Congaree National Park: Boardwalk/Bluff Double Loop (Blog Hike #887)

Trails: Longleaf, Boardwalk, Firefly, and Bluff Trails
Hike Location: Congaree National Park
Geographic Location: southeast of Columbia, SC (33.83805, -80.82836)
Length: 4.3 miles
Difficulty: 3/10 (Easy/Moderate)
Date Hiked: February 2022
Overview: A nearly flat double loop featuring a long boardwalk over the Congaree River swamp.
Park Information: https://www.nps.gov/cong/index.htm
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=901634
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: On the south side of Columbia, take I-77 to SR 48 (exit 5).  Exit and go south/east on SR 48.  Drive SR 48 8.1 miles to Old Bluff Road and make a soft right on Old Bluff Rd.  The signed park entrance is 4.4 miles ahead on the right.  Turn right to enter the park, and then at the first stop sign turn left to enter the gravel parking lot for the Longleaf Campground.  Park here.

The hike: When most people think of America's national parks, they think of pristine wilderness places with towering cliffs, abyss-like canyons, plummeting waterfalls, and spectacular wildlife.  Yet not all national parks fit this pattern.  Take, for example, Congaree National Park near the geographical center of South Carolina.  Achieving national park designation only in 2003, Congaree sits on the fringe of metro Columbia, and it consists mostly of riverside swamplands with little of the spectacular scenery for which the national parks are famous.  For these reasons, Congaree National Park is a frequent entry on published lists of worst national parks.

            Yet visitors who are willing to look a little harder will find plenty of interesting things to see at Congaree National Park.  For starters, the park has some of the largest bald cypress and longleaf pine trees I have seen anywhere, and it contains world-champion trees (i.e. the largest tree of its kind in the world) for 15 different species.  Moreover, the park's Boardwalk Trail may be the best boardwalk I have hiked anywhere, and I have hiked a lot of boardwalks.  Throw in the only freshwater river swamp in the national park system, canoeing opportunities, and two primitive campgrounds, and you have one of South Carolina's better outdoor recreation destinations.

            For hikers, Congaree National Park offers 11 trails totaling more than 45 miles.  Although some of the trails are long primitive slogs through muddy wetlands, the park's most famous and popular trail is its 2.4 mile Boardwalk Trail, which starts at the Visitor Center.  This hike combines the Boardwalk Trail with a second loop over the bluffs, thus sampling both this park's uplands and lowlands.  Note that I would avoid this park in the summer due to heat and bugs; I came here in mid-February and had a great hike.

Trailhead at Longleaf Campground parking lot

            Many people start at the Visitor Center, but the Visitor Center parking lot was overflowing when I came here on a seasonal Saturday afternoon.  Thus, I found it more practical to start at the Longleaf Campground, which had a parking lot that was only about half full.  From the signed trailhead at the south end of the campground parking lot, head toward the Visitor Center by picking up the combined Longleaf and Bluff Trails, which immediately enter a nice longleaf pine forest.  Brown pieces of carsonite bearing white reflective material and the number 8, the park's number for the Longleaf Trail, are nailed to trees and mark this trail.

Hiking the Longleaf Trail

            At 0.3 miles, you reach the trail intersection that forms this hike's northern loop.  To get to the boardwalk quickly, I turned right to remain on the Longleaf Trail and used the Bluff Trail going left as my return route, thus hiking the northern loop counterclockwise.  The trail continues south to quickly cross the main park road and reach the Visitor Center.  Pick up a copy of the Self-Guided Boardwalk Tour brochure, and then head down the boardwalk.

Starting the Boardwalk Trail

            This wooden boardwalk is world-class in construction: it is plenty wide enough for passing and offers plenty of benches for resting.  Numbered signs correspond to the self-guided brochure you picked up at the Visitor Center.  Initially the boardwalk starts in a dryer area with lots of large beech trees, but soon it descends almost imperceptibly into a lower wetter area dominated by cypress and tupelo trees.  Some very large cypress trees live here, and the forest is stunningly beautiful.

Hiking through cypress forest

            0.7 miles into the hike, the boardwalk splits to form its loop, which is the southern of our two loops.  I continued straight and used the boardwalk going left as my return route, again hiking the loop counterclockwise.  This "loop" is more of a square in shape, and the boardwalk keeps your feet nice and dry despite the varying wetness of the surrounding land.

Wetter cypress forest

Huge pine tree

            At 1.4 miles, you cross the Sims Trail, which follows an old hunting club road, and continue the boardwalk on the other side.  Soon you reach the southern loop's southeast corner and an overlook of Weston Lake.  Weston Lake is this area's largest body of open water, and some of the largest pine trees I have ever seen live near the shore of the lake.  Take some time here to enjoy the forest and lake.

Weston Lake

            The dirt/mud Weston Lake Trail continues east from the overlook, but the boardwalk turns left to head north directly away from the lake.  I did some nice wildlife viewing on this section of trail that included a woodpecker and a large underwater turtle.  After rounding the Boardwalk Trail's northeast corner, you reenter the dryer area and pass more large beech trees before closing the southern loop.  Turn right to head back to the Visitor Center.

Start of Firefly Trail

            Now finished with the southern loop, continue the northern loop by picking up the Firefly Trail, which starts under the Boardwalk Trail just downhill from the rear of the Visitor Center.  Turn left to head east on the Firefly Trail.  The Firefly Trail gets its name from synchronous fireflies that put on a spectacular light show here in late spring.  Congaree and Great Smoky Mountains are the only two national parks with this natural phenomenon.

            Just past 3 miles into the hike, the Firefly Trail briefly rejoins the Boardwalk Trail; you are now walking the opposite direction on the boardwalk as you did a few minutes ago.  At 3.2 miles, the Firefly Trail turns left to leave the boardwalk for good.  A gradual climb comes next, and this section of trail is the hardest to follow on this hike.  Watch for the brown carsonite trail markers to keep you on course.

Hiking the Firefly Trail

            Near 3.5 miles, the Firefly Trail ends near the Bluff Campground.  Turn left to begin the Bluff Trail, the final leg of this hike.  Now back in the longleaf pines, the Bluff Trail heads west on a meandering and gently rolling course.  4 miles into the hike, you return to the Longleaf Trail and close the northern loop.  Retracing your steps 0.3 miles on the Longleaf Trail returns you to the Longleaf Campground parking lot and completes the hike.