How to Plan One Day in Congaree National Park

South Carolina only has one national park, but it’s an impressive one. Congaree National Park is a wonderful blend of cypress trees, swamp wildlife, and easy trails accessible even for the beginning hiker.

We loved that the park was very pet-friendly, something our pup always loves about national park adventures.

This guide digs into everything we did on our Congaree National Park itinerary with one day in the park. I’ll include some ideas for those with more time, too, especially if you’re here for kayaking.

Is Congaree National Park worth visiting?

Congaree National Park is worth a visit on a road trip through the South or the southeastern United States. 

Congaree is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and a haven for a variety of wildlife. It’s the best place to see the majesty of both cypress and tupelo trees in this part of the country, and a well-preserved example of what a floodplain can do for flora and fauna.

This unique bottomland hardwood forest is also more remote than many other parks in the country, which makes it feel like you’re in on a good secret when you visit.  

How much time do you need in Congaree National Park?

A full day in Congaree National Park will allow you to see the park’s highlights. 

We were visiting on a day trip from Augusta, so we had a drive of about an hour and a half on either end of our trip. If you want to be closer to the park, start in Columbia.

The Best Time to Visit Congaree National Park

Spring, fall, and winter are all great times to visit Congaree National Park. Our visit was in February, and we enjoyed sunny skies and mild temperatures for hiking. 

Keep in mind that guided creek tours from the park service may not be running if you visit in the winter. It was a bummer for our trip, but we still enjoyed a great time on our feet.

Fun fact: If you time things right in the spring, you may be able to see the synchronous fireflies. Every year, the park hosts this display of synchronous flashing by the local lightning bugs as they search for their ideal mates. The spectacle happens for about two weeks between mid-May and Mid-June. Watch the park’s website for more details as the date approaches if you’re interested.

How to Get to Congaree National Park

Congaree National Park is only 18 miles from Columbia. The city is the ideal base for visiting the park, as you can get there in under half an hour with light traffic. 

Once you’re at the park, there is no fee to enter. You won’t need to show your park pass anywhere, and all parking is free. We found the park very easy to navigate. You can do so on foot or by kayak or by canoe.

We stuck to the trails as Kimmy didn’t love water, but tours along the park’s waterways look like a great way to explore this atmospheric place.

READ MORE: Does your Southern trip include a stop in Charleston? Check out my guide to this romantic city!

How to Spend One Day in Congaree National Park

With one day in Congaree, you can spend it like this:

• Start at the Harry Hampton Visitor Center.
• Walk the Boardwalk Loop Trail.
• Hike the Weston Lake Trail.
• Enjoy the solitude of Wise Lake.
• Stroll the Bates Ferry Trail.
• Find the General Greene Tree.

The activities that appear on this itinerary will take up most of your day. Pack a lunch so you’re not wasting time driving out of the park and back again. You won’t find eateries within the park for a sit-down meal.

Stop 1: Harry Hampton Visitor Center

The visitor center is named after a South Carolina journalist and conservationist who started promoting the region that would become Congaree National Park in the 1950s.

The park was named an official national park by 1976, with the visitor center named in Hampton’s honor for all that effort. Check out the exhibit space inside for a primer on the park and a chat with the friendly staff.

Park service staff will route you to the best trails of the day, alert you to any trail closures, and give you detailed directions for the General Greene Tree. That’s a highlight in the park. 

Note: It’s always best practice to check for updates from the national park service on their websites. Any alerts in effect will appear at the top of the page. That includes trail closures, weather warnings, and available amenities. 

Stop 2: Boardwalk Loop Trail

Congaree National Park is smaller than many of the big reserves in the national parks system. That means most of the trails you’ll find here will be very accessible for even the greenest hikers. 

Start your morning off with this boardwalk trail, the park’s most popular easy trek. The full boardwalk loop is 2.6 miles and immaculately maintained. 

You’ll start this one at the visitor center. Don’t miss out on the handouts ready and waiting for you outside the center. One is a numbered guide to the Boardwalk Loop Trail, letting you know what you’re looking at as you walk along. 

Much of the information comes from the Old-Growth Bottomland Forest Research and Education Center. That’s a resource management entity that works to both preserve the park and educate visitors during their visit. 

Most of the people in the park will likely be on this trail, even though we found it pretty quiet on a Tuesday morning. 

You’ll walk underneath impressive canopies of the park’s loblolly pines, bald cypress trees, and tupelo trees. 

Stop 3: Weston Lake Trail

You don’t need to leave the boardwalk loop for this one. As you’re walking along the boardwalk, you’ll come across a large bridge and loud children — maybe that was just our experience — signaling you to go off the beaten path. 

Note: If you’re walking the boardwalk in a counterclockwise direction, you’ll pass a trail marked Sims Trail on your way to Weston Lake. You’re almost there at this point!

Take that dirt path marked Weston Lake for what will feel like a more legit walk through the woods.

You’ll know you’re on the Weston Lake loop trail by the 3s marked on the trees as you walk along. The full loop is 4.5 miles, but you’ll cut some off coming from the boardwalk.

There isn’t any interpretive signage on this one, but what you’re looking at are old-growth cypress trees and tupelo forest. Take in the bird songs as you walk along Weston Lake and Cedar Creek. None of the trails ever gets too difficult.

Stop 4: Wise Lake

The Weston Lake Trail will loop back toward the boardwalk at one point. Continue following along until you see a junction with the River Trail, or trail #5.

From here you’ll see signs for Wise Lake. This isn’t an additional full trail I’m suggesting after you’ve already walked for miles.

Wise Lake is a short walk of fewer than 0.2 miles from the main Weston Lake Loop Trail. This was our favorite place in the park, not because of much of a change in scenery, but because of the river otters frolicking on the banks of the other side of the lake. 

I tried to think back to when I may have seen otters in the wild elsewhere, but I think this was my first time. They were big and adorable, and I’m just going to go ahead and forget about all the creepy stuff I’ve heard about them up to this point.

This is also a great place to have some lunch as you’re likely hungry by now. Spend some time snacking and watching out for the wildlife along the lake’s shores before heading back to the main trail.

You’ll link up with the Sims Trail here, or trail #2, to make the full loop. Look for 2s on the trees as you follow the signage back to the visitor center.

READ MORE: Love a good lake? Lake Oconee is a popular option if you’re visiting central Georgia.

Stop 5: Bates Ferry Trail

You’re fueled up and ready for more, right? None of the hiking in this park is too challenging, as all of the trails are pretty flat and more of a stroll than anything else.

I urge you to keep going to see one more big feature in the park from another popular hike, the Bates Ferry Trail. The trail is 2.2 miles round-trip.

It’s a bit of a drive out to the trailhead from the visitor center, so if you didn’t have lunch at Wise Lake, do so at the center before you leave for this section of the park. 

It should take you about 20 minutes to get from the visitor center to the trailhead. You’re headed to the very eastern edge of the park from the very western edge, so you’ll be traveling the length of Congaree to get there.

We had a map fail on the way and parked at the Bates Bridge Landing before realizing our error. We wandered, checked out some fishing boats, and learned soon enough that none of the directions we got for the trail here matched what we were looking at. 

Google maps isn’t always my preferred map app, but it got us to the right trail from here in this case. 

If you have the time, hike the full Bates Ferry Trail. If you’re short on time or just here for the goods, keep following along for a short jaunt to the General Greene Tree.

This is one of the most popular highlights at Congaree National Park. 

Stop 6: The General Greene Tree

The General Greene Tree is an old-growth cypress tree named after Nathanael Greene, a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. It’s the largest bald cypress in the park with a circumference of 30 feet.

Back in 2018, it was named a South Carolina Heritage Tree. There was a little ceremony for it and everything, which all sounds very cute.

By far the most solid method to get detailed directions is grabbing a paper handout from the visitor’s center before you head out to the tree. You’ll get to the tree from the Bates Ferry Trail, but you do leave the main trail at one point for General Greene.

Don’t worry. I wouldn’t tell you to walk off the main trail if it wasn’t sanctioned by the park service. They give you directions to get there.

If you forgot to grab paper directions from the visitor’s center or you’re already there, here is an abbreviated guide to getting yourself to this impressive cypress:

1. Park at the Bates Ferry Trail parking lot.
2. Walk along the Bates Ferry Trail for about 10 minutes, or about 0.4 miles.
3. You’ll pass an unmaintained road on the left at this point. Do NOT take this road.
4. Continue along the path for about 20 feet until you see a trail on the right, leading into the woods. This is the trail you want. On our visit, it was marked with orange flags stuck in the dirt. Don’t rely on these, as I’m not sure they’re always there.
5. Continue along this trail in the woods, crossing an old metal bridge just up ahead. The footpath is quite well-worn, so you should see it continuing beyond the bridge, curving to the left.
6. Follow that curve in the trail. You’ll see cypress in water on the left side, and then on the right side just up ahead. This grouping of cypress trees on the right side is what you’re looking for.
7. The General Greene Tree is pretty obvious in this grove. It’s the biggest one there. Look for two large stumps surrounding it about 12 feet high. These are his foot soldiers. That’s a joke.
8. Return back to the main Bates Ferry Trail the way you came.

The total distance from the main trail to the tree is only about 0.2 miles, so these are pretty detailed directions. 

Fun fact: If you keep walking past that main cypress grove, you’ll be met with several other groves just a short walk ahead on this trail through the woods. It’s lovely and quiet and you probably won’t get lost. Just in case, hike through here with a buddy if you’re able.

This was about as much time as we had at Congaree, as we had a decent drive back to Augusta from here.

Canoe Trips in Congaree National Park

If you have more time, there are more adventures to be had in the park, including canoe trips along Cedar Creek and the Congaree River. I’d love to come back without our pup just to see the park from this vantage point.

We also visited the park in February, so we didn’t have access to any of the ranger-guided canoe tours that run throughout the spring and fall anyway. If you’re able, this is an excursion that came highly recommended to me and one I’d love to return back for.

If you have your own kayaks or canoes, you can plan an independent tour along the Cedar Creek Canoe Trail, which winds 15 miles through the park to the Congaree River.

Access the creek at either Bannister’s Bridge or Cedar Creek landings. Just make sure you’re well-equipped for the journey.

While the creek is gentle, water levels change dramatically throughout the year. That can make your float trip more challenging, depending on the debris in your way.

For the more aggressive among you, the Congaree River Blue Trail is 50 miles of recreational waterways that link up the park with nearby Columbia. If you’re planning on doing the whole thing, the park recommends spacing your trip out over several days.

There are foot trails that connect to the available landings along the water trail if you’re looking for an adventurous backcountry experience. 

If you’re out of luck on the guided tours and don’t own your own equipment, there are several outfitters that will rent out canoes and kayaks for your creek trip:

• Palmetto Outdoors
• J.K. Adventure Guides
• Carolina Outdoor Adventures

Most give you the option of grabbing boats and hitting the water or delivering canoes and kayaks to one of the creek landings.

More Things to Do in Congaree National Park

If you have additional time or don’t trust me on the trails I’ve already shared, there are a few more to explore. Many of these connect to others and start on the Boardwalk Trail.

Your best bet will be grabbing a map from the visitor center before you head out, especially if you’re planning on doing some of the lengthier trails. 

All miles listed are marked as round-trip, and any numbers you see are what you should look out for on the trees to make sure you’re on the right path:

• Bluff Trail #1 (1.8 miles): This easy trail is accessed from the visitor center. It’ll take you to the Bluff Campground if those are the accommodations you’re after.
• Oakridge Trail #4 (7.1 miles): You’ll connect from the Boardwalk Trail to get to Oakridge. This one appears to get muddier than the others, so hike prepared. 
• River Trail #5 (11.1 miles): You’ll trek along bits of the Boardwalk Trail, Weston Lake Trail, and Oakridge Trail on this. The payoff is a view of the Congaree River.
• Kingsnake Trail #6 (12 miles): This trail starts at the Cedar Creek Canoe Launch. Most of the hikers you’ll see here are paddlers. This one is out and back.
• Longleaf Trail #8 (1.3 miles): Use this easy trail to access Longleaf Campground from the Boardwalk Trail or as an alternative to the full Boardwalk Trail.
• Fork Swamp Trail #9 (0.6 miles): This is the newest trail at Congaree National Park. Access the trailhead on the eastern edge of the park just north of Bates Landing.
• Firefly Trail #10 (1.8 miles): This is the trail you’ll target if you’re here for the synchronous fireflies at Congaree National Park in late spring. 

Where to Stay Near Congaree National Park

The only official form of accommodation in the park is tent camping in Congaree National Park. If you know me at all, you know that it’s just not what I’m about to do, so I’d like to recommend an easy alternative: drive to the park.

We drove to the park on a day trip from Augusta, but Columbia is less than a half-hour from the park. You’ll find loads of accommodations there across price points. 

Use the map below to browse your options in Columbia:

Don’t miss the mystery of Congaree National Park.

Visiting Congaree National Park feels like you’re getting away with something. It’s one of the most peaceful national parks we’ve visited in our travels, and we’ve seen quite a few at this point.

As you plan trips in the region to more heavily touristed parks like Great Smoky Mountains National Park, don’t ignore the little guys. At the very least, you’ll get a break from the crowds.