Ocmulgee Mounds Day Hike

Join Georgia Conservancy for a full-day exploration of Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park on October 31! Our goal is to explore nearly the full breadth of the park’s roughly 8-mile trail system, traveling through the main mound complex, forest trails, wetlands, and the Ocmulgee River corridor. Rather than one continuous loop, many of the park’s trails branch out and return toward the Visitor Center area, allowing us to build the day as a series of connected hiking segments. Participants who do not want to complete the entire experience will have several natural opportunities to conclude their hike early and return to their vehicles. Participants completing the full experience should expect approximately 6-8 miles of hiking, depending on trail conditions, group pace, and interpretation opportunities.

Ocmulgee Mounds preserves a landscape shaped by more than 12,000 years of human history and remains an ancestral and culturally significant landscape for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The park contains seven surviving mounds, the reconstructed Earth Lodge with its original clay floor dating to approximately 1015 CE, historic village and trading-post sites, and landscapes ranging from the open Macon Plateau to the forests and wetlands surrounding Walnut Creek and the Ocmulgee River. The park also sits along Georgia’s Fall Line, where the Piedmont and Coastal Plain meet, giving us an opportunity to explore not only archaeology and human history but also the geology, ecology, and natural systems that helped make this landscape important for thousands of years. We are also privileged to be joined by Matt Chalfa, Director of Strategic Planning for the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative (ONPPI) , who will help guide our weekend exploration of the Macon area’s natural and cultural history.

We hope you’ll join us for a unique opportunity to spend the day exploring Ocmulgee Mounds beyond just the park’s most visited sites. Participants are welcome to take on the full 6-8 mile experience or choose a shorter portion of the day. Much of the mound complex itself is located in open, exposed grassland with limited shade, while other portions of our hike travel through shaded forest and wetland environments, so participants should come prepared for sun exposure, changing temperatures, and several hours outdoors.

If you have questions about whether this trip is appropriate for you, please contact Shaundon Moore, Stewardship Trips Manager, Georgia Conservancy, at smoore@gaconservancy.org.