Congaree National Park: History, Highlights, and One- to Three-Day Adventures

Congaree protects the largest old-growth bottomland forest left in the United States, a floodplain of giant cypress and towering hardwoods about 20 minutes from Columbia, South Carolina. This guide shows you how to spend one, two, or three good days there: when to walk the boardwalk, how to read the creek before you paddle, which trails flood, and where to look for owls, herons, and turtles.

What's inside

• Nine ready-made itineraries: one, two, and three days, each at easy, moderate, and strenuous effort, from the accessible Boardwalk Loop to the Weston Lake Loop, a Cedar Creek paddle, and the backcountry trails to the Congaree River, each with a flood or weather backup
• The park's history, from the Congaree people and colonial ferries to the maroons of the swamps, the cypress loggers, Harry Hampton, and the citizens who saved the forest
• Sightseeing highlights: the champion trees, Cedar Creek by canoe or kayak, the bluff's pines, the quiet east side, and the synchronous fireflies
• A wildlife chapter profiling 14 animals, from barred owls and pileated woodpeckers to green anoles and yellow-bellied sliders, each with a photograph and notes on where and when to look
• Trip planning for camping, outfitters, the firefly lottery, floods, mosquitoes, safety, and accessibility
• 35 photographs and 4 orientation maps

What you'll receive

• EPUB ebook (Congaree_National_Park_Brian_D_Russ.epub, about 14 MB) for Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Books, and most e-reader apps. Kindle readers can send it to their library with Amazon's Send to Kindle.
• PDF (Congaree_National_Park_Brian_D_Russ.pdf, 96 pages including the cover, about 28 MB) for any device, and for printing pages. It opens on the illustrated cover.

Your download link arrives by email right after purchase.

Edition

First illustrated edition, October 2026, with research completed October 2026. Trail conditions, water levels, and schedules change, so check the park's current alerts before you travel.

Check the creek gauge, bring the bug spray, and take your time under the big trees.

This is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service.