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.”