Longleaf Campground

We didn't camp here in the end. It's the first time I've turned away from a site. Simply because I'm old and grumpy. I like pulling the car up to the tent site and here I was unable to do so. I wasn't lugging the equipment over to where I was to camp. Otherwise the site was well catered for and clean.

Stayed here for a long weekend. Nice individual campsites with picnic tables, fire rings, and pole with two hooks to hang food / trash. Plenty of space. Walkway from the parking lot to the sites is quite level, which made it easy to roll our supplies to the site using a cart for ease. Toilets had TP and hand sanitizer and were as nice as a vault toilet can be. Recycling and trash receptacles are also available in the parking lot along with a solar-powered USB charging station. Basically car camping without electricity and running water (though visitor center is ~15 min walk away and has both). Recommend buying local firewood vs. scavenging for your own if you want a fire that will last / not be overly smoky. Parts of the boardwalk are currently under construction; check the visitor center for the latest information on hiking trails - there was still enough for us to do without going into the backcountry, which requires GPS / maps.

Congaree is a very primitive campsite. There are two vault/drop/outhouse style toilets in their own separate rooms. There is one big parking lot and then you walk back to your site. We were in site 2 and it was about a 50 meter walk, less than a minute. There is a hard flat walkway that seems to have pieces that look like grates almost to keep the walkway flat and hard which was nice. Site 1 is the most alone but very close to 2. 1 & 2 have platforms for tents. Next to 2 is 3. 3 has a long fallen tree, great for kids to play on but no platform, you’re on the ground. Site 4 is nestled behind 2 and 3 and has its own walkway but no platform. Further down is 5, 6, 7, and 8. 5 and 6 are closer to the walkway with 7 and 8 further back. They are the farthest away. There was a tree that was cut down and a communal big log area (like the kind you sit on at the fire) at the front of the parking lot which was helpful. We brought a hatchet and split some. The trail here is pretty and there is a very stocked dollar general 8 minutes away. They even had a refrigerator aisle with deli meat, frozen pizzas, cheese, hot dogs, ice cream, and more. They had limited fresh produce like onions, peppers, celery, mushrooms, potatoes, and carrots. They had fresh bread, no English muffins. A lot of canned things, pasta, Mac and cheese, and of course chips/snacks. We found everything we needed for four days there with a bit of creativity. The store at the visitor center was shut down but the one family bathroom was open (not regular men and women’s) as well as the WiFi was on. The potable water is a spricket over rocks, no dishwashing station, no inside visitor center lounge. Seems like the store and a window for help. There’s group picnic areas with little coal grills and picnic tables scattered around. There’s outlets as well for charging items on the backside of the visitor center and picnic tables to sit at. Longleaf trail is an easy 0.5 mile walk to the visitor center. We walked half the boardwalk (~20 mins) until we got to the intersection where there is construction. Flat and handicap accessible. Good for strollers. We took Firefly Trail back and were back at the visitor center in 2 minutes! I was shocked lol I have Verizon and had 1-2 bars at my campsite.

Congaree:04/04-07 Longleaf # 11 We sweat buckets just putting up the tent. As suspected it was like hiking through Florida- but a thousand times bigger and better - I didn’t expect to love this campground or park, but I did. The evenings were splendid and it was worth the short drive up to walk down the boardwalk - or just use the flushing toilet- one is left open overnight, which is great if dinner didn’t agree with your guts. Morning light brought all the sounds of park to life; unfortunately that included all the children- and there were many. Also saw my first tick and learned how not to remove it; quickly became an amateur tick identifier. As a Verizon customer- I had some LTE service. As other mentioned- it can be a long walk to the parking lot from your site (also where a solar charging station for USB cords and the vault toilets are located.

For a price and being in national park it us find rear to get. Huge parking, volt toilet. But I found that visitors center gas potable water and open during hours flush toilet. Walkable to boardwalk and visitors center. Don't miss other trails, you would emerge into prehistoric, abandon life life. So calm and relaxing.