Dates we visited: May 6th, 2021
Where we stayed: Santee Lakes KOA
After completing our epic adventure to Dry Tortugas National Park, we headed north through Georgia and on into South Carolina to visit Congaree National Park. Kristy found us a great campground set in the woods next to a lake. After a few weeks in the Florida heat and humidity we were relieved to be in a cooler climate.
The bottomland
Congaree is known as a “Bottomland” forest. This basically means that it is a forest that exists on a floodplain. Because of this, the park floods frequently, about ten times a year. Depending on the severity of the flood, the various parts of the park may be open or closed on any given day.
Because of the wet conditions in the area, the mosquitos can be quite bad here. So bad, that the visitor center has a “mosquito meter” prominently displayed at the park entry. The official range goes from “1 - All clear” to “6 - War Zone”. Lucky for us, the park was not flooded, and the mosquito meter was at a manageable 2.5.
The Boardwalk
On the scale of National Parks, Congaree is one of the smaller ones. While there are a number of trails, the highlight of the park is the boardwalk trail that starts and ends at the visitor center. Canoe trips are also possible depending on conditions, but for this trip we decided to stick to the boardwalk.
Congaree is home to a number of “Champion” trees, which are the tallest known specimen of their species. Unfortunately, several of those were lost in the last few years as hurricanes swept through the area. As we traversed the two mile long Boardwalk Loop trail, we were struck by the lushness of the green forest and the diversity of plant life. We didn’t spot much of wildlife, but we did come across quite a few birds, a lizard and a couple of water moccasin snakes sunning themselves on rocks near a pond.
This park was quiet and the hike was peaceful. We had a pleasant day adventuring here, and really enjoyed the boardwalk trail. If you plan to visit, make sure you check the flood levels, and time it to avoid the “war-zone” level mosquitos!