Congaree National Park
Many thanks to Jessica Pikula who wrote: “I’d like to recommend [Congaree National Park’s] boardwalk. It’s a roughly 2.5 mile wooden boardwalk loop, listed on the NPS website as being wheelchair and stroller accessible, with very little elevation change. Photos found by searching “Congaree National Park Boardwalk” on google are pretty representative of the entire path. The Sims trail is the only other trail I’ve been able to walk so far, and it’s a very flat gravelly road- not good for wheelchairs but would be easy walking, though I haven’t experienced it in muddier conditions. Also, there are a few other trails that are considered “easy” by the park, being fairly short and the whole area being pretty flat, but I don’t have any experience with those myself yet!”
From the Park’s website: the park is “…the largest intact expanse of old growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the southeastern United States. Waters from the Congaree and Wateree Rivers sweep through the floodplain, carrying nutrients and sediments that nourish and rejuvenate this ecosystem and support the growth of national and state champion trees.”
Accessibility Trail Guide with map Phone 803-776-4396
Boardwalk Trail 2.6 miles “Elevated sections offer access to the forest during floods, while lower sections offer closeup views in drier times.”
Bluff Trail 1.8 miles “A gentle path through a young upland pine forest. Look for fox squirrels, deer, and evidence of prescribed fires.”
Sims Trail 3.2 miles “Follow a former hunting club road used by conservationist Harry Hampton to Cedar Creek. A short spur trail leads to Wise Lake, one of the park’s many oxbow lakes.”
Category: South Carolina Federal
Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge SC
Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge
“The 4,053 acre refuge includes Pinckney Island, Corn Island, Big and Little Harry Islands, Buzzard Island and numerous small hammocks.” “There are several biking and hiking trails. A trail network of 2 to 10 miles traverse the island. The trails are easy and flat, and appeal to even novice hikers. The salt marsh environment is lush with birds and other wildlife.”
Here is the Refuge website . Phone 843-784-2468 Description on “Oh Ranger!“.
Trail Guide and Map The eight trails are all said to be “easy, flat”. Here are the two shortest:
Ibis Pond 1.2 miles round trip
Starr Pond 2.0 miles round trip
Savannah National Wildlife Refuge
Savannah National Wildlife Refuge
Savannah National Wildlife Refuge has “…29,452 acres of freshwater marshes, tidal rivers and creeks, and bottomland hardwoods. About half the refuge is bottomland, composed primarily of cypress, gum, and maple species. Access to these areas is by boat only. ” Phone 843-784-2468 Here is their website. Reviewed on Trip Advisor Maps Trail Map
Thanks to Ranger Amy Ochoa for the following information:
The only wheelchair accessible trail is at the Visitor Center is an 800 ft. long paved trail “that runs from one side to the other. ” However there is “an outstanding 4.25 mile wildlife drive that visitors can drive around and get … the same wildlife viewing opportunities as walking on the trails…..pretty much anywhere along it there’s room for a car to pull to the side, stop, even get out and look, while still allowing room for a vehicle to pass by.”
? “The trails are all the same surface; grass covered, earthen dikes. They’re not always mowed, depending on the availability of heavy equipment operators to run the large mower, so things like fire ants and snakes could be present and not easily seen. Like any earthen path, they would all be subject to holes, bumps, etc. that could trip up someone not sure-footed.”
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
“Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge is comprised of 47,850 acres…” “Numerous small creeks and tributaries, along with thirty man-made lakes and ponds and 1,200 acres of fields, support a diversity of habitats for wildlife.”
Phone 843-335-8401 Here is the Refuge website. Map of Walking Tours and Public Use General Map Brochure
Manager Allyne Askins writes that , “All of our trails have been around for decades and as such constructed before the ADA law. Our trails range in length from 1/4 mile to 3.5 miles, but all have slight hills, soft footing, tree roots and other debris. We do have many elderly visitors who use the trails, but none with mobility issues.”
Descriptions of the maintained trails are on the Visitor Activities page of the refuge website. The trails include the one mile loop Woodland Pond Nature Trail, 0.25 mile Longleaf Pine Trail, 3.5 mile Tate’s Trail, the 0.6 mile Pine Barrens Gentian Trail, and the 0.25 mile Tripod Trail that leads to a photo blind on Martin’s Lake.