On this day, we venture back to Congaree National Park and to a brewery. Instead of heading to Disney again, we had decided to have a relaxing Labor Day weekend this year. We were able to book a timeshare on Lake Marion, South Carolina’s largest lake. Being south of the park and less than an hour away, we planned a day visiting the park and a brewery!
Previous Visit to Congaree National Park and Planning
We had previously visited Congaree National Park on the way to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in June 2015. Driving through South Carolina to get to North Carolina, Congaree was a quick pit stop on the way. Stopping at the visitor center, we got a passport stamp, walked a little on the boardwalk trail and left. We really didn’t experience much of Congaree, so we decided we wanted to come back and do more this time. And this time we were taking Becky’s parents along with our daughter.
We started planning the day on the National Park Service website. This is a great resource for any national park trip. Each park has its separate page with a lot of good information you will need. One misconception about the park is it is a swamp. However, Congaree is actually an old growth forest that gets flooded periodically. We know it kind of still sounds like a swamp, but technically it is not. For more information on this park, see Congaree National Park (nps.gov).
One of the things we like to do is hike in our national parks. On the website, we were able to find trail information. We had previously walked some of the Boardwalk Loop Trail from the visitor center, but not the whole loop. So, we wanted to go back and finish it. Also, we found a new trail, Fork Swamp Trail, along the way. We also like to look for breweries when traveling and found an interesting brewery kind of nearby, Sumter Original Brewery. With three stops planned, our round trip route was 2.5 hours.
Fork Swamp Trail in Congaree National Park
Our first stop was Fork Swamp Trail about 25 minutes away and halfway to the visitor center. This trail is only 0.6 miles, and after further research, seemed like an easy hike for all of us. We love hiking, but when traveling with young or older family members, we tend to stick to easy and/or short trails. Anything less than a mile is ideal and this trail is listed as the park’s second newest trail. The trail also runs alongside the Bates Old River, now an oxbow lake. An oxbow lake is basically a U-shaped lake that was once a wide area of a river that got cut-off. Something we didn’t know!
Our experience, however, did not live up to our expectations. Unfortunately, the start of the trail was impassable, as growth covered it a few feet high. It was listed on the NPS site as a moderate trail with some areas which may be difficult to follow, but this was overgrown.
Since the trail had not been maintained in a while, no one wanted to go on it. But Paul was still feeling adventurous and decided to start the loop from the end to see how far he could go. Walking through a short section of woods, opened along the river/lake bank. There were many spider webs on the marked trail, and in some parts was hard to follow. After passing a little bridge, the trail was impassable going back to the start.
We would not recommend this trail as it is not maintained, including trash left by the lake. Besides spiders and bugs, there was no wildlife sightings and the oxbow lake looked like a stagnant large ditch. Not a good start, but the main hike is yet to come.
Visitor Center at Congaree
Whenever visiting any national park, you must stop at a visitor center. Congaree National Park has only one, the Harry Hampton Visitor Center. And it was open, though most exhibits were closed. However, there are many reasons to stop at a visitor center. Becky had bought a Passport book years ago, and loves it! It is a great was to keep track of when you visited a park. At each visitor center, they have at least one stamp that you can add to your passport. After an initial investment under $15 for the book, the stamps are free. You can keep track of every visit to any national park site.
Visitor centers also have a park store where we like to buy our souvenir fridge magnet or comfy T-shirt. They also have books and toys for the little, and older ones. But the thing most valuable is access to information. They usually have at least one park ranger available to answer any questions you have about the park. They also have restrooms, but Congaree has something else: a mosquito meter!
Having been here once before, we were prepared for the mosquitos. Though the meter rating was misleading. We had bug spray on. However, we had no issues with the mosquitos on the trails or around the visitor center.
Junior Ranger Activity
Another reason to stop at a visitor center with young ones, is the junior ranger activity. Most visitor centers will have a junior ranger activity book and crayons that are free. Not only are they educational, but they have an activity for the little ones to do while in the park. And if they complete it, they will get sworn in as a junior range and get a badge! We have done a few now with our daughter, and she loves it. Congaree’s had an activity to find wildlife, which we searched for along the boardwalk trail.
The Boardwalk Loop Trail in Congaree National Park
The Boardwalk Loop Trail starts right at the visitor center. This trail is an easy 2.6 mile loop trail and is the best way to experience Congaree on land. There are outfitters that do guided kayak trips on their waterways, but we stuck to the trails. Boardwalk trails in general are easy. You are walking along a boardwalk off the ground which is easy to walk on, protects you, and has little elevation changes. This trail is longer than we normally would do with our family, but since it was almost completely on a boardwalk we decided to try it.
Their Self-Guided Boardwalk Tour online lists a time of 60-80 minutes. But we knew it would take us longer, so we took our time. We also picked up a paper trail guide at the visitor center. Like the online guide, it explains the 20 stops along the trail.
Elevated Boardwalk to Weston Lake
The trail starts out elevated. The first stop was a large American beech tree likely over 100 years old. Past that you get to the beginning of the loop. Not knowing which way to go, we turned left thinking this was the right way to start. After a little while, we found out this was the end per the guide. But at this point, we didn’t want to turn back so we went the whole way in reverse. It really doesn’t matter as you can go either way.
We walked on the elevated boardwalk trail stopping at marked spots on the guide, as well as looking for wildlife. There are also benches on the boardwalk along the way, and our daughter wanted to stop at every one! We spotted a lizard, spiders and a turtle near the trail early on. This trail is elevated for a while but does reach the ground as it crosses the Sims Trail. However, it stays mostly elevated until you reach Weston Lake, another oxbow lake. Unlike the last one, this lake looks like a vibrant river where we spotted fish, birds and more turtles.
Lower Boardwalk
At this point, it is about half way. Once we left the lake, you follow steps down to a lower boardwalk. We thought this area was the most interesting. Not only were you closer to the ground, but had some beautiful areas. We started past some cypress “knees” with the lake in the background. Heading into the old growth forest, we were greeted by a grand loblolly tree, over 150 feet tall! In fact there are many large trees including bald cypress and water tupelo protected in this area.
There are some areas along this part where you can see water. This area is fairly dry at this time of year, but at times could be flooded in some areas. It’s another good reason for the boardwalk as we see a snake in one patch of water. But it’s another wildlife sighting in the junior activity book. It was somewhere along this portion our daughter said it was beautiful. You don’t hear that about a swamp!
At this point, some of us are a bit tired. Our parents are sitting on a bench and our daughter is asking to be carried. After a few minutes of rest, however, we get to the end of the loop, and continue back to the visitor center. We check our time and it has been over 2 hours! But we made it, and we all enjoyed our hike.
Back at the Visitor Center
When we get back, we hit the restrooms and head back into the store to get some stuffed animals for our daughter. We told her she could only get something after the hike and she did so well. This was a long hike for her, and really for us. We also turned in her junior ranger book and they swore her in as a junior ranger. She was being shy so we helped with the oath, but she got a cool wooden badge. At this point, we did have snacks along the trail, but we are hungry. We are ready for our next stop.
Sumter Original Brewery
Now Sumter Original Brewery is not really close to Congaree. It’s still about 50 minutes away and all backroads. But after walking for over two hours, we enjoy the ride. Sumter Original Brewery or simply SOB, is in Sumter, SC aka middle of nowhere South Carolina. However, this brewery is a highlight of a charming downtown in this small town.
SOB is the first, and as far as we know, the only brewery in Sumter. It is also a massive brewery, over 30,000 square feet, with a 15 barrel brewing system. We are not sure what this building was originally, but it’s a huge 3 story building. On the first floor has a bar with multiple TV’s. This is also where you order your food, though you can take your food to the other floors.
Their food menu is basically appetizers, so we order a bunch. We order their corn dog bites, chicken fingers, a quesadilla and southwestern spring rolls. We also tried a couple beers while waiting. When it comes to beers, we like the malty ones. IPAs are very popular, but we don’t like them. However, they have a few choices for us. We try the Imperial amber, Scotch ale and hefeweizen, before settling on their stout, which is excellent.
Upper Floors at SOB
The second floor is the game floor with pool tables, dart machines, foosball, etc. It also has another bar. We decide against playing games and decide to check out the rooftop on the third floor instead.
The rooftop has picnic tables under cover that keep you cool out of the sun. And by this time our food is ready, and luckily they have an elevator if you don’t want to take the stairs. We bring the food back up to the rooftop where we eat it. Even though it is just appetizers, it’s very good. We may have just been really hungry but it is very satisfying. The rooftop area also has a bar and a large TV. Some folks are gathering to watch college football starting this weekend. There is also an area with cornhole boards. Paul and our daughter throw a few around before getting back in the shade.
After we finish eating, we head downstairs and get a growler of the stout to go. We invested in a Stanley growler a few years ago that keeps our beer cold all day. We leave SOB happy and full. The staff is friendly and we were glad we made the stop. It then takes us about 45 minutes to get back to where we started. But more than half was on I-95 which makes it go by fast.
Summary of Congaree National Park and a Brewery
We left a little late in the morning, but returned late in the afternoon. Starting at the Fork Swamp Trail was disappointing as it was overgrown. But our next stop was the main area and visitor center. The highlight was completing the Boardwalk Loop Trail and we highly recommend it. We also visited a large new brewery in a small town. They had surprisingly really good food and beer. We rate their stout as one of the best we’ve had. We had an enjoyable full day at Congaree National Park and a brewery and look forward to our next adventure!
Check out other National Parks we have visited.