Hiking At Cahokia Mounds Near Collinsville

Explore Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, an ancient six-square-mile city of 20,000 people and filled with huge man-made mounds.

These mysterious mounds were abandoned around 1400 A.D.

This walk includes Monks Mound which rises 100 feet above the surrounding land. A massive building once stood on the summit where a principal chief would live, conduct ceremonies, and govern.

Located near Collinsville, IL. and the intersection of Interstate 270 and Interstate 55-70.

Built by the Mississippian culture from 800-1400 it was once the largest city in what is now the U.S. before the Europeans settled here.

My walk included the main sites in this order: Twin Mounds, Stockade, Woodhenge, Stockades by Monk Mound, Monk Mound, Grand Plaza and then the Interpretive Center — ***My walk included the main sites in this order: Grand Plaza, Twin Mounds, Stockade, Woodhenge, Stockades by Monk Mound, Monk Mound, and then the Interpretive Center***

Hike Overview at Cahokia Mounds

I walked 4.4 miles with 154 feet of elevation gain, mostly attributed to going up Monks Mound.

This hike allowed me to see many of the mounds of the former city along with Woodhenge, which was sun calendar and rebuilt stockades that once protected the area.

Beginning the Hike

I started the hike on a paved trail from the back of the Interpretive Center on the 10 Mile Trail and marked as red on the Trail Map going west.

You can also enter the trail system from the parking lot.

Grand Plaza

A sign along the path I was taking talks about the Grand Plaza. It was the heart of the community.

In part, artificially created by filling in low areas reducing high points to create a flat, prepared surface.

It was here that public gatherings, markets, and festivals would take place and the chief would address the masses.

Twin Mounds

I walked around the Twin Mounds going to the left and back behind them.

These mounds were probably a mortuary complex, although not excavated.

Fox Mound is the flat-topped one. It served as a “charnel house,” where bodies of important people were prepared for burial.

Roundtop Mound is conical and it is also thought it was used for burials.

South Stockade

I walked a little further to the east to check out a wall of upright logs called the South Stockade. This is a partial reconstruction of them.

Mound 72

If you go south of the South Stockade you can check out the small Mound 72. Used for elite burials and sacrifices.

Along with burials, there were 36,600 marine shell beads, 400 arrowheads, bone and antler arrowheads, and some broken pots.

Items came from far away. The shells would have come from the Gulf of Mexico, a staff made of copper from the Lake Superior area, and mica from the southern Appalachians.

I turned back around to go west and then went southwest along the gravel path coming to a mowed path which is also part of the 5.4-mile Nature/Culture Trail signed in blue arrows.

Going Northwest

Next, I went northwest taking this natural surface path by some unmarked mounds.

Then I took a shortcut to Woodhenge through some forest.

I used my Alltrails App to help me through this area, but you can also use a compass. Eventually, I headed towards the highway, which is the direction you want to go. — *I used my Alltrails App to help me through this area, but you can also use a compass. Eventually, I headed towards Collinsville Road, which is the direction you want to go.*

Walking through this area I passed two junctions but kept going northwest. On a previous walk through here, I saw three deer in the trees.

Large field with the highway in the distance — *Large field with Collinsville Road in the distance*

Eventually, I came to an open field and kept looking for the mowed path.

Woodhenge

Then I came to Collinsville Road. This is a busy road so be careful in crossing it.

Across the road is a reconstruction of Woodhenge along with a parking lot.

At least five large post-circle monuments were built at this location from A.D. 1100-1200, each with a different diameter and number of posts.

The sun rising above the bluffs to the east aligns with certain posts on the perimeter, as viewed from the central observation post.

The most important alignments were the winter and summer solstices.

Also, excavations here revealed hundreds of houses and pits, showing this was a residential area before and after the construction of the Woodhenges.

Trail Around Monks Mound

The trail continues between Woodhenge and Mound 44, which might have been the location for the home of the sun priest.

Crossing Sand Prairie Lane

A picnic area and the platform Mound 48 can be seen before I cross Sand Prairie Lane. This mound had ramps at one time.

After the intersection, I pass by two other mounds. Mounds in here were platform mounds for structures.

Stockade

Next, I walk to the back of Monks Mound and then around it and come to a large stockade.

Built with logs and for defense. Nearly two miles long around the ceremonial precinct, it also served as a social barrier, segregating the more sacred areas and perhaps some of the elite residences.

Bastion (guard towers) projected from the wall at regular intervals.

Constructed four times from AD 1175-1275. A new wall replaced an old decaying one as threats continued, with an estimated 15-20,000 logs required for each wall.

After the stockade, I continued on the blue-marked Nature/Culture Trail. The red-marked 10 Mile Trail goes further north.

In this area, I saw an archeologist doing some excavation work.

From there I circled back to the left. Out in the field were four turkeys. I watched for a bit. I startled one who flapped its wings and then went into a thicket.

Now the trail goes through a picnic area. The next destination on the hike was the main attraction – Monk’s Mound.

Information sign on Monk's Mound — *Information sign on Monk’s Mound*

Going Up to Monk’s Mound

I headed to a paved trail that goes to the front of the mound. A large information sign talks about Cahokia and how it was the largest prehistoric Native-American community in America north of Mexico.

The community lived near Cahokia Creek. The creek’s original channel went in front of Monk’s Mound. Used for travel to the community.

Then I came to the first set of stairs, which go along a ramp structure and the Cahokia community once had log steps held with wooden pegs going up. The steps now are not meant to look like theirs, just in the same place.

*Information and a bench on the lower level*

I came to the first lower section. Excavations on the southwest corner found several large ceremonial buildings had burned around 1150 A.D.

Next, I headed up the second set of stairs to go to the top.

On Top of the Mound

First I looked to the west and saw the distant St. Louis skyline. My family and I have been up here in the past for views of the city at sunset.

Pylons at the top show how the Native American city looked in the past.

Towards the back, a pylon says that there was a large building with 40-foot posts on the back of the mound. Surrounded by a courtyard. The western side of the building was damaged when the west side of the mound collapsed.

In the 1730s, French priests built a chapel at this location for the Cahokia who came to this area in the early 1600s, long after the site had been abandoned. A village was also on this terrace from about 1735 to 1752.

I headed back down the way I came you can only go up or down using the stairs. I went to the Monk’s Mound parking lot and then made a left along the entrance road following the Stockade path.

*Heading back to the Interpretive Center along the park entrance road.*

After Collinsville Road, I followed the park road on the right going by a group of mounds. If you want a longer walk you can continue on the Nature/Culture or 10 Mile Trail. I was more interested in learning about the mounds.

Last Mound Walk

Mound 51 or Persimmon Mound, was an oval platform mound. Reconstructed since the original was sold by a farmer for fill dirt.

Excavations of the mound identify a couple of building stages, some hearths, and perishable materials such as thatch, matting, plants, and debris from festivities.

Mound 50 was a low-domed mound and dates from the 1200s. Before the mound was built, it was a T-shaped house and had some ritual use.

Mound 55 has been plowed over in the past. The land here once held a large circular building and cross-shaped building for ritual use before the mound was built. This mound once had a larger terrace, a building on the summit, and fences coated with black clay and could have been 30 feet tail.

The last pylon before returning to the Interpretive Center explained that before the building of the center, excavations showed that over 80 structures and hundreds of pits and potholes were in this area.

The residential area changed over time from 1000 A.D.- 1200 A.D. The houses became larger and the neighborhood went from a linear arrangement to a cluster of houses with courtyards.

After seeing these mounds I was back at the Interpretive Center. (Currently closed)

Outside the Interpretive Center, there are also recreations of the city.

Cahokia Mounds Interpretive Center (Currently Closed in 2024)

In the center, you learn about Cahokia Mounds the Mississippian culture that created them from exhibits, videos, and volunteers. You can learn about the day-to-day life of the Cahokians, their city, and the theories of what happened to them.

After you enter the facility if you look to the left where the exhibits start you can see the Birdman Tablet.

Found in the Monks Mound and dates from 1300 A.D. The front of the sandstone tablet is of a man with a bird-like mask and winged costume in a dance pose, a common bird-man symbolism of Mississippian Culture. Adopted as the Cahokia Mounds logo.

DETAILS:

Only portable restrooms are available with the closure of the Interpretive Center.

Drive: Take the Popular Street Bridge over the Mississippi River on Interstate 55 and then take exit 6 for Illinois Highway 111 and go south then make a left onto Collinsville Road make a right on Ramsey Street or the park’s entrance road and parking is around the Interpretive Center.

Admission: Free with suggested donations.

Hours: Interpretive Center (Currently Closed): 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Thursday-Sunday; Closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Grounds Open daily from Dawn to Dusk.

Address: 30 Ramey St, Collinsville, IL 62234