Congaree National Park exists to protect and preserve the last, small remnant of bottomland hardwood forest in the southeast United States. What helped make the giant trees, also protected them from harvesting. The river is named after the Congaree people who lived in the area, but the river did not protect them from small pox which effectively destroyed their community.
The Congaree River and its tributaries flood about a dozen times a year, turning the bottomland into water and muck and spreading nutrients to feed the trees. The flooding made it more expensive for harvesting the trees. Like the Great Dismal Swamp further north in Virginia and North Carolina, the challenging access allowed escaped enslaved people to live in relative safety in the dense, bottomland forests. Later, it also protected moonshiners’ stills during Prohibition.
Near the visitors center, a raised boardwalk trail keeps your feet dry and provides good views of the Cypress, Tupelo and Loblolly Pines. When the water recedes, you can follow further trails into the forest. We were told the water had gone down enough to walk on, but warned we would get muddy.
Despite vigorous washing and later walking in deep snow back home, there’s still mud in the boots. But hiking muddy trails in January allows you to be alone with giant trees. One trail is called Oakridge, because it’s on a “ridge” a few feet higher than the rest of the bottomland and supports magnificent oak trees.
And what might live below?
You might remember a post I did in October 2018 after my first visit to Congaree. The land was a lot greener then, and not as muddy. However, one advantage of a January visit was no mosquitoes. Even in October, when the bug population was “moderate,” and you covered yourself in bug spray, stopping on the hike would result in being surrounded by a buzzing, biting cloud.
Loblolly pine are the tallest trees in the Congaree with the state champion towering a couple hundred feet above the ground and a challenge to photograph. Here’s some of the massive bark.
The Tupelo trees spread in the bottomland and along the water.
And the Bald Cypress trees can lead you and your imagination onward.
