Tucked into the floodplain outside Columbia, South Carolina, Congaree National Park is a real-life “Redwoods of the East” — home to the tallest known living examples of at least 15 different tree species anywhere in the country. Its most famous resident, a towering loblolly pine, soars an incredible 167 feet into the canopy, roughly as tall as a 17-story building, while champion sweetgums, cherrybark oaks, American elms, and bald cypresses all crowd the forest floor competing for sunlight. The secret is the Congaree and Wateree Rivers, which flood the park up to ten times a year, dumping nutrient-rich sediment across the old-growth bottomland and fueling explosive growth that’s gone undisturbed by logging for centuries.

Here are the champion species that make Congaree’s canopy the tallest in the East:
Loblolly pine – 167 feet, the park’s headline champion
Sweetgum – 157 feet
Cherrybark oak – 154 feet
American elm – 135 feet
Swamp chestnut oak – 133 feet
Overcup oak – 131 feet
Common persimmon – 127 feet
Laurel oak – 125 feet
Bald cypress – famous for its knobby “knees” rising from the swamp
Water tupelo
Swamp tupelo
Water hickory
Deciduous holly (possumhaw)
Pawpaw – a smaller understory champion, around 58.8 feet
Shumard oak – measured over 157 feet by tall-tree researchers

Walking the park’s 2.4-mile Boardwalk Loop feels like stepping into a cathedral, with cypress knees poking up through the swamp and a canopy that averages over 100 feet overhead. It’s no wonder Congaree boasts the largest concentration of champion trees anywhere in North America — and with new surveys ongoing, there’s a real chance even taller giants are still waiting to be discovered deep in the wilderness.

Address: 100 National Park Road, Hopkins, SC 29061
Website: https://www.nps.gov/cong/index.htm
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLgHEVOo7DE