Congaree: the last great old-growth hardwood forest of the Southeast

Congaree is a floodplain forest in South Carolina. This kind of forest once covered the whole of the south-eastern United States. Almost everywhere, it has been cut down. Here, a large intact piece remains, with some of the tallest trees in the eastern United States.

History and origins

Several times a year, the Congaree River bursts its banks and covers the forest floor. It leaves behind a very fertile silt. With the heat and humidity, the trees grow taller here than elsewhere: some exceed 50 metres.

It was this waterlogged ground that saved the forest: getting the timber out was too difficult. When the loggers came back, in the 1960s, local people rallied. The site was protected in 1976 and became a national park in 2003.

What to do there

• The boardwalk: a loop on stilts that crosses the forest at head height, then at ground level. You pass among the bald cypresses, with their “knees”, roots that stick up out of the ground like skittles.
• Weston Lake: an old arm of the river, where you see turtles, herons and sometimes an alligator.
• Canoeing on Cedar Creek: the finest way to see the forest, from a dark, calm creek, under a canopy of trees. You bring your own boat, or rent one in Columbia.
• The champion trees: the park has a large number of record trees, the tallest of their species in the country.
• The fireflies: for two weeks in mid-May, thousands of fireflies flash together, in the same rhythm. The phenomenon is rare, and the park limits access.

Stories and good to know

• The cypress “knees” still puzzle botanists. Nobody really knows what they are for.
• Congaree is one of the least visited national parks in the contiguous United States.
• The forest is still standing partly thanks to a local journalist, Harry Hampton, who pleaded its cause for years. The visitor center bears his name.

Practical information for your road trip

• Getting there: the park is 30 minutes from Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, and about 2 hrs from Charleston.
• Equipment: repellent in every season, water, and shoes that don’t mind mud if you leave the boardwalk.
• Where to stay: in Columbia. The park has only two small primitive campgrounds.
• Combine it with: Charleston and Savannah, on a route through the Southeast.