Congaree National Park: An Under Rated Treasure

Story and photos
by Kathleen Walls

South Carolina has an under-appreciated treasure in its heartlands. Congaree National Park in the Midlands, just about 18 miles from Columbia, is South Carolina's only national park. It's the largest preserved section of old growth bottomland hardwood forest in the southeastern United States providing a unique ecosystem that supports native wildlife, including bobcats, deer, armadillos, turkeys, alligators, snakes, feral hogs, and over 2000 bird species, one of the largest number in the country, and ancient trees. There is a small museum in the visitor's center telling the history and wildlife found there. The park offers over 25 miles of hiking trails and 2.5 miles of boardwalks. There's a canoe trail where you can bring your own kayak or canoe and paddle or rent one. It also allows primitive camping. Sadly, it's the third-least-visited park east of the Mississippi.

We visited it last week, and I was amazed at the beauty. Even the parking area is filled with giant trees, so the picnic tables are shaded. The day we visited, we had an extra treat. The Horseless Carriage Club was meeting there and the parking lot was lined with dozens of old beauties.

Visitors Center

Inside the visitors' center, the museum has exhibits about the park. There's a model of a huge hollow cypress tree you can step inside. A video tells you to be sure to get a trail map and take plenty of water on your hike into the forest.

One exhibit takes you back to the early history and explorers of the area. Naturally there is a wildlife one with a cute raccoon and a blue heron. There is an exhibit dedicated to Harry Hampton, a writer and outdoorsman who first began advocating for preservation of the Congaree floodplain area. You'll see his old fishing equipment and the Royal typewriter he wrote on. He was born in 1897 when much of South Carolina was still natural, but what is now the park was then owned by Francis Beidler a wealthy lumberman, and he grew rich on the harvest of cypress trees. In spite of opposition from lumbermen and their political friends, he finally succeeded. Just four years before his death, Hampton saw the area preserved by congress and named Congaree Swamp National Monument in 1976. In 2003, Congress officially designated it a National Park. The visitors' center is named for Hampton.

Boardwalk Trail

The boardwalk trail we took begins behind the center. Be sure to use the restroom just outside the center before you start, as once you are on the boardwalk, you leave civilization behind. There is only beautiful swampland beneath you. Although the land is very wet, there are trees and brush all around. Congaree's tree canopy is higher than many other old-growth forests reaching an average height of 100 feet, the tallest in the eastern U.S. One of the biggest components is the cypress trees. They are only found in the southeastern United States, beginning in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Wildlife

Of course, we were all searching for wildlife. Since it was midday and rather hot, that was a challenge. We saw what looked like footprints, possibly a raccoon, in the mud below. At first we heard birds and saw a few in flight, then we hit the jackpot with a beautiful, barred owl. I managed to get a few pictures as he rested between flights. The barred owl is known for its distinctive cry, which sounds like "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you?"

A few yards down the boardwalk, there were a pair of pileated woodpeckers busy digging their lunch of tasty insects from a well pecked tree trunk. And speaking of inscets, there were some interstinglooking spiders.

Other Park Activities

I would have loved to have more time to spend at this park. I could have done some kayaking along its Blue Trail, which is a 50-mile kayak/trail that runs from downtown Columbia to the park. There are outfitters in Columbia who rents canoes and kayaks if you don't have your own. Other park events are a nocturnal Ranger-guided Owl Prowl, and they host an annual Firefly Festival in May where you get to see Photuris frontalis, a local type of firefly that flashes in unison.

For more about another national park,

My friend and fellow travel writer, Jo Clark, says her favorite National Park is the Blue Ridge Parkway. When people take a road trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway, most probably never realize that it is a part of the National Park Service. It is known as America’s Favorite Drive for good reason:  the road wraps through 469 miles of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Appalachian Mountain chain. Starting at the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, the drive ends at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. Below is one of her photos of Lovers Leap on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

 

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