Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park (Blog Hike #189)

Trail: Opelofa Trail, et. al.

Hike Location: Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park

Geographic Location: east side of Macon, GA (32.84239, -83.60353)

Length: Loops of 1.4 and 2 miles with a connector trail of 0.2 miles

Difficulty: 4/10 (Easy/Moderate)

Dates Hiked: January 2006, December 2012

Overview: A flat, interesting walk beside the mounds of the ancient Ocmulgee settlement.

Park Information: http://www.nps.gov/ocmu/
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=720363
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: In Macon, take I-16 to exit 2.  Exit and go east on US 80.  Take US 80 east 1 mile to the park entrance on the right.  The northern loop departs from the visitor center, while the southern loop begins at the Great Temple Mound.  Both of these locations are on the main park road.

The hike: A tour of Ocmulgee is a walk through one of the south’s great time capsules of civilization.  At the time of Christ, bands of nomad American Indians made their living by hunting and gathering from the land.  Very little evidence remains today of their existence except for a few arrowheads and some simple pottery shards.  Around 900AD, the Mississippian culture moved east from the Mississippi valley and displaced the hunter-gatherers.  This culture had an extensive social hierarchy and more elaborate pottery art; it was this culture that built the mounds protected in the monument today.

            The Mississippian culture was in decline even before Hernando DeSoto, the first European explorer, arrived in 1540.  The introduction of new diseases made life even harder and created more loss of life.  It would take another 140 years before the Creek Indians would establish a large trading post on the old Ocmulgee settlement.  After the Creek Indians were displaced to Oklahoma in the early 1800’s, the settlement was abandoned. 

            In 1870, the area was permanently scarred when an east-west railroad cut left a scar across the site, damaging one of the mounds.  Today, the area is under the care and protection of the National Park Service to allow for public enjoyment and ensure such damage never happens again.  Visitors to the monument should stop in the Visitor Center to browse the bookstore and view the 17-minute video describing the Ocmulgee culture.  There are two main loop trails through the monument, one on each side of the railroad cut.  The northern loop departs from the Visitor Center and features the Earthlodge mound, while the southern loop departs from near the Great Temple Mound, a must see if you visit the monument.  The two loops are connected by a footbridge that takes visitors over the railroad.

Paved trail leaving Visitor Center

            From the south side of the Visitor Center, pick up the paved trail as it drops to cross a stream on a footbridge before rising to arrive at the base of the Earthlodge.  The Earthlodge is the recreation of a ceremonial mound that served as a meeting place for the town leaders.  While there are many places to view mounds, this is one of the few mounds that you can actually go inside.  Indeed, on the left side of the mound, there is a tunnel that leads into the meeting chamber itself.  Watch your head as you walk through the tunnel, but when you get to the chamber, you will probably be able to stand upright, unless you are very tall.  Plexiglass separates visitors from the benches, posts, and dirt floor that comprises the chamber.  Imagine village leaders sitting on benches, a single beam of light pouring in through the roof, as the chief sits on the throne debating decisions about the future of the settlement.

Entrance to earthlodge

            Past the earthlodge, the paved trail continues straight, while a grassy trail exits to the right.  The paved trail leads across the railroad to the temple mounds on the south side of the park, and you should follow it if you are planning to see the entire park in a single hike.  To continue the northern loop, take the grassy trail on the right and passes the small cornfield mound, so named because evidence of a cultivated field was found underneath this mound.  The trail next passes over a couple of prehistoric trenches.  These trenches may have been constructed for defensive purposes, or the people may have dug them to supply dirt for construction of the mounds.  Either way, they leave a pronounced low area today.

            At 0.35 miles, the trail descends slightly to intersect another paved trail, where you should make a soft right to continue heading north.  Those intending to see the entire park in one hike would rejoin this route at this point.  At 0.5 miles, come to the McDougal Trail, which exits to the left.  This dirt trail leads 0.4 miles one-way to the McDougal mound, located in the very northwestern corner of the park, and is worth the short side tour.

            The McDougal Trail heads downhill, curving back and forth through young broadleaf forest.  After crossing a creek on a wooden footbridge, the trail climbs to enter a field just before arriving at the mound.  The grassy cone-shaped mound stands 13 feet tall and is surrounded on two sides by the wire fence that separates the monument from the nearby government housing.  Visitors should look but not climb on the mound, as the mound will be damaged by excessive traffic, harming the future enjoyment of others.

            Retrace your steps back to the paved trail and turn left.  In only 0.2 miles, the paved trail comes out at the back of the Visitor’s Center to close the northern loop.  To reach the southern loop, continue driving on the park road (turning right if coming out of the Visitor Center parking lot), pass under the railroad, and park in the lot in front of the temple mounds.  Begin by climbing the steps on the south side of the parking lot, at the top of which the Great Temple Mound comes into view in front of you.  Proceed along the left side of the mound and climb the extensive series of wooden steps to reach the top of the mound.  This large, flat-top mound stands 50 feet above the surrounding land and offers sweeping views.  This mound gives the best view of the city of Macon, visible to the south just beyond I-16 and the Ocmulgee River.  The swamp and marsh land can be seen off to the east, while the railroad and the rest of the monument open up to the north.  After a recent rain, you will see how the muddy water washed off from the hillside mixes with the darker water of the marsh, creating alternating streaks of brown and black.

Great Temple Mound

            After you are finished observing from the top of the mound, begin descending the wooden steps, but do not go all the way back to the parking lot.  Instead, where the steps switchback to the left, follow the trail down the side of the mound to begin the Opelofa nature trail.  The Opelofa Trail heads into the marsh, staying on top of dikes to keep your feet dry.  At 0.6 miles, the trail crosses a sturdy metal footbridge across the main water channel of the marsh.  0.2 miles later, the trail comes to the banks of Walnut Creek where the Loop Trail exits to the right.  Though only 0.3 miles long, the Loop Trail provides some of the best forest in the monument and is well worth the short detour.

Marsh near Great Temple Mound

            The loop trail heads east with the creek steeply downhill to your right.  As I hiked this section of trail, several sparrows and robins chirped at me, making this the only section of the monument in which I was accompanied by a significant number of birds.  At the midpoint of the loop, the trail curves sharply left away from the creek and ascends slightly, soon descending to rejoin the Opelofa Trail only a few feet from where you left it.  Turn right to continue this hike.

            In short manner the trail crosses the park road and then heads rather steeply uphill to arrive at Southeast Mound, a small 3-foot high cone-shaped mound that would be uninteresting except that it happens to be along the route.  Turn left and walk across the grass into an open area that contains the Trading post site.  This site was built by the British to establish a trade route from the English settlement in Charleston, SC to the Creek Indians in Georgia.  The site has been excavated extensively, and an interpretive sign tells you more about the findings.

            Looking straight ahead and downhill you can see the funeral mound, the burial place for village leaders.  You can either continue straight and visit it now, or drive down and see it from the parking area.  If you are parked by the Visitor Center, you will ultimately need to turn right on the paved trail by the Trading Post and walk back across the bridge to your car.  If you are parked by the Temple Mound, turn left on the same paved trail and descend steeply to the park road and the parking lot to complete the hike.