Congaree National Park

Almost all of the great bottomland forest that once filled the southeastern floodplains was logged, and Congaree is what is left: a floodplain of the Congaree river where loggers gave up because of the water, leaving old-growth bald cypress, tupelo, loblolly pine and sweetgum standing. The result is one of the tallest deciduous canopies anywhere on earth, with a national champion tree of several species and loblolly pines over fifty metres. A boardwalk loop of about four kilometres carries you above the mud past cypress knees pushing out of black water, and a marked canoe trail runs down Cedar Creek under the canopy. For two or three weeks each spring the forest hosts synchronous fireflies, which flash in unison.

What you actually see

• The boardwalk loop - four kilometres above the floodplain and cypress knees.
• The champion trees - record loblolly pines and cypress in the old-growth stands.
• The Cedar Creek canoe trail - paddling under the canopy through black water.
• Synchronous fireflies - flashing in unison for a few weeks each spring.

When to go

October to April is the comfortable season, with cool air and few insects; late spring and summer are hot, humid and mosquito-heavy, and the park keeps a mosquito meter at the entrance that is only half a joke. The firefly event runs a couple of weeks in May and access is by lottery. Floods close the boardwalk periodically.

Honest expectations

This is a flat floodplain forest, not a dramatic landscape, and visitors expecting mountains or vistas will be disappointed; the appeal is the scale of the trees and the quiet. Summer mosquitoes are genuinely oppressive. Flooding closes trails without much notice several times a year, so check conditions before driving out.

Nearby

Columbia is half an hour northwest; Charleston is two hours southeast.