I recently took a weekend to explore Congaree National Park via paddleboard and foot. I paddled the famous canoe trail on Cedar Creek, then enjoyed a muggy but beautiful hike along Kingsnake Trail.
Located near Columbia, South Carolina, Congaree National Park is one of the few US national parks located in the southeast. It’s protecting one of the last old-growth forests in the southern United States. This sacred wetland takes you back into a wild, jungle-like environment tucked along the Congaree River.
This is a quick, two-part series during the exploration of Congaree National Park. Here, I’ll focus on my paddleboard adventure along Cedar Creek. My second part will be focused on the Kingsnake Trail hike. Both parts will feature a YouTube video of my adventure. Find the paddleboard trip below!
Cedar Creek and the “Swamp” of Congaree
I began my trip on early Saturday morning, leaving the Charlotte area around 7AM. It was a roughly 2-hour journey for me down I-77 to Columbia, South Carolina. Heading through the body of South Carolina, I think about all of the interesting places that exist or used to exist in that area. There’s nothing much but rural America and the remnants of the mills.
Arriving off of I-77 and toward Congaree, it feels like I’m heading to another no-name place that someone would tell you about at the local corner mart. I arrived at Congaree National Park and was only first greeted by a standard brown road sign. No grand views of massive mountain ranges you might see at some of America’s finest national parks.
My first pull-off was a small parking area off Old Bluff Rd. The first access on the national park lands to Cedar Creek. I was greeted by swarming mosquitoes and a massive no trespassing sign warning me of their high-powered rifles. This would certainly turn some people off. But I felt excited that I was truly somewhere wild.
I was pumped to do some paddleboarding at Cedar Creek. My plan was to head towards the main kayak/canoe/watercraft launch of Cedar Creek. I got a glimmer of the brown, sweet tea-like water at the first launch, but the main launch held more water to make my paddleboard trip feasible.
A 10-15 minute drive down the road brought me to the main Cedar Creek launch at the Kingsnake Trailhead. I was a bit caught off-guard by the crowds of people there. I’m used to places like this being quiet in the morning. But it was Carolina Outdoor Adventures hosting a kayaking trip. I do have to thank them for some of the details on what I saw. They commented on my YouTube video with some facts about the area I was unsure of. If you ever want to do a kayaking trip without worrying about the gear or where to go, book with them!
Beginning My Congaree National Park Paddle
After some setup time, I was on Cedar Creek! If you go to Cedar Creek, there’s a little dock next to the bridge or some stairs that lead down to a little “beach” by the creek. I chose the second option. Be ready for some mud if you follow in my footsteps. Anyway, I paddled upstream of the creek, hoping for a simple paddle up and a calm float down. That was not the case.
I quickly hit a fallen tree not too far up from my launch point at Kingsnake Trailhead. “Oh well,” I thought, “I’ll portage this one and continue my journey.” It wasn’t a simple portage. I did have to trek through mud, but I made it to the other side fairly quickly. Not too far past that tree was another!
That concluded my journey upstream of Cedar Creek at Congaree. That paddleboard trip went much quicker than I thought. But I wasn’t about to keep portaging my paddleboard every 1000 feet or so. The word of the experienced here is that Cedar Creek contains many fallen trees. I assume the float downstream does not because of the tour groups. Regardless, I’d be ready to portage your vessel at Congaree National Park.
I did notice a Fishing Spider along one of the trees. I’ll spare the picture for those not fond. They are cool creatures, however, so look them up! In the same area, I was able to paddle throughout the floodplain-adapted trees. Given the high-water conditions, I don’t believe this is always possible. However, that was the experience I was hoping to get at Congaree National Park. There are not many places you can paddle through trees. So, I’m glad I got to do something unique like that.
Float Down to an Ancient Congaree Oxbow Lake
The swift currents quickly brought me back to the Kingsnake Trailhead at Cedar Creek. Beyond this, I reckoned I could make it down to this opening on the creek and still be able to paddle against the current with time to spare. I learned the opening was actually called Dawson’s Lake from Carolina Outdoor Adventures. I was told it was once an oxbow lake thousands of years ago, but now it’s just part of the waterway when Cedar Creek came through. It’s interesting to think of the history along Congaree National Park.
Coming to paddleboard at Congaree National Park makes me wonder about all of the experiences humans have had here over thousands of years. If these lands could speak, what stories would they tell? The lands that make up the national park have always been a difficult place to conquer. Native Americans to slaves seeking freedom have found refuge among this vast floodplain. But it must not have been an easy life among these trees. Even logging efforts that were certain to seal the fate of Congaree couldn’t manifest fortunately.
These are some of the thoughts I had while paddling along Dawson’s Lake. I still basked in the beauty of the place. I partly was enjoying not having to portage any trees. Regardless, Dawson’s Lake and probably the rest of Cedar Creek are worth checking out. I decided to head back to Kingsnake Trailhead from here.
Go Paddle Cedar Creek at Congaree!
That is my recommendation to you! Congaree National Park is cool to explore via the boardwalk. But being on the water in a national park full of it is where the experience is at. My next adventure is on the Kingsnake Trailhead. It was interesting to explore the park via land. I recommend waterproof boots for that. Maybe even waders!
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