Hopkins Travel Guide

Hopkins is the best starting point for a visit to Congaree Swamp, which rests on a floodplain of the Congaree River and is not a true swamp. This remnant preserves, in a wilderness state, the largest intact tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the United States. The monument was authorized as a unit of the National Park Service on October 18, 1976.

Three features give national significance: some of the tallest trees in the East with one of the highest canopies in the world, broad biodiversity, and old-growth forest. The monument is recognized as an International Biosphere Reserve, National Natural Landmark, Wilderness Area, and "Continentally Important Bird Area."