A Complete First Timer's Guide to Congaree National Park, South Carolina

Although Congaree National park is one of the smaller national parks in the United States, we absolutely loved it. When we visited, there was no entry fee - and after more research, it seems like this is pretty common practice for this specific park. We visited in December and had the entire place to ourselves, but if we were to go back, we would try to time our visit with the firefly season in early summer. From getting to the National Park, to figuring out where to stay and what to do on your trip, we've gathered our best tips to make your visit to Congaree National Park the best it can be.

Our Essential Travel Resources :
There are plenty of travel companies, but these are my favorite websites and resources for planning an unforgettable trip. This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

For flights, we recommend Hopper to compare the cheapest travel dates.
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Car rentals comparisons are best through Discover Cars - just make sure to bring your international driver's permit with you!

We always use Expedia's easy to use platform for hotels.

To keep cell service while traveling internationally, we always use Airalo’s easy eSIM’s (no installation required), and NordVPN to stay safe while connecting to different wifi.

For fun things to do, we always recommend Viator to find the best tours in the area, otherwise Get Your Guide also does the trick.

Just in case, Safetywing is the insurance I always use for travel insurance.

Lastly, my packing list for any international or domestic travels.

Getting to Congaree National Park & Where to Stay

Located almost right in the center of South Carolina, the best way to get to Congaree NP is to drive from Columbia, the closest large city. Personally, we recommend visiting Congaree via a road trip, and for planning purposes we've listed some driving times from other major cities near the park as well.

• Columbia, SC - 20 miles, 30 minutes
• Charleston, SC - 106 miles, 1 hour 50 minutes
• Myrtle Beach, SC - 130 miles, 2 hours 30 minutes
• Charlotte, NC - 110 miles, 1 hour 40 minutes
• Savannah, GA - 150 miles, 2 hours 25 minutes
• Augusta, GA - 91 miles, 1 hour 30 minutes

Finding a place to stay in or near the park will most likely be the hardest part about planning your trip to Congaree, which is why we recommend visiting on a road trip. Although there is camping in the park, you'll need to get a reservation in advance. Other places like hotels might require a bit of a drive.

Staying In the Park :

• ​Longleaf Campground - walk-in tenting only, each site has a picnic table and fire pit, and there are two vault toilets for the campground with no running water
• Bluff Campground - walk-in tenting only along the Bluff Trail (about 1 mile from Longleaf Campground), each site has a picnic table and fire pit, but no bathrooms and no running water

Staying Outside the Park :

• ​Holiday Inn Express & Suites Columbia (18 mins. away)
  
• Hampton Inn & Suites Orangeburg (40 mins. away)
• Tru By Hilton Orangeburg (45 mins. away)
  
• SpringHill Suites by Marriot Orangeburg (45 mins. away)
• Best Western Plus Santee Inn (45 mins)
• Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriot Santee (50 mins. away)​

Our Favorite Tour in Congaree NP : 
- Guided Congaree NP Kayak Tour

Best Things to Do in Congaree National Park

Spotting Wildlife
Congaree National Park is the only National Park in South Carolina and falls into the 10 least visited national parks in the entire U.S. - with about 215,000 visitors each year - while Yosemite receives more than 4 million each year. With lots of plant and animal life hidden throughout the swamp, you can keep your eyes peeled for wildlife like deer, bobcats, wild pigs, opossums, squirrels, owls, woodpeckers, and even river otters while you explore the park. There's also a large number of snakes in the area, some of which can be venomous, and when we visited there were multiple signs warning visitors to be aware of any snakes in the area. We didn't see any snakes during our visit, but we did see wild pigs, deer, an owl and even a woodpecker.

Hiking in the Park
Congaree National Park has over 20 miles of hiking trails, but our personal favorite was the Boardwalk Loop Trail - and if you only have time for one hike we highly recommend this one! It's super easy, flat, and it's where we saw all our wildlife, plus it's only a 2.6 mile loop. We've listed other options below :

• ​Fork Swamp Trail - 0.6 mile moderate hike that follows the Bates Old River
• Bluff Trail - 1.8 mile easy loop
• ​Firefly Trail - 1.8 mile trail used for firefly viewing in late spring/early summer
• ​Bates Ferry Trail - 2.2 mile easy hike
• Boardwalk Loop Trail - 2.6 mile easy loop on elevated boardwalk
• ​Longleaf Trail - 2.6 mile easy out and back trail that leads to the Longleaf Campground
• Sims Trail - 3.2 mile easy loop on old gravel road
• Weston Lake Trail - 4.5 mile moderate hike popular for birding
• Oakridge Trail - 7.1 mile difficult trail through forest
• Kingsnake Trail - 7.8 mile moderate trail popular for birding
• River Trail - 11.1 mile difficult trail that leads to the Congaree River

Other Best Things to Do :

• ​​Kayak or Canoe Cedar Creek - a 15 mile winding paddle trail starting at Bannister Bridge and ending at the Congaree River, this is a great kayaking tour to book if you want explore a different area of the park
• Paddle the Congaree River Blue Trail - a 50 mile trail beginning in Columbia and making its way to Congaree National Park
• Fishing - you'll first need a valid South Carolina fishing license, but then you can try your luck at catching some local species like bluegill, sunfish, and bass (it's worth noting that Congaree National Park highly encourages catch and release practices)​

Watch our Congaree Adventures Here!

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Other National Park Blogs :
-> Acadia National Park in Maine
​-> Alaska National Parks
-> Banff National Park in Canada

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