Congaree National Park

On our way through South Carolina we made a stop at the Congaree National Park visitor center.  I didn't know much about it before we got there other than that it was a National Park site and one life goal I have is to visit each and every NPS site in the country.

Congaree National Park contains many places that tell the story of how people have used the land over thousands of years. Prehistoric people used places like Sampson's Island as a place to set up camp while within the floodplain to hunt and gather food. As the land was settled in the 18th century, transportation routes crossed the floodplain, requiring the services offered at places such as Bates Ferry to help get goods and materials across the river before bridges were built in the 20th century. Landowners using the land to raise livestock built large mounds that offered protection to their cattle and other animals from the regular flooding that covered the landscape. These places offer us a glimpse into how this land was utilized before becoming a national park.
--from Congaree NP website

Once you enter the park you pass through beautiful stands of trees on your way to the visitor center.

There was a picnic shelter next to the parking lot, but we ended up eating in the car as we left if I recall correctly as we needed to keep going.

The trail up to the visitor center was partly flooded due to the recent rains.

Thankfully it dried out as we got closer.

Inside were a number of exhibits about the history and natural surroundings of the park.

There are many different habitats within the forests of Congaree area--this display shows a small pool that could be formed by an overturned tree.

While we didn't see any, others see plenty of birds in the area.

Some of the signs hadn't been updated from the old verbiage since it became a National Park in 2003.

It took many years for the area to be preserved to protect the trees from further exploitation when all other nearby areas had been logged clear.

I found this display interesting as it shows how a tree that may technically be dead can sustain and shelter plenty of other organisms.

Thankfully mosquito weren't out in force on the day of our visit!

We looked around the book store for a bit and I ended up buying a book about Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox of Revolutionary War fame.

Early in the twentieth century the largest baldcypress trees in the area started to e logged, but thankfully it wasn't very productive so it didn't last too long.

We next headed out back to begin to explore along the boardwalk.

So much of the vegetation was lush and green.

Many trees towered overhead.

A number of trees even overhung the path.

Looking over the edge you could see why there was a boardwalk instead of a normal trail.

Sadly we turned back before too long because the rain picked up and headed back inside to watch the movie.

Right before we left I spotted this tiny frog on the wall outside.

Congaree is a park that we definitely want to visit again as we didn't get to see very much of it.  You can see a few more of the pictures I took in this album.

~Matt