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    Ocmulgee National Monument

    4.8 (53 reviews)

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    Boardwalk to mound top
    Michelle L.

    We got here with about an hour left before closing and the park rangers were very helpful in guiding us on how much we could complete before closing. I originally wanted to do the river loop, but we were only able to go to the Earth Lodge and the mound with a boardwalk up to the top. Very cool sights. Not much shade, so be sure to wear sunscreen and proper covering.

    Mr F G And Mrs M S.

    Love the history of this place. Great place to hike and explore the mounds. It's very quiet and peaceful here.

    John B.

    I could see where the cynic might say "it's just a pile of dirt, what's the big deal". However, the visceral experience of these scant remnants of precolumbian culture is striking. There is a visitor center, which is a bit dated but offers some explanations of the history of the site, notably clarifying different eras of Native American civilizations that go back quite a long way. It is easy to walk from the center to experience the mounds. Heavy rains had come before my visit, and a lowland trail leading to the river was closed. Sometimes the government is overly cautious with these things, but in this case, the trail was clearly underwater. Nonetheless, emerging from the rain yielded other opportunities. A swarm of frogs serenaded my crossing of the bridge over a railroad. A lattice stinkhorn grew on top of the largest mound. A lot of Native American exhibits rely on lame cliches, but in this case the way the people here would have experienced the land in a direct way leaves a much more powerful impression than the numerous uses of the word "powerful". I did not do any tours or movies, and spent a little over an hour perusing the complex. Staying for an educational program would likely be a worthwhile addition.

    Kevin M.

    Great National Monument close to downtown Macon. I love the history, but loved the trails even more! If you're looking for some outdoor time close to Macon, this is the place!

    Pottery & Projectiles of the ages
    Anne R.

    A great exhibit hall as well as place to hike the trails and information panels especially in the cooler months. The Earth Mound is open for walking inside and the Great Mound is open for hiking to the top and getting an overview of greater Macon and downtown. Lots of great info panels and trail maps throughout the park. Free tours listed at the visitor center and a great gift shop as well. All exhibits, tours, and trails are free to the public! Audio Tour Available by QR Code only here: https://ocmu.oncell.com/en/1-visitors-center-83492.html

    Frederick D.

    August 9, 2020 While the park was free to enter the visitor center and entrance to all the mounds are presently closed. As a result, there is much we missed, in addition to not getting our National Park Pass cancellation stamp. We came around 2pm on a blistering hot day so what we could see was limited to walking through about 3 miles in total. There is a network of trails of approximately 8 miles in the park, which is well kept, excluding the main trails to to mounds which date back to 1015 but Indians have inhabited this area 17,000 years ago, well before the last Ice Age even ended around 10,000 years ago. Designated a National Monument in the 1930s, one of this countries largest archeological digs occurred here. Two archeologists overseeing 800 workers who uncovered over 3 million artifacts in a 2-3 year period. Quite remarkable amongst the items displayed in the museum is a mammoth bone. I took my time wandering through this landscape and imagined what it was like for the people living here through the centuries. The mounds were ceremonial centers but also a place of governance and communion with the spirit world. As a result, I took off my shoes standing barefoot in the grass and stood there taking it all in. We hiked a few of the trails next to the Ocmulgee river and noted warning signs of Alligators. So keep your toddler or pet close to you. It would be nice to see this place on indigenous day or when things open up again.

    John M.

    A very interesting and beautiful area. The mounds provide a great opportunity for exercise and education. The signage gives a great description of both who the Mississippian people were and how they lived.

    First mound on trail
    Michael W.

    Well whats not to like when the Federal government makes a historic place available to you totally free. Free entry for everyone, No passes needed. Free parking also! There is a museum with rest rooms and a small theater if you want to watch a movie just ask the attendant to turn it on for you! Native Americans go back here up to 17,000 years ago. Some of the mounds were special sites for ceremony and funerals. There are actually about 10 other sites in the USA with these types of mounds, 2 others just in Georgia! There is a free brochure with a trail map where you can walk part or all of several trails to different mounds. Signs to say danger of falling in a few places, and danger of alligators but I didnt see any. They also seldom bother people unless provoked. So its a good place to go for something free! Many people had their dogs with them on the trail.

    Beginning walkway to the Ocmulgee mounds.
    Kelly F.

    Very interesting history and beautiful as well. Make sure you spend the time reading and looking at the exhibits inside the visitor center to see the differences throughout the years. There's even a touch table with many different furs. Everyone working here is really friendly and excited to tell you about the area which is nice. The bathrooms are clean. Warning signs for alligators and ticks. You can even drive to a lot of the areas if you don't want to walk the whole thing.

    Visitor center
    Lindy A.

    Fantastic stop! Free and you can take your dogs! Great history 1000's of years old. Great hikes! Beautiful landscape and well maintained! A must visit just off the hwy! Take a break enjoy a wonderful hike on concrete path and have lunch while exploring. Visitors Center is beautiful. So happy we took the extra time to explore and give my dog some happy time outside! We are Fulltime VanLifers so he loves his outsides days!! Follow our adventures on Instagram #tinyvanbiglife

    Nicole L.

    I would go in the fall, spring or winter, I say this because there is no real shade on the main attractions, the mounds,summer it is very hot, sweat was pouring off my back. There are some hikes you can do in the shade , by the mounds are the real draw. Also during covid the museum or visitor center is closed so you can't update your park passport right now. There are some good educational signs and if you bring your smart phone you can scan it for an audio tour. We only saw the two biggest mounds then hit a shaded path. There are 8 miles of hiking paths so plenty to do. Also there are alligators In The area so don't plan on going swimming. There is no cost to the park at this time. Also you have to drive through part an impoverished part of Macon to get there.

    Earth Lodge; Mississippian culture; circa 1015, reconstructed 1937
    Paul L.

    You've heard of the Navajo, Hopi, Cherokee, and other Native American cultures. Have you ever heard about the pre-Columbian Mississippian culture? Probably not. I used to think that this culture didn't have a rich artistic heritage but I was wrong. The largest archeological dig occurred here between 1933 and 1936 yielding over two million artifacts. The small visitor center and museum here has only a few thousand objects from that treasure trove. The Earth Lodge is the main outdoor attraction here. To get inside, you may have to get past the pesky wasps that guard the entrance. Just bow down and walk briskly through the dark passageway until you reach the ceremonial center. Here you'll face the original floor from 1015 in an otherwise reconstructed dome. (This rehab even found a way to add air conditioning so you won't pass out inside here on the very hot summer days.) The floor has built-in low seats and a large pit in the center of the floor. It's easy for you mind to go back in time. From the earth lodge, it's a short walk to the Great Temple Mound. Although big -- it's high enough to look over the trees and you can wave to downtown Macon -- it was much bigger. Unfortunately, the railroad line was constructed through here in the 1800s and much of Ocmulgee was damaged and disrupted. Indeed, smaller mounds east of here remain private property with no public access. You won't find cliff dwellings, teepees, adobe ruins or the other iconic imagery we typically associate with Native American cultures. There are a number of mound culture sites in the United States but they don't get many visitors. Perhaps, people don't find what are essentially grassy hills worth the drive. I get it. I'm an outlier, I guess, so I find it all fascinating. However, after my visit, I remain confused. You won't find many museums in the United States featuring ancient pottery, tools, and jewelry of this culture. This is a largely hidden part of our collective history and I still don't know why.

    Inside Mound

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    3 years ago

    Got to see it at least once and live in Middle Georgia. Interesting artifacts and cultural history facts

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    2 years ago

    Great artifacts!! The staff is wonderful and knowledgeable about the life of the Indians

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    3 years ago

    As someone interested in Native American archaeology, I have to say this was a great place to visit.

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    Ask the Community - Ocmulgee National Monument

    Review Highlights - Ocmulgee National Monument

    I originally wanted to do the river loop, but we were only able to go to the Earth Lodge and the mound with a boardwalk up to the top.

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    Cannonball House

    Cannonball House

    4.8(5 reviews)
    1.7 mi

    Okay--what I want to know is why there are only four reviews, including this one? Come on,…read moreYelpers--you've reviewed gas stations, car rentals and dry cleaners in Macon. What's up? A gas pump more interesting than this gem of a museum? Get with it, folks!!! Ah, that felt good! Our senior's group from Kerrville, TX was on its way home and the Cannonball House was our only stop of the day. The majority of us were appreciative of all things Southern, so this was a special treat. The house's name is derived from a Union cannonball that crashed into the house during the Battle of Dunlap Hill on July 30, 1864. The Cannonball House was owned by Judge Asa Holt during the Civil War and is now owned by the Sidney Lanier Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy who saved if from demolition by the City of Macon. Thanks to these ladies, you're able to visit a Greek Revival mansion and not a parking lot! The House also hosts Father/Daughter Dances and Mother/Daughter Teas. And then there's--thank the Powers That Be--Miss Elizabeth's Academy for Young Ladies which "will instruct the girls in what it means to be a proper lady. Subjects covered: Introductions, sit like a lady, how to set a proper table and table etiquette, walking with confidence and Art of the Fan." And, lest you think the boys will escape, there's a co-ed course, too. My stogy old Southern heart sings with joy; civility and gentility are not dead!!! But I digress. The House is less a museum in the formal sense and more of a time capsule of Ante- and Post-Bellum Georgia. Architecture and period furniture buffs will be right at home here. The House consists of seven rooms. The Main Foyer with its period wall paper and imposing grandfather clock. The Family Room contains period furniture and portraits of the Holt Family. The Formal Dining Room houses a heavy wood table and silver serving sets including a large sterling punch bowl and ladle which survived the invasion of the Union Army only because it was buried. The Ladies' Bedroom contains period clothing, a hand-cranked sewing machine and a bed complete with a hand-tatted spread among other objects. Depending on when you visit, a collection of antique dolls may be displayed. Two Parlors display the furnishings of the founders of the Adelphean and Philomathean Societies which were organized at Wesleyan College, in 1851 and1852 respectively. These are the two oldest female societies in the world and continue to this day. Last, but certainly not least, is Judge Asa Holt's bedroom with its grand four-poster bed, marble-top table and chairs and a large bureau and chest of drawers. In my opinion, the Cannonball House should be on every tourist's itinerary. Seldom does one get such a personal glimpse into the lives of one of Macon's influential families. And if you're traveling with children, this is the perfect opportunity to make history come alive. For only $8.00 (as of this writing) you gain not only admission to the House but a guided tour as well. It's a bargain!

    We enjoy civil war history and ole time ways of life. Our tour guide took us thru each room of the…read morehouse explaining the history of the house and the happenings of the time when the house was hit by a "cannon ball." It was really more of a large bullet like mortar. The house is in mourning-- all of the mirrors are covered by black cloth. There's even a casket in one of the parlor rooms. The tour guide says they do something different each month to highlight different traditions that were kept back in the day. The highlight of the tour for us was entering the servant's house and kitchen. Just as we walked in the room, we heard a squeaky toy sound. When I asked what that noise was - thinking it was a dog playing with a squeaky toy, she kinda hestitated and said we call him Matt. I thought, maybe that it was her grandson that she was watching during the summer. No. It's the little child that they hear playing sometimes. The ghost child they hear playing sometimes! Wow! Thanks for a terriffic tour!! We'll be back to investigate more of Macon history

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    Cannonball House
    Cannonball House
    Cannonball House

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    Confederate Memorial Day Historical Marker - Confederate Memorial Day Historical Marker, Macon

    Confederate Memorial Day Historical Marker

    3.0(1 review)
    1.7 mi

    Located in the Rose Hill Cemetery, this marker points out some history and it's interesting. The…read moremarker is located in a section of the cemetery that is mostly Confederate graves, many of which don't have names. The marker reads, "On Thursday, April 26, 1866, the graves of Confederate soldiers in Rose Hill Cemetery and in the cemetery at 7th and Cherry Streets were decorated with flowers by the members of the Ladies' Memorial Association, organized in March 1866 with Mrs. Thomas Hardeman, Jr. (Jane Lumsden), the first president. The women were assisted by 56 young men with hoes, rakes and spades, and children with flowers. "The Memorial Day addresses were delivered by the Rev. David Wills at Rose Hill and by the Rev. E. W. Warren at lower Cherry Street. Both addresses were printed in full in the Macon Daily Telegraph, April 27, 1866. "Soon after the close of the War Between the States, Mrs. Hardeman inaugurated the plan of removing the remains of the soldiers from graves scattered around the Confederate hospitals in the county to these cemeteries and erected wooden headboards at each mound with the name, company, regiment and date of death of each soldier. For two weeks prior the first Memorial Day, Mrs. Hardeman and a companion personally listed the information on the crude headboards. This list of 575 names was published in full in the Macon Daily Telegraph of April 26, 1866. The list now numbers 602." This is marker number 011-8 and it was erected in 1957 by the Georgia Historical Commission. [Review 1063 of 2024 - 731 in Georgia - 22091 overall]

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    Confederate Memorial Day Historical Marker - Confederate Memorial Day Historical Marker, Macon

    Confederate Memorial Day Historical Marker, Macon

    Confederate Memorial Day Historical Marker - Confederate Memorial Day Historical Marker, Macon

    Confederate Memorial Day Historical Marker, Macon

    Confederate Memorial Day Historical Marker - Confederate Memorial Day Historical Marker, Macon

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    Confederate Memorial Day Historical Marker, Macon

    Ocmulgee National Monument - landmarks - Updated May 2026

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