How to Spend 1/2 Day with Kids in Congaree National Park

6/15/2023

In our quest to see all the National Parks, we knew that we had to make a pitstop to Congaree National Park on our way to our vacation in Savannah.

Congaree is only 3 1/2 hours from our home in Garner/Raleigh, North Carolina, so it was a no-brainer that we stop here.

We went in mid-June. Although the mosquitoes weren't bad, BRING BUG SPRAY!!

However, I'll be honest, I've been putting this park off for a bit because I've read that it ranks near last in rankings of National Parks.

And while it's not TERRIBLE, I can see why it ranks near last when there are parks like Yosemite, Grand Tetons, and Glacier out there.

But, if you're like us, and "have to" stop at this park to get them all, I have some activities to do with kids to make your stop worthwhile.

READ GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

Canoe Cedar Creek

Canoeing CEDAR CREEK was the main event of our stop at Congaree.

We drove to Columbia, SC first to pick up our canoe at RIVER RUNNER OUTDOOR CENTER.

There are other places to rent canoes/kayaks or even take a tour, but since we were driving down from Raleigh same day the tours were all too early.

The pro about renting our own canoe was that we could control the pace and how long we spent on the creek.

With our 4-year old son with us this was ideal in case he got antsy and wanted to turn around.

The con was that we had to unload and load the canoe on and off our car by ourselves, which was a pain when we had to put it back on the car.

We actually had trouble but the customer services from River Runner was A+ because the woman who worked there FaceTimed with us to help.

For the actual trip, we drove to Cedar Creek Canoe Launch/Kingsnake Trailhead to launch our canoe.

We floated down the creek first which was easy and didn't require a lot of rowing. After about a half hour, we turned around to go upstream which required a little more rowing but it wasn't too strenuous.

The whole trip was about an hour which is perfect for a 4-year old.

Overall: The trip was enjoyable. We saw some turtles and that was it. However, it wasn't spectacular and reminded me of floating down the river in Raleigh, NC. The landscape and scenery were about the same.

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Harry Hampton Visitor Center

When going to National Parks, I always like to see the visitor center, so we drove the 11 minutes to the HARRY HAMPTON VISITOR CENTER.

From there, we had easy access to the BOARDWALK LOOP, a 2.6 mile loop through the park. We walked on that for 10-15 minutes instead of doing the whole loop.

After that, we wandered around the visitor center looking at the displays. If you have more time do the JUNIOR RANGERS PROGRAM with your kids.

I've also heard that Fall is the best time to visit.

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Congaree Vines AirBNB

My favorite part of our trip to Congaree National Park was actually our AirBNB at CONGAREE VINES.

This rustic log cabin is situated on a vineyard and is, according to Henry, "just the cutest."

There is no TV, so it's the perfect place to unplug and be "unbusy." There are two beds. One was small and perfect for Henry.

My favorite part was the outdoor kitchen and hammock. I could have spent the whole day reading in the hammock. It was just so peaceful.

Do yourself a favor and book a stay at this quaint place.

Overall

Maybe because we live in North Carolina, I felt like we were at any city or state park near Raleigh. In fact, I think some of our city parks are better than this NATIONAL PARK.

But nevertheless, I recommend spending 1/2 - 1 day here and then pairing it with traveling to somewhere else like Savannah or Charleston.

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Lauren Barrett is a multi-passionate mom working to help all parents become their best selves and build positive relationships with their kids through mindful parenting. She has a degree in deaf education and a Master’s in Reading Education. She is a high school teacher of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing by day, a cross country coach by the afternoon, a writer/author by her son's nap times, and a full time mom to an amazing toddler. Lauren is a 3x author of the Add One-A-Day 30 Day Challenge, children's book, Henry's Hiccups, and parenting guide Now What? Mindful Checklists for Life's Hard Parenting Moments, a blogger at Lauren Barrett Writes, and has been published on sites like A Fine Parent, Pregnant Chicken, Pop Sugar, Her View From Home, and Scary Mommy. She loves her faith, running, visiting MLB stadiums with her husband, chocolate, scrapbooking, pretending she would actually do well on the Amazing Race, re-watching The Office, listening to Bobby Bones, and helping out all moms. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, James, and son, Henry. Follow her on Instagram at @laurenbarrettwrites, and get her free guide on what to do during the middle of a tantrum.

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