Congaree National Park - Harry Hampton Visitor Center

"Well kept boardwalk trail with self-guided informational pamphlet. Also did part of the Sims trail and also all of the Weston Loop then got back on the boardwalk."

"• We visited in December 2023 on Christmas Day Monday. Park offices and visitor center is closed but park is open to the public. They had water bottle filler and 1 family bathroom open to guest at the visitor center. • We arrived around 10AM and there were maybe 5 other cars there. There were plenty of parking spots, but it was also kind of drizzly and it would rain later in the afternoon during our hike. There are also a few covered pavilions with picnic tables located adjacent to the parking lot. • There are maps available at visitor center and a large trail map posted on the wall. • We started with the boardwalk trail and right counter clock-wise with the numbers going in order. If you grab the paper with the maps you can read information about each stop that is numbered on the trail. This was very helpful and also kept out kids engaged in looking for each number and reading the info sheet. • We stayed nearby in Columbia overnight and came back the next morning Tuesday December 26th just to get into the visitor center so we could complete the Junior Ranger Booklet and also get our NPS Cancellation Stamp which is available inside just around the corner to your left. • We watched the video at the back of the visitor center in the large theater room. The kids got to explore the number of exhibits all by themselves. We only saw 2 other groups while we were there first thing 9AM in the morning. • Overall, we found the park to be pretty amazing. We’d probably visit again if we were in the area and it wasn’t full of flying insects. Unless it’s during the firefly season. That would be really cool to see someday. If I lived locally, I would just come here to hike. There were a few people we bumped into the previous day walking their dogs through the park."

"Enchanted forest feel. Old growth trees are amazing. Boardwalk is a great hike."

"This is one of the most well maintained visit centers in the national parks I have seen. The collection of souvenirs is so good and the visit center itself is very informative."

"Very well layer out with hands on displays and an 18 minute video in the history of the park. This is a very nice entry to the park. Bathrooms and trail maps are located with outside access. The center is extremely clean and organized."