How We Go Columbia: Congaree National Park offers walk among the trees

Charleston is home to some of the nation’s top chefs, while Greenville has some of the nation’s top urban parks and biking trails.

Here in the Columbia area, we have our own national treasure: Congaree National Park.

The trees are the stars here – bald cypress, loblolly pines, elms, hickories, maples, oaks – particularly the 25 champion trees, the largest of their kinds in the United States. America’s largest loblolly pine is in Congaree – as tall as a 16-story building, according to the park website (for context, the tallest building in downtown Columbia is 25 stories).

Walking among these trees offers a sense of wonder and peace.

It’s about a 25-30 minute drive to the park from downtown Columbia. Here, three reasons why I love Congaree:

It’s great for families. Help your children learn about science and nature by getting them out to explore it. The visitors center has some hands-on exhibits; while there, have your children sign up for the Junior Ranger program and earn a badge. Walk the 2.4-mile Boardwalk Loop to Weston Lake and try to spot animals – river otters, woodpeckers, warblers, deer, spiders, skinks, turtles and more. My family likes to make it a competition, with the first person spotting an animal able to pick the ice cream stop on the way home. There are a number of hiking trails suitable for older children, too.

The price is right. Not only is park admission free, but there are a number of year-round programs that are free or charge only a nominal fee. Among some of the recent – and free – programs: tree treks, nature discovery walks, guided canoe trips, and a butterfly count. Even the camp sites are free (first-come, first-served; tents only).

It’s not just for locals anymore. When you’re out in Congaree, in what feels like the middle of nowhere in Lower Richland County, you don’t expect to run into a lot of out-of-staters. But since gaining national park status in 2003, Congaree seems to be drawing more visitors not only from outside South Carolina but from other countries. I have run into people from Germany, Japan and England in recent years. Many, like me, just want to explore as many U.S. national parks as we can squeeze into a lifetime.

Congaree National Park, 100 National Park Road, Hopkins; (803) 776-4396 or http://www.nps.gov/cong

Dawn Kujawa, The State’s features editor, is an avid hiker. She and her husband are on a mission to hike in as many of America’s national parks as possible. Closer to home in South Carolina, fall hikes to the Upstate’s waterfalls are a favorite family tradition.

This story was originally published July 23, 2015 at 2:07 PM with the headline "How We Go Columbia: Congaree National Park offers walk among the trees."