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Congaree National Park

Photo: Ken Lund / CC BY-SA 2.0 · source

🌲 Forests

Congaree National Park

Hopkins, SC · Congaree River floodplain, central South Carolina

About

Congaree National Park protects the largest tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the country, a floodplain of towering bald cypress and tupelo near Hopkins, South Carolina. Walk the 2.6-mile elevated Boardwalk Loop past cypress knees and trees over 500 years old, home to some of the tallest trees in the eastern U.S. For two weeks in late spring, the park's synchronous fireflies flash in unison, one of only a few places in North America where that happens.

Highlights

Largest intact old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the U.S.Champion bald cypress and tupelo, among the tallest trees in the East2.6-mile elevated Boardwalk Loop through the floodplainSynchronous fireflies for about two weeks in late May to early JuneFree entry with paddling on Cedar Creek and the Congaree River

Getting there

100 National Park Road, Hopkins, SC 29061

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Part of these collections

Curated guides that feature Congaree National Park.

The United States National Parks63 places

The United States National Parks

All 63 of America's national parks in one place: the geysers and canyons, glaciers and giant sequoias, coral reefs and live volcanoes the country set aside for everyone. From the Grand Canyon to the Everglades to the wilds of Alaska, this is the complete collection, each one worth building a whole trip around.