It’s not every day that you stand in a place with
more than 12,000 years of continuous human
habitation. Yet that’s the depth of history visitors
experience at the Ocmulgee Mounds National
Historical Park—a prehistoric American Indian
site and the ancestral homeland of the Muscogee
(Creek) people.
First occupied during the Paleo-Indian period by
hunters tracking Ice Age mammals, Ocmulgee Mounds later became a site where the
Mississippians established a thriving mound-building society from 900-1250 CE. Now
public park land, the site offers a wealth of information about people and cultures from
millennia past. The visitor center museum exhibits over 2,000 artifacts and plays a
short educational film. The site has seven prehistoric earthen mounds and eight miles
of hiking and biking trails that boast diverse terrain and wildlife. One iconic spot is the
1,000-year-old ceremonial Earth Lodge, which contains the original clay floor carbondated to 1015 CE. The 55-foot-tall Great Temple Mound gives a breathtaking view of
the surrounding area and downtown Macon.
The site hosts programs and events throughout the year, including Lantern Light
Tours during Macon’s Cherry Blossom Festival in March and the Ocmulgee Indigenous
Celebration on the third weekend in September. Daily admission to the park is free.