Hidden · Hopkins, South Carolina, United States
Congaree National Park
The largest tract of old-growth bottomland forest left in the United States, with some of the tallest trees in the East, reached by an elevated boardwalk.
A floodplain forest that is not quite a swamp.
Congaree National Park covers 26,692.6 acres in central South Carolina, 18 miles southeast of the state capital, Columbia. It preserves the largest tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the United States. The Congaree River flows through it, and the trees of its floodplain are among the tallest in the eastern United States, forming one of the highest temperate deciduous forest canopies remaining in the world.
The park is often called a swamp, but most of it is bottomland that floods from time to time. It holds one of the largest concentrations of champion trees in the world, with the tallest known examples of 15 species, including a 157-foot sweetgum and a 154-foot cherrybark oak. About 15,000 acres are designated wilderness, and several cypress trees are well over 500 years old.
From cypress logging to a national park.
Cypress logging began in the area in 1898 and the company that ran it operated until 1914. Later, advocates for preservation formed an association in 1961, and a 1963 National Park Service study reported favorably on a national monument. When logging resumed in 1969, a new association was formed in 1972 and joined forces with the Sierra Club and other conservation groups.
Congaree Swamp National Monument was created in 1976 and expanded in 1988. Congress redesignated it Congaree National Park on November 10, 2003, dropping the misleading word swamp from the name. It is a grassroots success story, and today it is also a UNESCO biosphere reserve, an Important Bird Area and a national natural landmark.
Cypress trees and paddlers on Cedar Creek.
Practical notes.
Before you go.
Is Congaree really a swamp?
Not exactly. It is often called one, but it is mostly bottomland that floods periodically. The word swamp was dropped from its name when it became a national park in 2003.
What is special about the trees?
The park has the largest tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the United States and one of the largest concentrations of champion trees in the world, with the tallest known examples of 15 species.
What can you do there?
Walk the elevated Boardwalk Loop, hike longer trails, paddle the marked canoe trail on Cedar Creek, watch birds and camp in primitive sites.
Is it a busy park?
No. With 145,929 visitors in 2018, it ranked as the 10th-least visited national park in the country.
Around South Carolina
Walking tours, day trips and experiences around this area, on GetYourGuide.