A Day Trip to Congaree National Park

We had only three days to spend in Charleston, but driving to Congaree National Park was a must. The park is less than two hour drive from Charleston, and oh, what an incredibly unique place this is! The Congaree National Park is an old bottomland and upland forest, one of the most biodiverse and tallest in the world. Most of the time it is covered by floodwaters from Congaree and Water Rivers, and it is absolutely magical. Some of these these trees have been here for centuries and witnessed a long and harsh history of lives of different generations of humans through different and historic times. It felt really nice to wonder through the forest, listen to the birds, admire the nature, and just breathe...

As the first timers, we went on this boardwalk loop trail, an easy 2 and a half mile walk that starts at the visitor center and then ascends into the forest. And it is just so beautiful!

The constant floods from Congaree and Water rivers created this Weston lake. These waters also constantly bring nutrient rich soil which is probably the reason why this is one of the tallest forests in the world and hosts 25 champion trees.

Lucky us, as we were driving to the park, we’ve got an uninvited companion - a rainstorm in a true South Carolinian style. But oh, the forest after rain was just magical.