Inside Congaree National Park
Congaree National Park protects the largest intact expanse of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the United States — 26,000 acres of floodplain forest in central South Carolina where the Congaree and Wateree Rivers deposit rich sediment that has allowed trees to grow to extraordinary size for centuries. The park contains the highest temperate deciduous forest canopy in North America, with loblolly pines, bald cypress, water tupelo, cherrybark oak, and sweetgum reaching heights that dwarf the surrounding managed timberlands.