Congaree National Park — Attraction in St. Matthews

• We visited in December 2023 on Christmas Day Monday. Park offices and visitor center is closed but park is open to the public. They had water bottle filler and 1 family bathroom open to guest at the visitor center. • We arrived around 10AM and there were maybe 5 other cars there. There were plenty of parking spots, but it was also kind of drizzly and it would rain later in the afternoon during our hike. There are also a few covered pavilions with picnic tables located adjacent to the parking lot. • There are maps available at visitor center and a large trail map posted on the wall. • We started with the boardwalk trail and right counter clock-wise with the numbers going in order. If you grab the paper with the maps you can read information about each stop that is numbered on the trail. This was very helpful and also kept out kids engaged in looking for each number and reading the info sheet. • There were several giant trees on the trail, specifically a Beech right at the beginning and loblolly pine about halfway through. • A highly for us was the number of bald cypress trees with there knees. There are sections where you look around in every direction and that’s all you see. We’ve seen bald cypress trees before but never to near the quantity. Also with so few people about we got to take some amazing pictures. • Coming at the end of December we didn’t encounter a single flying insect. But I can imagine with all the standing water what it might be like during the other seasons. • We then dropped the kids off as it started to actually rain and they choose to sit in the van and my wife and I did the firefly trail starting from the visitor center near the large beech tree and did a counter clock-wise loop connecting with the bluff trail at the bluff campground (it can be confusing to find the next trail head when you arrive at the campgrounds since there are multiple crisscrossing trails and then came back on longleaf trail which crosses the road you drive into the park on. This trail was nice to see multiple different biomes and it wasn’t even that long. I’d rate it as easy as it was relatively flat and open. Even with the rain we didn’t have any problems with water on the trails. • We stayed nearby in Columbia overnight and came back the next morning Tuesday December 26th just to get into the visitor center so we could complete the Junior Ranger Booklet and also get our NPS Cancellation Stamp which is available inside just around the corner to your left. • We watched the video at the back of the visitor center in the large theater room. The kids got to explore the number of exhibits all by themselves. We only saw 2 other groups while we were there first thing 9AM in the morning. • Overall, we found the park to be pretty amazing. We’d probably visit again if we were in the area and it wasn’t full of flying insects. Unless it’s during the firefly season. That would be really cool to see someday. If I lived locally, I would just come here to hike. There were a few people we bumped into the previous day walking their dogs...

Me and Mrs. M1thumb like to hike. We heard about the Congaree NP and knew we would go.

I got the NP app and found some trails. We decided on the Oakridge trail which was about 7 miles. Seemed reasonable for not having hiked in a while, and we know it would be flat.

After checking out the visitor center, we were on our way. The ranger said do the hike bakwards because trail signs were easier to see. Apparently, some reported not being able to find the trail going the traditional route.

You traverse half the board walk to get to Oakridge. Lots of cool view of bald cypress trees and knees. We encountered a snake on the boardwalk. It had traffic stopped. It looked like a king cobra or black mamba to the other visitors, I think. Maybe it was a water snake? You tell me, pic included. I walked around it, and it slithered to safety. Traffic began to flow again.

We got to Oakridge trail head. It was good to see it marked well. We took a leasierly pace. We saw some ducks, blue heron, a couple owls, lots of lizards and squirrels, and another snake. A black snake or cotton mouth. Hard to tell. Look for a close-up pic of vegetation. You can see the snake there.

All was going well until about 2/3 of the way through at the most southernly part of the trail. I asked the Mrs if she saw a trail marker recently. Neither of us had. We went back to the last trail marker then ahead until the trail melted into the trees. She stayed on the trail, and I scouted ahead. I could not find the trail nor any trail markers. Had it been earlier in the day, I would have looked longer. I had a compas, my phone GPS and was first in orientation at the NCO academy, so I wasn't worried. The Mrs., on the otherhand declared emphatically that she was not staying the night in the woods with two snakes.

We tured around and retraced our steps. At the end of the day, my phone said we walked 11 miles. My fellow hikers said 9. It was more than 7.

If you go on these hikes, I would definitely take the 10 recommended essentials just in case. Also a GPS would be useful. I had a basic GPS that could set way points but no maps. There was a cell signal the entire hike, but it was one or two bars at the most. I could follow the trail on the phone but it wasn't precise.

We love to hike in the woods, even with two snakes. We will be back to complete the Oakridge...

Truly a wonderful place for a hike. There are many forms of wildlife to see here. From various plants, scurrying lizards, towering trees, hooting owls, and swarming mosquitoes; you will truly get an outdoor experience you soon won't forget. From the parking ar the visitors center you will see a brick path with solar lights leading up to the archway that acts as the entrance. On the left side, underneath this archway are the doors to the inside of the visitors center and further down will be the maps and self guided marker descriptions that helps you learn about the nature here. On the right side are the bathrooms as well as the mosquitoe meter. The mosquitoe meter I got a good kick out of. It is a wood sign that ranges from 1 to 6 where 6 is rated as war zone. My visit was on a day where it was at a 3 for moderate. On the boardwalk, I did not seem to be bothered by mosquitoes granted that I was sprayed down with some deep woods bug repellent. Only once I left the board walk did I have a issue with the mosquitoes. On the boardwalk ,which connects to most of the other paths, you will see the numbers for the self guided tour both cut into the rails and on wood planks as you walk. The first number will be on the right path of the boardwalk. As you walk along look out for the lizards that like to hang out on the rails. They will typically hide on the outside face of the guardrails once you get to close. Once you travel far enough you will reach a split which the left path continues on the boardwalk and the right will take you on the trails through the forest. These trails are muddy so wear boots if you have them. The trails have markers on them trails with a number that corresponds to the trail number as well as GPS coordinates. This is where you will run into mosquitoes the most. If you are not soaked with repellent from head to toe, you will have them biting you. Overall, this is a pleasant place to enjoy the outdoors. You can fish here if you want to, take a peaceful walk on the boardwalk, or even a hike through the old parts of the woods. This is a 5 star place for sure. Just be sure too bring bug repellent, plenty of water, and your boots if you are going off...