Congaree National Park is a ‘hidden gem.’ Here’s why it’s worth visiting.

One of America’s least-visited national parks is actually among the easiest to reach. 

Congaree National Park is just half an hour’s drive from Columbia, South Carolina, and within a few hours of Charleston and Greenville as well as Charlotte, North Carolina, and Atlanta.

“It would be an easy weekend trip,” Jon Manchester, the park’s acting chief of Interpretation and Visitor Services, told USA TODAY. “I do believe it’s one of our hidden gems.” 

With towering trees and “one of the most biodiverse forests in the nation,” the park lives up to the saying on its website: “Wilderness is closer than you think.” Yet fewer than 205,000 people visited it last year, according to National Park Service statistics. 

Here’s what people are missing and what you should know about Congaree, the latest national park in USA TODAY’s yearlong series.

Where is Congaree National Park?

Congaree National Park is in Richland County, South Carolina.

Its visitor center is less than 19 miles from Columbia, and the nearest major airport is Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

What is so special about Congaree National Park?

Congaree National Park protects “the largest intact expanse of old growth bottomland hardwood forest” left in the Southeast and the ”highest concentration of champion-sized trees anywhere in North America,” according to its website, which notes the park's average forest canopy is over 100 feet.

“Across the southeastern United States, old-growth bottomland forests like that found here at Congaree once covered approximately 30 million acres, while longleaf pine savannahs covered an estimated 90 million acres,” the park says. But over the centuries, logging, farming and the expansion of cities wiped most of those forests out.

“There's a big cultural aspect to our landscape, as well,” Manchester said. From early Native American inhabitants to Spanish explorers to English settlers to enslaved people seeking refuge in the wilderness, people have interacted with the land for thousands of years.

What happened to the Congaree people?

Congaree National Park is named after the Congaree people who once lived there.

“Unfortunately, not much is known about the Congaree as a significant number of their population is thought to have died in the 17th and 18th century, likely due to warfare and disease brought on by European colonization,” according to the park’s website. “Over time, remaining Congaree would have been absorbed into neighboring tribes.”

“This area probably was within territory that was used by three of the major Southeastern tribes: the Cherokee, the Catawba and the Creek or Muskogee,” Manchester said. “Those three would have had interactions with this landscape, and the Congaree would have been one of those tribes that actually lived within this landscape.”

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How much time should I spend at Congaree National Park?

Visitors can get a taste of Congaree National Park within a few hours or spend a full day exploring its more than 26,000 acres.

Congaree offers several free ranger-led programs, which can be found on its schedule of events online, but most adventures are self-guided.

The park’s 2.6-mile Boardwalk Loop is accessible to visitors of various ages and abilities. Kayaking, canoeing and fishing are other popular activities. Visitors should note the park doesn’t rent kayaks or canoes, but they are available through third-party outfitters. And a valid South Carolina fishing license is required for fishing. Freshwater licenses cost $11 for 14 days for out-of-state residents.

What is the best time of year to visit Congaree?

Spring and autumn are among the best times to visit. Spring means lots of green and temperatures are relatively mild, and autumn brings out beautiful colors.

Summer can be hot and thunderstorms can pop up unexpectedly. Flooding is most frequent in the winter. Manchester says visitors are sometimes disappointed when there is flooding, but “without that flooding, we don't have the park.”

“We wouldn't have the big, old-growth trees. We wouldn't have the diversity of plant life,” he said. “So coming to see it even when it's flooded, even if it does limit how far you can go, you're seeing what makes the park what it is.”

Does Congaree have alligators? Bears? 

In the summertime, Manchester says, one or two gators hang out in Weston Lake and head out by winter. There are also gators near Bates Old Landing, which is not easily accessible by most vehicles.

He said any bears would be rare and would be only visiting the park, not living there.