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Congaree National Park experiences continual flooding, affecting boardwalk access

Since late December, the park has experienced flooding on four occasions, something the park witnesses more frequently in winter months.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — As spring approaches and the weather warms, foot traffic at the Congaree National Park picks up. But people who visited Congaree in recent weeks may have had to change how they accessed the park, recently, due to frequent rain. 

In 2024, Congaree Park has experienced continual flooding on boardwalks due to higher volumes of rain since late December. According to the water gauge at the Congaree, the flood rate has averaged 16.8 feet over the past five years, and over the last month, the gauge hit nearly 19 feet.

"The boardwalk typically will be underwater, and all of our other trails are typically inundated," said Jon Manchester, Chief of Visitor Services at Congaree National Park.

The national park is home to 27,000 acres of floodplain land, creating a unique ecosystem and walking experience. 

"Flooding is a little more normal during this time of year because all of our trees are in a relatively dormant state, so they are not soaking up all the water," Manchester said. "Our water table here goes up. It's like trying to use an already wet sponge to soak up something that you have spilled, it's not going to work as well."

"We had a flood a little earlier in January that was fourth highest on the gauge record," Manchester said. 

Manchester said he hasn't seen it happen often since starting his position a decade ago. 

"It was on the elevated boardwalk; this is only the second time I've seen flood waters get up onto the elevated boardwalk," he said.

However, visitors can still utilize some of the boardwalk when facing these conditions. 

"The elevated boardwalk is almost always accessible, so about half of the loop, so about a mile and a quarter," said Manchester.  

The flooding on the boardwalk is expected to go down in the coming days and will be fully accessible sometime next week—if precipitation does not occur.

Anyone planning to visit the park should check its conditions 

Those wanting to visit the national park can check conditions online.   

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