During our trip to Saint Louis, we took a slight detour to Illinois and checked out the Cahokia Mounds. Cahokia served as the main city in the Mississippian mound building culture. Ocmulgee National Monument in Georgia was a community in the same culture. Long story short, Cahokia was the biggest metropolis north of the Mayan cities in Mexico and was one of the major ancient cities in the Western Hemisphere. The mounds and the people have fascinated me years. Since we had the time, we decided to go explore the ruins and remains of Cahokia.
Address and Location
You’ll find the Cahokia Mounds Interpretive Center at 30 Ramey Street in Collinsville, Illinois. It’s about a 20 minute drive from Saint Louis. The mounds are spread out along the highway approaching the Interpretive Center.
Cost
Exploring the Interpretive Center and the mounds are free. However, they do have a suggested donation of $7 for adults, $5 for seniors, $2 for students, and $15 for families.
What to Do
Get out your comfy hiking shoes. And pack sunscreen and bug spray. The mounds are spread along a mile or so of highway. Start at the Interpretive Center and check out their exhibits on the Mississippian culture and excavations at the site. The Center hosts a lot of field trips, so the museum exhibits look pretty kid-friendly.
Once you’re finished in the Interpretive Center, head out to the Grand Plaza on the walking trail behind the center. You can walk to a lot of the mounds, or you can hop back in the car and drive to the further ones. Monks Mound is the largest of the Cahokia Mounds, and you can climb to the top of it if you want. You can see all of Cahokia in an hour or so. It’ll take a bit longer if you decide to walk the full length of any of the trails or climb any of the mounds.
