Congaree protects over 26,000 acres of old-growth hardwood forests in South Carolina. It is most famous for its floodplain lands and its bald cypress trees (known for their “knees” which pop out through the swampy areas). The park is named for the Congaree River which runs through the park (and requires some effort to visit).
The park was originally Congaree Swamp National Monument, which is funny since it is not exactly a swamp. It became the present-day National Monument in 2003. It’s one of the most overlooked parks, but for those who visit, there are some cool things to see from old-growth forests, fireflies, wild hogs (and other animals), and some opportunities to get on the water too. We help you explore the best things to do in Congaree National Park and how to maximize your time.

How Long to Spend in Congaree
For most visitors to Congaree, you can see the highlights in the park in 1 to 2 days. I would be hard-pressed to do anything here beyond two days unless you are planning a multi-day water trip.
If you only have one day. I would recommend booking a kayaking trip, doing the Boardwalk, and connecting it with either the Oakridge or Weston Lake Trail. If you have more time you could do both the Bates Ferry and Fork Swamp in a quick combo.
If you have more time in the park, you could do a few more trails, but honestly, unless you didn’t see wildlife or you have something specific you want to do, there will be a lot of repetitiveness with the prior day.

Kayaking and Canoeing
My favorite thing that I did in the park was kayaking in the Park. There are plenty of opportunities to get on the water, and you can find options for day or overnight trips. Several creeks crisscross the park, and many connect with the Congaree River.
Kayaking and the park in general is very dependent on water levels. Depending on the time of year you visit you’ll have more or less flooding in the area. In some ways, kayaking makes exploring easier (but may make camping more difficult). You can talk with the rangers at the visitor center if you plan to do a self-guided trip.
Plenty of outfits actually do day and overnight trips in the park. My trip was along Cedar Creek and it was such a beautiful float with good guiding. I used JK Adventure Guides and they were great guides and it was one of the most reasonably priced trips too. There are other options too which I’m sure are fine, although I can’t speak for the experience personally
Firefly Festival
The most famous event in Congaree National Park is the synchronous firefly festival. There are only 3 synchronous fireflies in the United States, which is special here. It has become even more special with the failing levels of fireflies in much of the country. The park goes to great lengths to protect the fireflies such as low usage of flashlights, no insect repellent, and no cellphone use.
The dates of the festival shift yearly and are generally from May to early June. The festival is only held for 2 weeks during that time frame and you’ll need to check on the lottery page for when things drop. The lottery registration is here, and you’ll need to win the lottery to be allowed into the park after dark during those dates.
Hiking in Congaree National Park
Hiking as in most National Parks is one of the most popular activities. The trouble with Congaree is that quite a few of the hikes are pretty repetitive. There are a few regions in the park. Near the visitor center are most of the hikes. These include the Boardwalk, Firefly, Sims, Weston Lake, and others.
Honestly, you only need to do a couple of these hikes and ones like Weston Lake or Oakridge are better doing one or the other. I did several hikes just to complete them for the guide and was insanely bored walking the same sections repeatedly.
Note the Hikes listed below with the #s. These numbers are important as they are on the trail marker sign. This is a good way to know which trail you are on when you are hiking.

Boardwalk Loop Trail
Distance: 2.6 miles | Type: Loop | Difficulty: Easy
If you have only time for one trail, make it this one. The popular Boardwalk Trail takes you along a boardwalk through the old-growth rainforest along a self-guided trip through Congaree. The boardwalk trail is super easy, pretty flat, and good for any level. You can also turn around at any point if you don’t want to do the whole loop.
To get the most out of the hike, pick up the guide at the visitor center to catch some important info at various stops. And even learn about the interesting still left here in the woods.
Note: If you plan to do any other hike in the area, you’ll see most of this hike by default anyway.

Bluff Trail (#1)
Distance: 1.8 miles | Type: Loop | Difficulty: Easy
This trail is an easy loop that’s both in the woods and in the grassy area of the park. The trail connects the Bluff Trail with the visitor center and boardwalk.
Overall this trail is pretty flat, some parts connect through others such as the firefly trail. It’s a good trail if you are camping in the park but otherwise, it’s pretty missable.

Sims Trail (#2)
Distance: 3.2 miles | Type: Out & Back | Difficulty: Easy
The Sims trail is an out and back trail that leaves from the visitor center and follows an old gravel through the park. It passes across several trails such as the Boardwalk and continues along the gravel road south to Wise Lake. You’ll pass over a few bridges and it’s pretty and well maintained. I like that it’s an easy hike to several nice highlights.
Overall it’s a fine trail, but you’ll pass many of the best sights along other trails below. Wise lake is pretty cool and a neat little pond. You can also catch this lake though on the Oakridge trail if you are planning to do that hike.

Weston Lake Trail (#3)
Distance: 4.5 miles | Type: Loop | Difficulty: Moderate
West Lake Trail is one of the best hikes in this area of Congaree National Park. In my opinion, it’s the one you should choose if you have enough time for a longer trail through the park. You’ll wander through old-growth forests, along the lake, and likely catch wildlife.
Be careful of wildlife, this trail is popular with wild hogs which can turn you around (or in my case find myself stuck between two groups).
Note: In my opinion do either the Weston Lake or Oakridge. There’s so much overlap between the two that it is repetitive otherwise.

Oakridge Trail (#4)
Distance: 7.1 miles | Type: Loop | Difficulty: Moderate-Difficult
The difficulty of this trail is highly dependent on the weather in the park. The Oakridge trail travels in a loop about 7 miles and goes through beautiful old-growth areas. The trail requires some crossings of areas that may experience flooding so conditions can contribute to the trail. It is also easy to lose the trail in several areas too.
There are opportunities to see wildlife here as it tends to be less traveled than other trails. You can see wild turkeys, hogs, and plenty of deer.
Note: In my opinion do either the Weston Lake or Oakridge. There’s so much overlap between the two that it is repetitive otherwise.

River Trail (#5)
Distance: 11.1 miles | Type: Out & Back | Difficulty: Difficult
The River Trail is the most difficult hike in the area near the boardwalk/visitor center. It is also the only hike in this area with access to the River. The hike takes you past the West Lake and Oakridge Trails and then winds along potentially flooded areas and to a sand bar until you finally reach the river.
The main reason to do this hike is for completion and not really for the hike itself. If you want to visit the river, I recommend doing Bates Ferry lower down. The hike is often closed due to flooding and it’s one of the few hikes that rangers discouraged doing.

Kingsnake Trail (#6)
Distance: 7.6 miles | Type: Out & Back | Difficulty: Difficult
This travels from the Cedar Creek area to Weston Lake. It is one of the more wild hikes in that you’ll travel through old-growth forests and along Cedar Creek as well. The best part of this hike is that few people do it, so you’ll have more peace and quiet than many of the more popular hikes.
The hike is popular for those birding and looking for other wildlife. It’s also one of the more difficult hikes in that the trail can wash out regularly. It’s easy to lose the trail in several areas with overgrowth, and having a map and navigation is important.

Bates Ferry Trail (#7)
Distance: 2.2 miles | Type: Out & Back | Difficulty: Easy
The Bates Ferry trail is an old road that was the road to the old Bates Ferry Landing. This trail is located in the eastern side of the park which is far less frequented than many of the areas by the visitor center. When I was here, I was the only person on the trail.
The trail is super easy and wide. You’ll be following a well-trodden old path here. Once you get to the river try to keep an eye out for some of the old remnants of the ferry landing. There’s also an old bridge and logging road that offshoots through the woods. It is not on the official trail though.

Longleaf Trail (#8)
Distance: 1.3 miles | Type: Point to Point | Difficulty: Easy
Longleaf Trail is mostly just a trail to connect Longleaf Campground to the Harry Hampton Visitor Center and the Boardwalk.
Honestly, this is not a trail unless you stay in the Longleaf Campground. It takes you through the woods and I guess, better than walking on the road. But it’s not worth a special hike to complete.

Fork Swamp Trail (#9)
Distance: 0.6 miles | Type: Loop | Difficulty: Easy
This is a super short hike that is located on the eastern side of the park. I recommend doing this along with Bates Ferry if you are in the area.
This hike is super short and super fast. NPS lists this hike as ‘moderate’ on their site, but it’s quite easy. The hike isn’t too hard to follow, it is a short loop that takes you along Bates Old River and some of the wooded areas.
Just be sure to keep an eye out for the trail markings. It sometimes took a bit more work when you were near the water to find the markings, but the trail is short enough that you won’t ever be too far from your car.

Firefly Trail (#10)
Distance: 1.8 miles | Type: Out & Back | Difficulty: Easy
The Firefly Trail is a very short trail that runs from the visitor center to the boardwalk and is also a shortcut if you want to get back versus walking the last portion of the boardwalk.
The hike is named for the seasonal fireflies and is a popular trail to see fireflies during the festival in May/June. Otherwise, it’s a wooded short flat trail that you can walk to cut out some of the distance from the boardwalk. It’s really not a particularly interesting trail outside of firefly season.

Wildlife Viewing
Wildlife viewing is possible in the park and there are several species you can see on your time here. One of my favorite parts of the park is that the lack of visitors makes many of the trails quiet which increases wildlife opportunities. Actually, on many of the trails I was on I never saw another person.
Kingslayer Trail is known as a popular one for birding. There are several bird species in the park including owls, woodpeckers, Ibises, spoonbills, and more. Wild Turkeys are also common in the park and you’ll see them coming in and out of the forests while there.
Deer, foxes, coyotes, and bears are seen throughout the park. And of course, the feral pig, which is shockingly common throughout the park. I saw quite a few myself on several trails which I haven’t seen in other National Parks.
Best Time to Visit Congaree
Spring and Fall are the best times to Visit Congaree National Park. Fall is my favorite time in the park.
Spring generally has warm days with about 3 inches a month of rainfall, however, early Spring may still have elevated water levels. It’s still generally early for the insects so this will be a bit limited here. Spring is also firefly time so if you can win the lottery it’s a perfect time to go.
Summer in the park is hot, like very hot. Temperatures regularly pass 90 and over 100F in the park. Humidity is high, thunderstorms are common. This is also peak insect season which is miserable in this part of the country. Rainfall is generally higher than in Spring and Fall.
Fall is one of the best times in the park. Rain tends to taper off to about 3 inches a month again. The weather is cooler but not old. Insects tend to recede during this time. My trip in the recent fall was perfect with no mosquitos. Paddling on the creek is perfect as water levels are generally great for kayaking this time of year.
Winter tends to have mild weather as winters do in South Carolina. You can expect the 50s during the day but dipping into cold temperatures in the evening. This is also the time of year when flooding is most prominent. Visitors to the park are lower but your trip plans may be complicated by the weather.
Tips & FAQs
- Keep your Distance from Wildlife! Especially Wild Hogs. They can cause some real injury. It’s best to wait until the move or turn around.
- Plan your hikes. So many hikes cover the same ground. Honestly, you don’t need to do every hike and you won’t want to. Trust me, the hikes are not the most exciting.
- Plan your Trip around Firefly season if you can. Just be sure to get your reservation.
- Book a Kayak Trip. If you are down for getting on the water, I enjoyed this more than the hikes.
- Plan for Conditions. Wear waterproof boots, and be prepared for mud.
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