Ocmulgee Mounds preserves one of the most significant Mississippian culture sites in the eastern United States, on a bluff overlooking the Ocmulgee River just east of downtown Macon. The site records 12,000 years of continuous human habitation — from Paleo-Indian hunters to the Creek Nation people who were displaced from here in the early 19th century — but the main structures visible today date from roughly AD 900 to 1200.
The Great Temple Mound rises 17 metres and is the most impressive structure on site. The earthlodge is smaller but more intimate — you walk inside a rebuilt version of the original council house, with the original clay floor preserved beneath your feet. The park's trails connect seven mounds in total, along with a trading post site from the early 18th century when English traders from Carolina established a post here. The visitor centre has good exhibits and the entrance is free.