Congaree National Park

About

Congaree National Park protects a large tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest along the Congaree and Wateree Rivers, southeast of Columbia, South Carolina. More than 80 percent of the park is designated wilderness. Seasonal flooding carries nutrients into the floodplain, and the park's own website credits that process with supporting several national and state champion trees. The park is built around a network of trails, a boardwalk, and Cedar Creek, a blackwater tributary used for paddling.

Most visitors start at the Harry Hampton Visitor Center, where rangers can describe current trail conditions and flood levels. The Boardwalk Loop Trail is a 2.6-mile raised walkway through the forest with a flat surface; walking the full loop typically takes one to two hours. Longer forest trails and canoe trips on Cedar Creek take a half day or more, and the park has one campground, Longleaf, for overnight stays.

The park is open 24 hours a day year-round, and there is no entrance fee, according to the park website as checked in 2026. The Harry Hampton Visitor Center keeps shorter hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, closed on New Year's Day, Presidents Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Congaree sits about a 30-minute drive from Columbia; the park website puts Columbia Metropolitan Airport at roughly the same distance from the park. For GPS directions, the park recommends entering its street address, 100 National Park Road, Hopkins, SC 29061, rather than searching by park name, since some map apps can misroute visitors who search by the park name alone.

Accessibility

Congaree National Park is accessible in the developed areas around the visitor center, but conditions vary sharply once you leave the boardwalk, according to the park's official accessibility page.

The Harry Hampton Visitor Center has three parking lots, with two accessible spaces in each of the first two lots and one in the oversized-vehicle lot. Automatic doors lead into the building during operating hours, and the information desk, exhibits, and store are all on one level. Accessible restrooms include a 24-hour family restroom, and there is an accessible water fountain outside.

The Boardwalk Loop Trail is the most reliable route for a wheelchair user. It is a 2.6-mile raised loop with a flat surface, and the park describes it as accessible. A clear, paved path also runs from the first parking lot to the picnic shelter, which has two wheelchair-accessible tables, plus two more accessible tables between the parking lots.

Standard wheelchairs are loaned free of charge at the visitor center on a first-come, first-served basis during standard hours; call ahead to check availability or ask about reserving a specific time. A braille brochure is available on request. For paddling, the park loans adaptive kayak equipment, including back-of-hand supports, wrist slides, and a paddle pivot, free of charge with at least 24 hours' notice, though supplies are limited.

Outside the boardwalk, access drops off. Longleaf Campground has one accessible site and accessible vault toilets, but the routes to campsites are packed dirt and fine gravel. At South Cedar Creek Canoe Landing, the parking and vault toilets are accessible, but the path to the water is downhill over uneven ground with stairs at the usual launch point. Bannister Bridge Canoe Landing has no accessible parking or restrooms and requires a soil trail. Service animals are welcome throughout the park; call 803-776-4396 ahead of a visit to confirm current trail and flood conditions before you go.

Checked by Accessible America, August 2026. Report a change

More accessible places in South Carolina

• Charles Pinckney National Historic Site (Mount Pleasant)
• Cowpens National Battlefield (Gaffney)
• Ninety Six National Historic Site (Ninety Six)
• Reconstruction Era National Historical Park (Beaufort)
• Fort Sumter National Monument (Charleston)
• Frankie’s Fun Park (Greenville)

Photo credits

• Towering cypress trees with wide buttressed trunks fill the flooded floodplain forest at Congaree.: cappellacci, CC BY 2.0 (source)
• Congaree National Park official National Park Service image: National Park Service, Public domain (U.S. National Park Service)
• A wooden boardwalk trail winds through the cypress swamp, offering a flat accessible path.: NPS, Public domain (source)
• Cypress trunks stand in still swamp water, their reflections mirrored on the surface.: cappellacci, CC BY 2.0 (source)