View of the Congaree River from the River Trail in Congaree National Park

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See the Hiking Trails web page for a trail map, tips on hiking in Congaree National Park, and a link to reviews of the other trails in the park.

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Length:  6.7-mile loop
Time:  4 hours (not counting 1.8-mile one-way hike to the trailhead)
Difficulty: Easy

The River Trail is a 6.7-mile lollypop-shaped trail in Congaree National Park that leads to views of the Congaree River. By lollypop, this means you must first hike out on the stick (1.3 mile, one way) before coming to the loop, and of course you must return on the stick. This distance doesn’t sound too bad until you realize that you must first hike 1.8 mile on a combination Firefly-Sims-Oakridge trails in order to get to the River Trail, and of course back the same distance. In total, a hike on the River Trail entails a little over ten miles of walking. See the Firefly Trail, Sims Trail, and Oakridge Trail reviews for information on these hikes.

River Trail map (click to enlarge)

The National Park Service rates trails at Congaree National Park as EASY, MODERATE, and DIFFICULT. However, these ratings have nothing to do with how much huffing and puffing you’ll be doing, which is typically how trail difficulty is rated. All of the trails in the park cover flat terrain and are easy to hike, cardovascular-wise. What the National Park Service is referring to is how difficult it is to navigate the trails due to downed trees, mud holes, and other obstacles. EASY means the trail is well maintained while DIFFICULT means there may be a lot of obstacles, and you’ll need more navigational sense to find your way. The River Trail gets a DIFFICULT rating, as do the Oakridge and Kingsnake trails. However, other than a half-mile overgrown section on the Kingsnake Trail, these two were easy to hike based on the National Park Service’s criteria. The River Trail, on the other hand, is truly a mess, and it is the only trail in the park that is CERTIFIED ROTTEN. Unless a crew goes in and clears it, do not hike this trail. Ask a Ranger about conditions.

If you do not have a GPS unit (a phone with a hiking app will do), be sure to at least bring a trail map with you (available for free in the Harry Hampton Visitor Center) and keep an eye out for blazes, which are markers on trees that serve as Hansel and Gretel breadcrumbs. At Congaree National Park, blazes are white placards with numbers on them that correspond to the various trails. The River Trail is #5. If you get lost, look around for a blaze. The trails at Congaree are generally well marked, but on the River Trail, the trees that fell down are often the ones with the blazes on them.

Number 5 blaze marks the route of the River Trail in Congaree National Park

The turn for the River Trail comes .6 mile from the start of the Oakridge Trail. There is a directional sign at the turn.

Intersection of the Oakridge and River trails in Congaree National Park

The River Trail, like the Oakridge Trail, is often very narrow. The terrain is flat, and the trail surface is largely free of rocks and roots. Other than a few overgrown segments, the stick portion of the trail is easy to hike and navigate. My only concerns were ticks and poison ivy, and I encountered neither on any of the trails within Congaree National Park. However, ticks are a known nuisance, so be sure to check yourself for the pests on a regular basis whenever you brush up against vegetation.

Typical terrain on the stick portion of the River Trail in Congaree National Park

Trees are falling down within the park all the time, and while those on the trails closer to the Visitor Center are likely to be removed in a timely manner, those on the remote trails are often left to rot away. About a half mile from the start of the River Trail is a fallen tree that has been there so long that the Rangers slapped a blaze on it. There are a few others as well, but all are easy to go under, go over, or go around.

Downed tree on the stick portion of the River Trail has a blazed attached, Congaree National Park

The loop portion of the River Trail begins 1.3 mile from the start. I took a right and went around in the counterclockwise direction, and this review is written from that perspective.

Directional signage at the start of the loop portion of the River Trail in Congaree National Park

The first three quarters of a mile is a mess. There are trees down from the start, but none that require any navigational skills to get around. I did the hike in mid-October, so the main problem was leaves covering the trail, making it hard to follow. Since very few people hike the River Trail, the leaves are not kicked out of the way. Furthermore, the vegetation grows taller since it isn’t getting trampled down on a regular basis. If you feel like you are lost, look for the blazes. In the photo below, I had no idea where the trail was, but I could see a blaze on a tree to the right. This happened a number of times not long after the loop started. If you haven’t seen a blaze in the last minute or two, you might have gotten off the trail.

A blaze is often the only indication a trail exists when hiking the River Trail in Congaree National Park

There were also instances where the trail disappeared and there were no blazes in sight. In these cases, you just have to use your intuition. In the photo below, there was no trail and no blaze. I had been walking straight, so I just continued in that direction, plowing through the mess and stepping over four downed trees. After the fourth, there still was no trail at all, but I finally saw a blaze, so I knew I was on the right path.

Blaze is the only indication that the River Trail exists near the start of the loop, Congaree National Park

The River Trail reaches a swampy area a half mile around the loop. If you have a printed trail map, this is where there are two bridges.

Swamp a half mile from where the loop starts on the River Trail when hiking in the counterclockwise direction, Congaree National Park

The trail clears up a little after the bridges. It is still overgrown, but at least it is distinct and much easier to follow.

Overgrown terrain on the River Trail just west of two bridges on the northern side of the loop, Congaree National Park

After 1.3 mile on the loop, the trail opens up. In fact, at this point is appears to be an old road. A little farther down are tire tracks worn into the ground. Other than a couple downed trees, the hike is back to being easy.

The River Trail becomes an old road on the northwestern side of the loop, Congaree National Park

A third of a mile later, the River Trail comes to a T-intersection at what is without a doubt an old road. A sign at the intersection indicates that the trail continues to the left. This segment runs along private property and leads to the Congaree River.

The River Trail makes a sharp left turn onto an old road at the northwestern end of the loop, Congaree National Park

The River Trail follows an old road at the northwestern end of the loop, Congaree National Park

The road forks roughly .4 mile from the turn. This is shown on the printed trail map but not on any electronic mapping services. You can go either way, but for the best view you’ll get of the Congaree River, take a right. This leads to a concrete boat ramp where you can walk right down to the water. Part of an old boat hoist is on the side of the trail.

Boat ramp on the Congaree River is located at the northwestern end of the River Trail loop, Congaree National Park

View of the Congaree River from the River Trail, Congaree National Park

Old boat hoist near the boat ramp at the northwestern end of the River Trail in Congaree National Park

From the boat ramp, take a right and follow the river. The road merges with the trail that went to the left. A little beyond the merger, the road vanishes and the River Trail is back to being narrow and overgrown. If you thought the first part of the loop was a mess, wait until you see what’s in store for you now. More often than not there isn’t even a trail to follow. For the next mile and a quarter, be sure to have an eye out for blazes. If that doesn’t work, the Congaree River is on your right, so just walk through the forest with the river in sight.

Within a quarter mile of the merger, I didn’t see anything. No trail. No blazes. Nothing but forest and chaos. Unless this is cleared, everyone will get lost here. And the fact that it devolved to this point leads me to believe that if the Rangers haven’t bothered clearing this, they simply don’t give a damn. This is by far the worst section of any trail in Congaree National Park.

River Trail often disappears at its northern end along the Congaree River, Congaree National Park

At one point the trail was cut off by a mass of vines accompanied by limbs from a smaller tree that was bent over sideways. The area to the left wasn’t as overgrown as it was to my right, so that’s where I headed to attempt to get around the mess.

A mass of vines and tree limbs block the River Trail at its northern end along the Congaree River, Congaree National Park

I was literally bushwhacking using my hiking pole as a machete. In some places I couldn’t move forward, so I had to look for places where the vegetation wasn’t as thick. This forced me to keep moving farther and farther from the trail, and soon it was out of sight. I was aware that it was to my right, so I knew I had to get back over that way. Afterall, that’s where the river is. I eventually crossed paths with a wide swatch of cleared terrain, so I figured this had to be the trail, though it didn’t look much better. I took a left, and sure enough I soon saw a #5 blaze.

One of the better segments of the River Trail as it runs along the Congaree River, Congaree National Park

Once back on the trail, I came to a sign the read SANDBAR and had an arrow pointing towards the river. However, that direction was completely overgrown, so I sure as hell wasn’t going to attempt to see the sandbar.

Fork from the River Trail to an overgrown side trail that leads to a sand bar on the Congaree River, Congaree National Park

At this point I was just following the widest path. My general theory was that while what I was on didn’t look like much of a trail, everything around me looked even less like a trail. There were a lot of trees down. I crawled under one of them, and on the other side there was no trail. It’s not like I went around it and got lost. I went under it. A trail was on one side and not on the other. Heading straight looked like a possibility, but so did heading to the right. More trees were down in either direction, and the only blaze in sight was on a small tree that got smashed by a larger one. I had a feeling that right was the way to go, and when I got close enough to the downed tree, I did see a blaze. However, there were more downed trees on either side, so I stood there trying to figure out how to get around it. My final conclusion was that I had to climb through the limbs. Of course all these trees may be gone when you do the hike, but I guarantee you there will be others to take their place. This type of stuff is what you are going to be up against on the River Trail. It is just too remote to keep cleared on a regular basis.

Typical terrain on the segment of the River Trail that runs along the Congaree River, Congaree National Park

Still walking on the portion of the River Trail that runs along the Congaree, I came to an area with cut trees, so somebody did get back here at some point. However, dead trees don’t grow, so these could have been cut years ago.

Section of the River Trail along the Congaree River that had been cleared of fallen trees, Congaree National Park

A bridge over a shallow ravine comes a little over a mile from the merger near the boat ramp. Just over it is a view of the Congaree River. It is not very good, but it is the only view so far other than the one at the boat ramp.

Bridge over a ravine on the south side of the loop portion of the River Trail that runs along the Congaree River, Congaree National Park

View of the Congaree River from the River Trail in Congaree National Park

Once past the bridges (there are two in a row) the trail gets much better, with only a few fallen trees standing in the way of an easy hike.

Much improved condition on the southeastern segment of the River Trail that runs along the Congaree River, Congaree National Park

The River Trail takes a sharp left once again, this time veering away from the Congaree River for good. From here it is .9 mile back to the start of the loop, and while not tree and debris free, this segment is much improved, similar to the stick portion.

Typical terrain along the eastern section of the River Trail loop, Congaree National Park

Once back at the start of the loop, take a right to get onto the stick. If you recall, there was a sign at the intersection with arrows pointing both ways for the River Trail. From this direction, the sign has an arrow pointing to the VISITOR CENTER. That’s where you want to go. And by now you are probably wishing you had never left.

Back at the start of the loop on the River Trail in Congaree National Park

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