Congaree National Park is in South Carolina near the state capital of Columbia. It is a floodplain forest of giant trees that floods up to ten feet deep every winter.
There is a beautiful biodiversity here of ferns, vines and trees including the upland pines along the elevated bluffs, bald cypress in the bottomland, and water tupelo within the floodplain. The muck of clay and leaves is, at places, eight feet deep!
Until 1875, there were more than 52 million acres of floodplain forests across the southeastern United States – within five decades most of that disappeared. Now, Congaree is 26,000 acres of the last and best floodplain left in the southeastern U.S. with the largest intact expanse of old growth bottomland hardwood forest.
We enjoyed walking the entire 2.5 mile trail built of wood planks which took us into the heart of this bottomland. Imagine these trees in six feet of water! 
The planks are in place to protect the land and to keep the some of the trail above the flood levels that naturally occur every winter. 
We didn’t see any alligators, but these slow moving creeks, sloughs, wetlands, and oxbow lakes provide ample habitat for fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects and other aquatic life. Larger mammals include bobcat, wolf, hogs, deer, and otter. This bird-lovers paradise includes the yellowbellied sapsucker woodpecker, and many more. The call of birds permeates the air, along with the usual multitude of pesky flies and mosquitoes.
The warmth and humidity of South Carolina made us glisten with perspiration, but it is a small price to pay to experience the wonders here. 
Congaree NP was a pleasant surprise on our trip to visit the National Parks, and it is the 36th park we have visited. If we were to stay longer, we would want to bring a kayak or canoe, and explore the waters of the Congaree River.
