Congaree National Park Visit (Nov 2025)

Leave it to us to select one of the coldest days in South Carolina's Fall season to visit this splendid national park!

Congaree National Park is located in South Carolina, about 18 miles south of Columbia. Coming from Sumter, it was about a one-hour drive. It is home to the Congaree River and old-growth bottomland hardwood trees. This means, swampy and river adventures!

Since we were visiting our son for Thanksgiving, we figured we would drag him along with us on our National Park Adventures! We started with a stop by the visitor's center to learn about the trails and park history. Half of the boardwalk was closed, so we hiked as far as we could go. The weather was beautiful and cool. We thought we were ready for the river rafting adventures that awaited us in the afternoon.

The boardwalk was well-maintained and truly a nice stroll through the hardwood trees. There are plenty of spaces to take pictures and take breaks. There were many families with their children and dogs, which was nice to see because not all National Parks allow you to bring your dogs for a hike. This sure was a nice one to visit!

These trees were some of the tallest in the eastern United States. They grow in a flood plain, so you have to stay on the boardwalk, which was pretty high above the delicate ecosystems below. According to Wikipedia, the boardwalk passes through old growth forest of bald cypress and water tupelo.

I don't know much about trees, but the weather was nice, and we enjoyed our walk. Somehow, the walk is always shorter on the way back. We had to head out to the meeting point for our kayaking adventure, so we did not walk the entire boardwalk, but we will definitely be back to check out the other trails and the fireflies

in the summer!

We booked our Kayak tours through Viator and met in the afternoon. We thought this would be the warmer time of the day, but the temperature sure cooled down, and our hands were hating us for not bringing gloves! If you take this tour, make sure you bring some waterproof gloves to help yourself! The water stays cool most of the year, and aside from the resident snakes, this is a calm river, and a nice time was had!

We doubled up on our kayak while our son ventured out on his own. He pretty much loves anything outdoorsy, so he will join in the good times and good ideas. Our tour guides helped us get the kayaks in the water and provided great instructions for those of us who were doing this for the first time.

Eric had never been in a Kayak, so steering was a learning experience. We were trying to keep up and trying not to get stuck in the roots. Our tour group was filled with young, adventurous ones, but we did our best to keep up. Our guys were knowledgeable and answered all our questions. They gave us time to learn to paddle and enjoy the beautiful scenery. This was truly an amazing way to enjoy this part of the National Park!

Our tour was booked with JK Adventure Guides, and they were phenomenal!

From amazing views to great tales of their adventures, our afternoon down the river was a great experience! Getting out of the kayak was a challenge, but that is another story for another day! Enjoy this view from our kayak on the way back to the dock. It was cold, and the young ones started paddling fast!

And... of course, all that hard work made us extra hungry, so we grabbed a nice dinner in Columbia before heading back. Overall, a good time was had by all, and we will definitely be back to Congaree National Park!

Dinner with the boys is always a good idea!

We stopped by BJs in Columbia.