Reviews of Congaree National Park (Park)

Taylor Ammons

This was a lot of fun for the dog. We did see some baby wild hogs though which means the mama hog was close by and that is something you don't want to mess with, especially if you have kids or something. That was at about halfway down trail #2 past the boardwalk. We will definitely be back though, beautiful park!

J.P. Quinn

The boardwalk makes the hiking easy and the numbers are fun facts to learn about the park and forest.

Matthew M

Great place to hike. Looking forward to going back and camping and canoeing.

Brandon Moebes

Great place to spend a day walking the trails and boardwalks. Some of the biggest trees along the east coast.

Laura Dotson

Wow! I had no idea this was there! Beautiful with amazing trees and great hikes. The only reason it didn't get five is because 4 months a year it's just too hot to hike.

Daniel Paredes

Great weekend trip. Bring your kayak fir the best weekend possible

Pierce coeyman

Nature in its rawest form. My favorite nature spot in S.C.

Jacquelyne Boucher

I wish we could have spent more time. Amazing trails. It was flooded in one section but they had the message on the bulletin board. We saw a barred owl while on the trail.

Agnes Vorsterman

Very nice peaceful walk along the boardwalk. You could spend all day there

Jacob Hill

Great change of landscape from mountains to swamp lands. Long trails, board walks. Just want to visit in the dry season and becareful of wild animals if venturing far. Experience is surreal

Casey Williams

Loved the quiet here! I’m from the west coast so this is much different than the parks I’m used to visiting.

Brandon Campbell

This park contains very good hiking along its boardwalk and trail through its unspoiled bottom land forest. A hike in this park will give a good sense of nature and should relax you. Do not go while it is hot, avoid visiting during the peak of summer as it was for me unbearable. The visitor center was alright but nothing special for a national park. It is still a place that would be worth a visit for anyone who enjoys nature, just try for a visit in the fall. The park would make a nice place for a picnic with the family or friend.

Joel C

it's a national park! I really enjoyed the boardwalk self-guided tour. I was able to learn a lot about the area in this manner. The scenery is beautiful and the walk is only about two and a half miles Long. I was able to make this trip with a three-year-old. There seem to be a number of other off-road trails that would be much harder to enjoy with children. the park is not heavily visited that was not overrun with people because of this there is no admittance fee. I would love to go back and try some of the longer Trails out. Don't forget to get your passport stamps here!

Jacqueline Telljohann

We were looking for a place to camp near Charlotte and ended up coming here for the weekend. It's conveniently located about an hour and a half from Charlotte which is pretty convenient (it's also right outside of Columbia). We camped at a group campsite at the Longleaf Campground. The campsites were huge and each had a fire pit. There were vault toilets at the front of the campground. The parking lot was right by the campground. The sites were close together and unfortunately we had loud neighbors, but I can't blame the campground for that. The weather was ok, but not great. It sprinkled on and off a couple of times on Saturday and was a little chilly, but we made the most of it. We're used to hiking in the blue ridge mountains, so this was something different. We did the Winston Lake Loop Trail which was around 5 miles. We really enjoyed it. It was quite scenic to see all of the trees in the marsh/swamp. The trail did get quite muddy at different parts, so definitely be prepared with waterproof boots if it has rained at all recently. In the afternoon we went kayaking which was my favorite part of the park. They do free canoe tours some days, but other than that you need to bring your own kayaks or rent from somewhere in Columbia. We started at the South Cedar Creek Canoe access. The parking is close to where you put your boats in so that's nice. The river moves fairly fast, so starting upstream is probably a better idea. We paddled for a while in both directions. It was incredibly scenic along the river and cool to be that close to the trees in the water. I'm really glad we checked this place out. It's a great place to spend a day or a weekend!

Jedediah Seltzer

Do A kayaking trip on Cedar creek, and make it a camping trip. Your life will be better. Amazing old growth, Barred owls, wild hogs, and solitude.

Andrew Terlizzi

Beautiful park! Great place just to walk and take in this old growth forest!

volatile squirrel

It's a hidden gem. Hardly anyone there, and the trails are nice and well kept. I also loved the wildlife.

John Veazey

Tallest old growth flood plain forest, amazing

Noel Molit

This place is fantastic. This is one of the only parks ive been too with a boardwalk trail. It is very peaceful place and its great for relaxing.

Lynn Ventura

Quiet with a nice elevated walkway. Very passionate staff.

Maarten Clauwaert

Cool national park. Great to hide from the sun and spot some animals

Benjamin Brown

A nice small national park that I had no idea existed until I started looking around the local area for activities. It has a nice little visitors center with displays and a video about the history of the park and the area. There's a nice boardwalk loop out to a lake and back that's handicapped accessible, and lots more trails in the backwoods as well. I hiked the Oak Ridge Trail, and I was glad of good boots and pants, because there was lots of mud, some prickly plants, and sometimes trees had fallen on the path after the recent hurricanes so those have to be navigated. I saw a bunch of wild pigs that were scared of me, a couple great blue herons, and some whitetail. Overall quite enjoyable.

James Reichert

Great, if you like hiking

Emily Elam

Congaree was beautiful and not super crowded at 10am on an early spring Saturday. The raised platform trail was perfect with two elementary kids.

Daniel Hernandez

Very cool national park and its FREE

Kimberly Mauro

I went exploring here while visiting a friend in the area. I was astounded by the beauty of this park. It was great to walk around the "boardwalk" and see nature. It was extremely peaceful and quiet. I went just an hour before sun down and snapped some really beautiful shots. After dark, the lights on the path from the main building out to the cars lit the way and were really pretty. I was lucky enough to snap a wild boar and get him on video as well. I will be back when in the area again.

Amanda Coots

We all loved walking around the park. We were hoping to see some alligators but they were hiding pretty well. We did see alot of lizards though which my kids thought were pretty neat

Dallas Howard

This is a beautiful National Park! I would definitely recommend visiting here! There is a beautiful boardwalk and it is great to hear about all the history and how hard the people of South Carolina worked to protect this beautiful land. The visitors center is very informational and the staff are very helpful and kind!

sunderarajan venkataramani

One of the best places without spending much. So much of lush green and nature abundant. Make sure you and your loved ones go safe - snakes, crocodiles, mosquitoes around.

Peter yohe

Congaree National Park is definitely worth the stop. Nature at its best. Loved the 2.4 mile loop trail.

Seashell Mountain

We got to the park right before the Visitors Center opened. Did the boardwalk trail. The pamphlet for the boardwalk trail was very informative. Very peaceful.

Tony Fotovich

This is a great place for people of all ages to visit, plus they have good fishing

Robert Malt

A small park with some nice trails. A good place to get out and stretch

Anthony Jung

A must visit at night during fire fly season end of May/early June. The fire flies flash in sync with each other. Also decent amount of not difficult trails that allows for you to further see the swamp forests.

Russell Harper

It's a wonderful place to enjoy a day hiking through the outdoors. There are plenty of trails winding throughout the park, and the boardwalk loop provides a 'safe' glimpse into the varied environments in the park. We went on an early Spring day and the weather was perfect. Since it was so early in the year, bugs were not a major issue and we only saw one snake sunbathing while we were on the boardwalk. During the summer, once the mosquitoes come out, the experience will be much different. Bring bug spray and expect to see a plethora of critters. Perhaps Congaree isn't as famous as some of the other national parks in the country but I'm thankful to have a place so close to home where my family can appreciate the beauty of nature in the Carolinas.

Allyson Posey

Went to see the synchronized fireflies. So neat! The park was open after dark till 10pm and park rangers had roped off a trail & lined it with red lights so as not to disrupt the fireflies. There was available reusable red cellophane (turned in after your tour) to cover flashlights if you needed to use them. The visitor center was open and my three littles were able to rest between sets and get their JR Ranger badges and stamps. Everyone was cheerful in spite of the late day, and a great time was had by everyone as far as I could tell. Wear mosquito repellent, but apply it before entering the park. The mosquitoes can be BRUTAL there. We didn't use it but there is an accessible walkway to make the park enjoyable for all.

Tech Head

Beautiful tropical like national park. It's worth carving out a few hours to see.

Chris Armel

A relatively unknown national park, and one of my favorites. Seeing the champion trees amidst a beautiful swamp is amazing. There are plenty of birds to watch, and otters (though I've yet to see any). I'd recommend bringing hiking sandals, as some of the trails have standing water and mud after it rains. All part of the adventure!

Mike Olscamp

We rented a canoe and paddled among the bald cypress trees on a beautiful late summer day.

JDuB spark

Park is beautiful and the board walk trail makes it easy for anyone. Kids, dogs, any age. There are other trails if you want to make a day of it. Nice picnic areas and camping spots

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Theresa Lacey

Beyond exceeded my expectations. The Firefly Festival was magical. Strongly recommend a visit.

melanie dyer

My friend and I went fishing and I fed alot if fish and she caught babies, but I enjoyed being there

Samantha Cummings

It's a neat park but a lot of it looks the same especially on the boardwalk trail. Love the Cypress trees and their "knees". Such a unique feature of the park especially with water pooled all around.

JP Jones

Saw the fireflies festival. The staff was great!

Rich Grant

This is a great park for hiking and canoe /kayak. Unspoiled with mutliple difficulty levels and distances on trails. If you have not seen the synchronized fireflies before, you need to go. It is on right now but not much longer. It's one of only 4 locations in the country for this. Just amazing. Check out their website for more info. The local transit service is doing shuttles this weekend for the fireflies. This is new. Expect big crowds if you go on the weekend.

Shawn Sturkie

I love the boardwalk! It's like walking in the woods, but you are on the boardwalk so you don't have to worry about walking through mud or climbing over trees, you could easily take a stroller and have no problem whatsoever. Just make sure you take some insect repellent.

Rob Carr

I think this is a wild boar refuge. But still, it was a great hammock camping experience. Use hammock with a mosquito cover. The river trail pretty much does not exist along most of the river section. It is greatly over grown. Great morning sounds just before sun up.

Jesse Ingham

This is a wonderful feature to the metro area. A peaceful national park just a quick drive from downtown columbia. With miles of walking paths for the adventurous type, or a comfortable 2.4 mile boardwalk for everone else, this unique preserve has something for everyone. Camping and recreation areas are available too. Certainly a +1 for the quality of life here in the midlands.

Luke Knight

if you were taken there and told to guess what type of park it is, highly doubtful anyone would guess a national park. something is missing, just not sure what.

Marcia Kenyon

Loved this place....came to see the synchronized fireflies and was not disappointed. Put this on your bucket list!!!

Mike Gardner

A great place to bring your family and friends. Pleasant walks. Unique views. Definitely recommend

Chris Tabb

We had such a good time spotting wildlife from the boardwalk.

Curtis Peek

This National Park is just side of the capital city and is worth the visit. The park has some of the largest trees in SC growing its boundaries. The wildlife is truly amazing. From the birds to the reptiles you might get lucky enough to spot them in the wild. On this trip we were lucky enough to watch owls feeding in the wild and snakes swimming in a little bog area. Them most amazing thing were the Synchronized Fire Flys. Truly a wonder to witness this sight.

Blake Guither

This was definitely the best way to experience a swamp. The boardwalk was perfect for walking and a wagon with kids. We saw frogs, snakes, and a massive fishing spider

Christopher Harwell

Always have such a great time at the park. Great photo opportunity all the time. Rangers always inform us of floods and danger zones.

Lifestyle of The Hewett's

Absolutely loved this boardwalk trail!! Very friendly staff! Coming back in the fall!

Catherine Beltran

The park is always very clean. Facilities are well maintained, bathrooms clean and stocked. I recently went to the firefly walk for the first time. I was impressed more by the park's organization and efficiency than the fireflies!

himanshu arya

Congaree national Park is a good place for boardwalk .I was kinda disappointed as I heard that we could see animals .But it has only trails .Though felt good after seeing small turtles and fish in the Congaree river .Though if u like to see fireflies trail ,u can surely visit there

chris Joyner

Highly enjoyed the boardwalk. Been going here since i was a child. Highly recommended!

Linnette Cruz

I loved this park. It was a nice experience for marsh lands, different trees, wildlife, and plants. I enjoyed listening to the woodpecker and other birds. My family enjoy the boardwalk adventure.

Candice Russell

Great touch of nature! You can walk or wander for hours in the quiet woods.

Nitin R

The perfect place for any nature lover. The park staff are amazing!

Komo Komoroski

Wonderful, very picturesque old growth cypress forest. Great fishing!

Jasmine Genross

Beautiful nature walk and my four toys survived two trails

juan soliz

If in south Carolina and near Colombia and you are looking for thinks to do then this is a good place to hang out with your family and friends. Come it the spring time so that you can get all the beauty in this lovely forest. They have picnic tables by the parking lot for you to enjoy your food. I loved this place.

Doug Piper

One of my most favorite stops near Columbia, SC. It's about 30 minutes from Columbia and is a beautiful walk through a Cypress Forest. Quiet and calm is the experience. Almost 100% on raised wooden boardwalks that meander through the forest in two large loops.

Allison Dean Love

Loved watching the synchronous lightning bugs again this year!

Tawny Studwell

Not what I was expecting for a national park. Beautiful, nonetheless!

Peyton Wood

Great national park with plenty of options. Paddle boats, canoes, Hike, camp, plenty of hiking trails, it is a great place to go and have a nice relaxing day! I would recommend this park.

Kurtis Guffey

Not quite what we expected. Could see this as more of a state park or nature preserve than a national park.

Philip Brittain

Nice park. A good change of scenery for us.

Janis Lynch

Congaree is an experience not to be missed. Being from Colorado, I had virtually no swamp or southern old growth experiences. The boardwalk changed all that: loblolly pines, cypress trees including knees, tupelos. So interesting and an important part of the American experience. We brought our mucking boots and did some of the messy trails...great fun! If you plan ahead, you might be lucky enough to get tickets to the ranger led canoe trip. A highlight of our whole trip...chase the tickets the minute to system opens.

SC W

Gorgeous park with lots of wildlife to spot! Highly recommended boardwalk accessible for all with excellent descriptions (around 2.5 miles). There is a little campground for tents, with very secluded and beautiful sites. The campsite has a toilet, but no running water. The visitor center nearby does have both, so you can freshen up there. Absolute bargain for 10 dollars!!

Corey Pedrojew

Great place for a stroll in the wolderness

Ryan Merrill

Fantastic Place! Would have loved to see an alligator, but I'm probably lucky we didn't.

Lyn Etienne

Gorgeous and great walk area.

Maria Rodriguez

Beautiful park. You really need good walking shoes because there is so much to see and explore. Took the grandkids and they enjoyed it so much they fell asleep on the way home. You can take a nice lunch and make a day of it. Also saw snakes so better not to wear flip flops .

William Watt

I take my kids here all the time, we are local. Great park lots of trails. Kids love it year round. We have seen Gators, snakes , deer , owls , skinks and much much more. The trees are amazing and most of the trails are easy to get through. Highly recommend this location.

Christiane Grimes

Very interesting place! Great hiking trails but bring your boots, your feet might get wet!

joe turner

The Firefly experience was a amazing, but show up very early or be prepared for a long walk.

K. Farrah

Connect with nature, peace, and beauty in this rare stand of old growth hardwood bottomland forest. Keep your eyes and ears open for an amazing experience on the trails of SCs only national park.

Matt Hohrath

We stopped into congaree National Park in December and were very happy with our visit. The mosquito meter read “1” on that day and there were none in sight. Unfortunately, most of the trails were flooded, outside of the boardwalk, so were were limited on what we could. It was a very cool experience walking through the long tall trees though.

Luke Waelder Fun in the Sun

This is a beautiful place when you get a chance of must-see check it out it's worth the trip me and the family had a lot of fun check it out for a day or weekend

Michael Hobby

Great place to go for a bit of adventure and nature. 2.4 mile board walk loop is an excellent opportunity for some one wheel chair bound to effortlessly commune with nature. Looking forward to going on a canoe trip through the forest soon.

Steven L Cunningham

Great place to visit I am going back

Rebecca McGuffin/Garlett

Oldest & largest tress I have ever seen.

Nancy Chou

The 7-mi, Oakridge trail that the ranger in the visitors center recommended, I would NOT recommend. The most critical flaw about this trail is that there were 3 sections that were under water. 1 of those 3 was in a cypress swamp area with water wide and deep enough to take a Carolina Skiff motoring in. 3 of the trail marker trees at that location were fully in the swamp. It took significant effort exploring the area through all the underbrush to find a viable detour. It would've been really easy to get lost at this point if not for locationally yelling back and forth to another hiker. There were lots of signs of human foot traffic in areas away from the trail, so surely the trail has been submerged for awhile, causing others to do the same thing (so surely the park service knew about it). There are also downed tree trunks higher than my waist across the trail that can't easily be climbed over or under or gone around, park service needs to go out there with a chainsaw. Other than those, it's the normal mud and mosquitos on the Oakridge trail. Bring bug spray and water. It's a super pretty and peaceful, fairly easy hike except for the flooded trail detours. The boardwalk trails I would most definitely recommend.

peter stalinescu

The Congaree National Park is a gem if you are in Columbia SC. It has an easy boardwalk trail that is wheelchair accessible and also trails up to 9 miles that takes you deep in the swamp. The visitors center is also rich with history and an extensive shop. The park is free to visit and has plenty of parking spaces. There is also campgrounds to spend the night and go kayaking on the river. Watch out for water moccasins and alligators, plenty of spiders and the good ol mosquitoes, they have a mosquito level meter.

Craig Kessler

The staff is awesome, full of energy and super helpful

Caroline Bisch

Love this park! Its perfect for our dog who doesn't go for long walks. The boardwalk is perfect and definitely makes it less buggy. Will for sure be going back.

Benjamin Christensen

It has trails going through the whole park which is huge and it has a museum about the trees and park. It has a nice little picnic area to eat at. I would give it a high rate but the bug where bad that day and the trail was a little muddy but it does have a wood path so you don't get dirty.

Angi Hansen

Gorgeous! Beautiful old-growth forest with more "trophy trees" than almost anywhere else in the U.S., 2.3 miles of boardwalk, synchronous fireflies in May, and a long river that's gorgeous for kayaking (make sure you check water levels before going). Camp sites are rustic but beautiful (and the visitor's center is walkable if you need it). Visitor's Center is pretty standard - air conditioned, helpful employees, 20-minute movie about the park

Mark Stevens

I can’t say enough good things about this seemingly hidden national park in the south eastern part of the United States! I’d read about it for a few years and finally decided to just head out and explore it. It’s easy to find using whatever map software you use. Parking is convenient right outside the visitor center. You can ask any volunteer or a park ranger about trails to walk and explore. The boardwalk is the most convenient and one can easily access other trails from that. I walked part of the Weston Lake Loop, Trail from the Boardwalk. As the floodplains can easily get covered with quite a bit of water, I’d highly recommend wearing some type of hiking sandals or footwear that you don’t mind getting wet. The trees…they are amazing to take in! If you go in the mornings, you’ll often hear the birds singing away, keeping one company to take in the sights :-)

Jonathan Cleveland

Great place to get away from the sounds of the city. Wildlife is plentiful and the park rangers were very helpful. I just can't wait to go back to do some fishing.....

David Cook

Great time at Firefly Festival. We will return to hike some trails.

Vincent Mursuli

Hands down, one of my favorite places to visit! Any time of year is a fine time to go.

Phill Henry

A definite must see place. The board walk trail is quiet unbelievable...another place that we will revisit

Dries Debecker

An underrated national park with good hikes in many different difficulties

Lance Wolfson

The old growth swamp is simply amazing!

Michael Farrell

This was our first visit th Congaree National park. We loved it.

Katherine Mendenhall

This place is a hidden gem! Make sure to bring your bug spray, and lots of water. We saw everything from an alligator to a cardinal here. So much life!

Amber Atkinson

This place is beautiful. It's not too far of a drive from Columbia but it definitely feels very remote. There are miles and miles of trail, and it is an awesome place to explore no matter what season it is. There is a campground that has a privy, but that feels very secluded, which is nice. The boardwalk makes it a good place to explore even when it's flooded.

David Provenzano

Spring is great in the park, water river level, it can close parts of the trail

Melissa Wright

Beautiful park. Trails and park well maintained.

Bryan Payne

We visited to see the synchronous fireflies. They were magical! I recommend that everyone visit at least once. Show up early because parking fills up fast. Don't even try to take picture...you won't capture anything. Just enjoy it.

Mick Shea

A surprise visit, a relatively new National Park. The Swamp Woodland is beautiful and striking. All of the trails had sections with water deeper than our ankles, so we enjoyed the Boardwalk Loop, 2+ miles on occasionally slippery boards, sometimes just inches above the water, but above is better than below.

Mark Baker

If mosquitoes and yellow flies don't bother you, go for it. I did and it was pretty cool, even dog friendly too.

McGill Fishing

If you love nature you have to visit here. Absolutely astonishing views and tons of wildlife.

Alex Demas

Beautiful park and quite accessible! It's got a 2+ mile boardwalk through most of the types of landscape you'll see at the park. It can be a little uneven, so if you're in a wheelchair, it can get a little difficult. Also, if it's cold, like it was the day I was there, be careful of ice on the boardwalk. The scenery is beautiful, though. The baldcypress is everywhere and there are hundreds of cypress knees. There's lots of wildlife, especially birds. I heard woodpeckers all over the place and even managed to see one. There are good hiking trails too, with varying levels of back-country to hike through. The one thing I'll note-if Google is still listing the address as Bluff Trail, that's wrong. Go to 100 National Park Rd-the other address isn't actually accessible by the public.

William Lieberman

We've been to 45 National Parks. Congaree is 46. In the middle of nowhere. Only one entrance and one road in. Takes you right to visitor center. Multiple hiking trails (ranging from 1/4 mile to 15 miles). We took the Weston Lake Loop trail (4.5 miles). Part boardwalk, part trail along the creek. Herons and woodpeckers (and theoretically otters) on the trail. Nice hike. However, most of the hikes are just slight variations on the same. So, this is really a one day NP. Definitely worth going.

Susan Morningstar

Beautiful National Park! Visited for the Fireflies trail walk. Very pleasant staff and lovely facilities! Can't wait to spend an entire day here!

Michael Halicki

I hiked most of the National Parks trails which were not a huge amount I think they have 20 to 30 miles of hiking trails and most of the park isn't accessable. At the time that I went there were a huge amount of spider webs on the trails so I had to constantly be on the look out for them because otherwise you would get a full of it. As well as the some of the trails weren't marked. Hopefully they have fixed the trails because other then that I loved the park.

Rama Dasa

Such an incredible place. A serene and immersive retreat for the world weary.

Nancy Johnston

Everytime I go I see something different and it's a great place to get out doors.

Everett Rush

It's a nice walk. Well kept park

Carl Gerhardstein

Excellent National Park. We had an enjoyable time walking the 2.4 mile elevated boardwalk trail. Beautiful old-growth bottomland trees and unique forest. Make sure you take time to see the short video at the visitor area.

Carla Sessions

Congaree is a great place of quiet to relax away from the hustle and bustle. Return to the days before our old growth forests were logged away. Kayaking through the swamps was an opportunity to see hige cyprus trees and observe wildlife.

Zaire Kaczmarski

Beautiful intriguing landscape at times magical. Fun walk.

Ashley A

It was a beautiful place with a bridge walk that goes in a 2.2 miles loop by the lake and through the Forrest with lovely sounds of birds chirping in the trees it made me feel like I was at a rain forest

Jamie Martell

Went to the firefly festival, great experience, highly recommended! Nice camp sites, great hiking trails, friendly staff

Jessica Chong

What a beautiful and different national park! We went in mid June and it was just over 30 degrees. There were barely any bugs but I would still bring bug spray. We did the Weston Lake trail. The bottom loop took us no more than 1 hour but attached to the boardwalk took us 2 hours. The trail itself was a bit muddy and had a few trees down on the trail. It is also narrow but a fairly flat trail. We will definitely be back when were in the area!

Tim Othy

The Firefly's were amazing! Gotta see them when In season! The boardwalk trail was very nice!

crockerdiles

This place has an awesome boardwalk trail that goes forever...nice for a stroller for the parents to walk with children and enjoy the nature views...lots of parking and a gift shop

kelly hollifield

What a gem of a park here in South Carolina. It is amazing that more people don't know about it, though it's probably better for environment that way. I never knew how much biodiversity existed here or even that it is one of the few remaining old-growth forests of this type. The Park Rangers and volunteer staff were excellent resources and very friendly. Bring VERY strong mosquito repellent.

Karen Rychlicki

Great walk on the boardwalk trail! Make sure to watch the video first. It is very informative

Nate Makanoff

It's a National Park so it's obviously beautiful. Go during the dry season. The park is a swamp and floods regularly. As a result, mosquitos are bad, even in the off season. But the main boardwalk trail is good, though unchallenging. It was good for about half a day.

Josh Stalkfleet

A way different type of nature than my home state of Washington, the boardwalk was beautiful

Michele Kane

Congaree National Park is one of those parks that everyone forgets about but is so beautiful. Since it is not one of the most well known of the US National Parks it is nice and quiet and not extremely over crowded like a lot of them can be. It is also a free National Park which is not very common. When my husband and I visited the park we walked the entire length of the boardwalk maybe running into three familys at most. Nice quiet place to enjoy nature.

Brenda Merritt

Even with the park being flooded at this time, we really enjoyed walking the upper boardwalk. Loved it!

Amy Grenz

This national park was very nice! While it is a flat, board walk type hike there was still so much to see. Lots of wild life to see, especially if you look close enough! There was a lot to learn about the trees and the visitor's center had a video to watch before hand that was very helpful and informative. Really recommend visiting this park!

Thomas Petersen

We made a family visit here in early July. humidity was super high but visiting early in the morning made the hike not bad at all. The staff is very friendly, the movie in The visitor center is really good. Definitely bring bug repellent and water. We would like to come back to see the lightning bugs.

Savinay Dangi

An amazing national park that is not talked about. It is free. It is so unique because if miles of boardwalk. The whole park submerges under water during the winter time and it lush and lively during summer. The trails have mosquitoes but boardwalk is good. if you can bring your kayak, I believe it is a whole new experience that we were not able to enjoy

Charlie Kim

Not the most beautiful or largest of the parks but equally important. Only got to spend a few hours here but we are very glad to have made the trip! We will be back to explore the old growth forests

Nancy Musgrove

Special place to visit, particularly if you can synch up with a naturalists walk. Boardwalk makes the floodplain/swamp acessible to all.

Melissa Hutcheson

Amazing forest and board walk trail!

Shields McManus

Good place to hike in the shade. Beautiful trees.

Vickie Steele

Loved hikes. Dog friendly. Beautiful old growth trees. Great boardwalk. Do the 6 mile loop to see parts of 3-4 trails.

Deborah Barron Brown

Small National Park but worth it. Really interesting forest with unusual trees. Great boardwalk hike with points of interest along the way. We went in the Fall and we were not bothered by bugs. I don't recall anywhere to buy something to eat but you can bring a picnic.

Steve Gainey

Great place to visit with the family!

don ventura

Quiet park. Lots of big trees. Nice video explaining the importance of the park.

Daniel Bacigalupo

If there werent so many spiders it would be a lot better

stephanie hutcheson

A beautiful stroll through one of the most beautiful forests in the southeast. My husband and I have camped here with our dogs and always love the primitive getaway and exercise.

Patricia

Beautiful park, love being able to hear nature without any noise from civilization!

Nathan Taylor

We enjoyed this park more than we expected. This is our 29th National Park and we were a little concerned about visiting a swamp in the summer. While it was hot and humid we found the park to be interesting and beautiful in its own way. Glad we visited and I would recommend it to others. Myself, my wife, and our two boys (9 y/o and 5 y/o).

Dawn Weber

Beautiful!! Most serene nature walk around!

Rita Rectenwald

Nice place to go for a day out. Make sure you have feet because the mosquitoes can be heavy and relentless. They do sell it there but you have to use it often. Staff was helpful and friendly can be a long walk if it is a humid day but watching the river flow is peaceful and relaxing. The mosquitoes, which they can't help were just bad and made it ruff which caused the star loss.

Tyler Pope

Very nice national park. My girlfriend and I come here frequently to take our dogs for a nice walk through the nature. The landscape is a dense marshland with tall trees. Part of(or all of) the walk is on a wooden boardwalk so that’s nice if you don’t have gear for the “woods”. Usually not too humid unless you go right after a big rain(which we usually don’t do). They have plenty of spots with benches to take a little break or give your dogs some water. Very pet friendly. Few water stations at the main parking area/cabin and a cool little tidbit of information about what you are walking into. Would definitely recommend if you are in the area looking for a nice place to take a walk though the nature!

Bob Kelley

2.4 mile boardwalk hike was just right. Beautiful place to be out in nature

Jeff Westman

I would love to come back here and take other trails! We spent most of our time on the Boardwalk Trail, and crossed-over to the Sims Trail. Both beginning trails, good for people who want to take their time or those with small families. It is very picturesque and scenic. Some of the "destination points" are more like swamps than lakes, but you have to see the beauty for what it is. The park is large and has a nice visitor center. Well maintained. We will likely come again and take other trails and do some exploring.

David Stillman

Great park. Elevated walkways, allow you to view the swamp floor. Primitive looking landscape. Park store doesn't have lifetime senior passes. Too lazy to order them. Also missing some National Park patches. Again too lazy.

Katherine Langley

Loved the experience!! The folks there at the well CV time center are the best!!!

thiggywhiggys1

I love hiking and the outdoors. I'm currently going to school at FT Jackson and decided to go see a national park. This is the only nature park in the state, every other national parks is a battlefield. It doesnt have a lot of trail about 8 to 10 and most are under 4 miles long there are two which are around 6 to 8 miles long. Be careful on those longer hikes because they were well marked and I tended to get lost, so use gogle maps if you do because it shows where you are at and it shows wwre the trail is. The nature trail does have a handicap talk way around it. Two notes bring water and mosquito repellent. Also it tends to flood there about 7 times a year so the park might be closed. Enjoy

Tyler VanDoeselaar

Loved the boardwalk hike. Follow the self guided tour pamphlet to learn a lot as you enjoy the views.

Nicholas

Great paddling and hiking plus a nice little hike-in campground. Just bring sturdy, waterproof shoes as it is a wetland.

Ben Keller

Not the most exciting scenery for a national park, but it protects a section of a South Carolinian floodplain. All the off-boardwalk walking trails are well-marked, and you will most likely have the park to yourself when you visit. I visited in early August 2019 and saw about 10 other people my whole time in the park,

Candice Barber

Went for the Firefly Festival but we arrived on Monday when the crowds thinner. The path was well lite with Redlights so it didnt impact fireflies. Many fireflies were already putting on a show around 9pm. The kids were tired so we had to leave but we were told it really gets good around 10

D. Duplichen

Great National Park. Staff very helpful. Recommend for a camp, or a few hours on the boardwalk for a great overview.