National parkNo van campingFeatured

Congaree National Park

The largest old-growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the United States — camping is primitive and walk-in.

  • Richland County, SC
  • Nearest town: Saint Matthews
  • 90 ft

Coordinates

Lat
33.79416
Lng
-80.76365

No van camping

There is camping here, but only walk-in, backcountry or boat-in sites. You cannot sleep in a van at the trailhead.

At a glance

The basics

What to expect

National park

Reservable in season, no hookups, strict quiet hours and food storage.

County
Richland County
State
South Carolina
Nearest town
Saint Matthews
Elevation
90 ft
Max vehicle length
Not verified

The place

About Congaree National Park

Congaree protects something almost entirely gone from the American Southeast: an uncut floodplain forest of enormous trees, with one of the highest canopies in North America and a long list of record-sized specimens, including champion loblolly pine, sweetgum and cypress. A boardwalk loop of two and a half miles carries you above the floodplain past bald cypress and their knees, and Cedar Creek offers one of the finest paddling trails anywhere in the Carolinas, winding between trunks through water the colour of strong tea. For a week or two in late May the synchronous fireflies flash in unison here, one of only a few places in the world where it happens, and the park runs a lottery for access. The park also posts a mosquito meter at the entrance, and it is not a joke.

For van drivers

Getting a van in and out

There is no drive-in campground: camping at Congaree is primitive, walk-in and permit-based, so plan to sleep elsewhere. Columbia is around half an hour away and Sesquicentennial State Park has drive-in sites. Access to the park itself is paved and easy for any build, and the visitor centre parking is generous. Time your visit around water levels, because the floodplain genuinely floods and the boardwalk and trails can be underwater; check conditions first. Bring the strongest insect protection you own between May and September.

Written for a high-roof van, not a pickup. Surfaces and clearances change with the weather and with the season’s roadwork — the official page below is the last word.

On the ground

Facilities & fees

Not verified means nobody has confirmed it — treat it as unknown, never as a no. 8 of the 8 below are still unconfirmed.

Restrooms
Not verified
Drinking water
Not verified
Showers
Not verified
Dump station
Not verified
Hookups
Not verified
Campfires
Not verified
Dogs allowed
Not verified
Reservations
Not verified
Max vehicle length
Not verified — check with the park
Season
Not verified — check with the park
Fees
Not verified — check with the park

The last word on all of this is nps.gov(opens in a new tab).

Where it is

Coordinates & directions

Decimal degrees

Latitude
33.794155
Longitude
-80.763652

33.7942° N · 80.7637° W

Open in Apple Maps(opens in a new tab)Open in Google Maps(opens in a new tab)

No map tiles here on purpose. Half of these places have no signal at the gate, so coordinates you can save offline beat a map that needs one. Drop them into your phone before you turn off the pavement.

Nearest gas and groceries: Saint Matthews

Before you go

Official sources

Official page on nps.gov(opens in a new tab)

Fees, site counts, length limits and closures change season to season. Everything we have not confirmed ourselves is marked Not verified above rather than guessed at — and where we do have a number, the operator’s own page still wins.

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