Congaree National Park a treat for kids and parents on a budget

If you're looking to get back in touch with nature, there's nothing quite like Congaree National Park.

"It used to be that basically the entire Southeast was covered with a forest like this, but thanks to pioneers coming in, cutting trees down and later the logging industry, there's very little forest left like this," said Interpretive Ranger Kate Hartley.

BY THE NUMBERS

DIRECTIONS:
From Myrtle Beach: Take Highway 501- 76 into Florence, then follow directions from Florence.
From Florence: Take Highway 20 West toward Columbia, then get off on Interstate 77 South.
At Exit 5 turn off onto SC Hwy 48 East (Bluff Rd.), following the brown and white Congaree National Park directional signs. Travel southeast approximately fourteen miles on SC Hwy 48 (Bluff Rd.) toward Gadsden and turn right onto Mt. View Rd. Follow Mt. View Rd. for 0.8 miles. Turn right onto Old Bluff Rd. and travel 0.6 miles. At the large park entrance sign, turn left onto the park entrance road and proceed one mile to the Harry Hampton Visitor Center. Parking lots will be on the right.

HOURS OF OPERATION:
Open every day except for Christmas day (December 25th)
The Harry Hampton Visitor Center is open from 8:30 AM until 5:00 PM.
During daylight savings time (DST), the Harry Hampton Visitor Center will be open until 7:00 PM on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

COST:
Free; reservations are required for the following programs: Guided Canoe Tours, Owl Prowls

For more information on the history of the park as well as all of the activities at the site, click here to visit the park’s web site.

Click here to view a photo gallery from Patricia's visit to the park.

The park is located about 20 miles from downtown Columbia, near the Hopkins and Gadsden communities. It is the only national park in South Carolina, and was designated as such in 2003.

The 26,000 acre woodland wonderland boasts not only trails, swamp areas and canoeing, it also features the best kind of price tag - a free one.

"When you bring your family out here, there are two wonderful things,” Hartley said. “First of all, you have a national park right in your backyard. Second of all, because people are on tight budgets nowadays, I'm happy to say that there is no charge for admission and there is no charge for any of the programs that we have here at the park."

Among the things you and your family can enjoy for free is a 2.4 mile boardwalk loop, a canopy of some of the state's oldest trees, and even guided ranger hikes and canoe trips.

For many families on tight budgets, it definitely beats spending money on expensive vacations, and it also gets the kids out of the house and off of the couch.

"For the Parks Service, we want to develop a constituency of young people, the younger generations that are coming up, to appreciate how beautiful this is, how important it is that we're preserving it and come out and enjoy it," Hartley said.

The kids will definitely have a lot to keep them occupied, whether at the interactive exhibits inside the park's state-of-the-art visitor's center or the opportunity to become a junior ranger out on the trail.

You parents out there won't be complaining either. Not only does the beauty of the park give you a chance to take in nature, it also won't take anything out of your wallet.

"It's something very close by, so you don't involve a lot of gasoline, which is also another cost involved with going further afield," Hartley said, adding it’s just a “wonderful bargain.”

Click here to view a photo gallery from Patricia's visit to the park.

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