Best Tent Camping near Eastover, SC
Tent camping options near Eastover, South Carolina center primarily around Congaree National Park, which offers primitive walk-in tent sites. Congaree's Longleaf Campground provides tent-only camping with 10 individual sites and a group site, located 40 miles from Columbia. The park's Bluff Campground offers an additional 6 tent sites with a more secluded experience requiring a one-mile hike from the parking area. Both campgrounds are situated within the old-growth forest ecosystem that makes this national park unique.
The walk-in tent sites at Congaree require campers to carry all gear from the parking lot to their campsite. Longleaf sites range from 20 yards to 250 steps from the parking area, with sites 1-3 being closest to the lot. Neither campground offers running water or electric hookups. Vault toilets are available at the parking area, but no showers exist at either campground. Potable water is available only at the visitor center, which may require driving depending on your campsite location. Campers must obtain permits, with Bluff sites requiring reservations while Longleaf operates on a first-come, first-served basis. The $5 per night fee makes these tent campgrounds particularly budget-friendly.
Tent camping at Congaree offers unique access to wildlife viewing, including the spectacular synchronous fireflies that appear for approximately two weeks each May. The boardwalk trail remains accessible 24/7, allowing tent campers to experience the swamp ecosystem at night. Sites are well-spaced, offering reasonable privacy despite the campground's small size. Seasonal considerations include potentially uncomfortable heat and humidity in summer months, along with mosquitoes and deer flies. A visitor commented, "The sites are a short sandy walk from parking lot. Sites are pretty large and about 10-20 yards away from each other. The primitive campground can be quite possibly one of the quietest places you ever camp depending on the season."