Bates Ferry Trail

Bates Ferry Trail is an easy 2.2-mile round-trip out-and-back from US 601 to a landing on the Congaree River. The mostly level route follows an unimproved, grassy old road through floodplain woods and returns the same way. Set aside about an hour to 90 minutes if you want time at the river. Choose it for the historic road and riverbank; the walk ends at the water rather than a high overlook.

Start at the Bates Ferry Trailhead on US 601 in the park’s eastern section and follow the brown markers numbered 7. About 0.4 mile in, a right-hand side trail leads to the separate General Greene Tree; it adds mileage and is not part of the 2.2-mile route. Dogs are welcome on a leash no longer than six feet.

Underfoot, this is a broad but unimproved grassy causeway, not a boardwalk. It is mowed periodically, though low growth can crowd the route. Stick with the brown #7 markers: old side tracks are not cleared or marked. The short distance and little climbing make this a straightforward walk when the ground is passable.

The roadbed reaches the Congaree’s bank, where the route turns back. The bank is steep and can be slippery, so stay on the marked path. At low water, remnants of the 1923 bridge may be visible along the shore. This is a river landing, not a broad overlook.

The park describes this as a 1920s ferry road. Ferries had crossed the Congaree here along the Camden–Charleston route since colonial times; a bridge followed in 1923. The short walk lets you trace that old approach to the river, where the crossing once continued to the other bank.

The nearby Bates Old River is an oxbow left behind when the Congaree abandoned a bend after the 1852 flood. Yellow bear’s-foot flowers may bloom along the route from late spring into fall, and swamp buckeye flower stalks appear in spring. Those seasonal details are possibilities, not guarantees. Low sections flood periodically and can become impassable; check current park alerts before setting out.