What a hidden gem! Congaree National Park in South Carolina was recently established in 2003, but had been protected still as a national monument the past few decades. It is one of the least visited parks in the country with approximately 110,000 visitors a year (Smoky Mountains is most visited with 9 million annual visitors). I read somewhere that this park boasts one of the biggest varieties of mosquitoes and poison ivy! How exciting, right? I don’t know if that’s true or not, and we had no issues personally, but they do have a mosquito level sign… so that miiiiight be a reason for the lack of visitors.

When Mike and I arrived, it was immediately obvious that this was smaller than other places just by the minimal parking lots – and they still didn’t get full. However, other people’s loss was our gain! We got to hike around essentially by ourselves and feel like we were exploring new land…. that just happened to have a nicely built boardwalk and trails.

This park is a flood plain with some of the most beautiful and unique trees and vegetation I’ve encountered. Because of the flooding, their main trail is actually an elevated boardwalk that loops around for a couple miles making this a wonderful park option for those that are in wheelchairs or have trouble walking. 

Off the boardwalk, there are a few more trails that go deeper into the park. The first day we explored the 4.4mi Weston Lake Loop. There is no elevation to worry about but it’s not quite as quick of a hike as you’d expect because you still spend time looking where you’re walking so you don’t step into a swamp puddle. We also encountered lots of salamanders, snakes (nope nope nope), birds, and turtles. 

At this park, they have many “champion trees” that are the known tallest of their kind in the state or nation! The most unique trees to me are loblolly trees that are almost 200′ tall and bald cypress that thrive in the water and you can identify these by their “knees” that are surrounding them.

Congaree offers free back country camping but the rangers didn’t recommend it while we were there as the water levels were rising. Mike was/is getting realllll tired of parking at Walmarts overnight, so we still decided to at least camp at their more primitive campground, Bluff Campgrounds, for only $5. And we had the whole place to ourselves! Luca was pumped about this – and the whole park was dog friendly too so he really loved this place.  

The next day we hiked even deeper into the park on Oakridge and Kingsnake trails. However, the water levels were still rising so both trails were flooded a few miles in so we were unable to do the full trail lengths – but it was still veryyyy obvious these trails are much less taken by the lack of trail grooming. The other trails were about 5-10′ wide and groomed while these would only be 1-3′ wide with trees and other plants blocking your path often. There are trail numbers posted pretty frequently though so I’d imagine it’d be hard to get too lost.

After that, we went into Columbia for the next day to wait for the water levels to go down – we visited the very nice Y there (I even got Mike to do a group exercise class with me – Power Barre! He was the teachers pet) and then tried out the Columbia Craft Brewing Company. Again, it was dog friendly with a large outdoor patio and easy to drink beers.

We rented a canoe from River Runners for $40 and paddled Cedar Creek in Congaree the next day! (It was quite the adventure driving with it in our van, back doors open, and it wedged between me and mike in the front) To me, a somewhat novice canoeist, the water levels and current were perfect- but I’m not sure if Mike would agree as he definitely paddled more than I did. 

All in all, this park is great if you’re looking for a less crowded, more unique park to visit! Since it would only take 1-3 days to do all the highlights, I’d recommend it for a long weekend, or as a supplement to a whole South Carolina vacation.