dwarf palmettos.
Dwarf palmettos are cousins to the cabbage palmettos, which is the state tree of South Carolina. These are some of the hardiest palm trees due to their ability to withstand freezing temperatures. They thrive in wet, sandy areas where a disturbance, like a hurricane, causes a gap in the canopy, which allows sunlight to reach the forest floor.
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| Dwarf palmettos |
By this time of the hike, Toby was tired, and he refused to budge. He demanded we lift him for a free ride! We did as he commanded, of course.
We were surprised we didn’t run into many hikers out on the boardwalk. We ran into maybe 5 people during our 2.4 mile hike. It felt as if we owned the park and we were out for a stroll in our own backyard! Awesome.
We had completed our hike at last! It was an awesome hike and what a beautiful park!
In conclusion:
Although Congaree National Park is not well known, this is a park that deserves respect. From the otherworldly swamp, ancient looking forest, looping boardwalk, to cultural heritage, Congaree National Park should be on the list of national parks to visit for all aficionados of nature.
We were so grateful we got to visit this wonderful place. The national park system is one of the greatest things about living in the United States. We know these sacred lands are protected from development for peoples of all walks of life to enjoy.
Not having to pay an admission fee is cherry on top!
Thank you all for reading!
Jake
Wandering Money Pig
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