Imagine if you could soar high above the dazzling fall foliage at Starved Rock State Park, the towering Indiana Dunes, the vast expanse of Lake Michigan, or the lost Native American City of Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Southern Illinois.   Cahokia Mounds and Starved Rock are among the featured sites of the WTTW PBS production “BEYOND CHICAGO FROM THE AIR”.  The Show airs on December 1 at 7:30 pm on all WTTW PBS platforms.  WTTW host/writer Geoffrey Baer takes to the skies again to travel Illinois sharing fun facts and fascinating history as exhilarating drone photography captures towns, parks, railroads, waterways, monuments, and more in Illinois.  The immersive experience is extended on a companion website (wttw.com/beyondchicago) offering a “making of” behind-the-scenes video with commentary by Baer and producer/director Eddie Griffin.

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site Interpretive Center is open Thursday through Sunday from 9-5.  Grounds are open daily from dawn until dusk.  There is no entrance fee, but a suggested donation helps offset costs.

Cahokia Mounds is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and US National Historic Landmark.

For more information contact 618-346-5160 or visit www.cahokiamounds.org.

It’s coming right around the corner! Join us for our annual City of the Sun 5k Trail Run on November 7 at 9 am. This fundraiser will give you the opportunity to run along our beautiful site and take in the fall air. Proceeds go to making the site great, improving the programming we offer, and land acquisition efforts to preserve and interpret more of the mounds currently off-site.

Online registration is closed, but you can still sign up the morning of the race by arriving at 8. Registration is $30 per person and $45 for a pair.

Even if you don’t register to run, you can still come out to show your support of the mounds and to cheer on the runners!

This run will take place rain or shine and not all the paths are paved, so make sure to wear appropriate shoes. Most importantly, have fun!

Looking for something fun to do between November 25 and January 1? If you like to hike, we invite you to take part in Heartland Conservancy’s Jingle Hike Challenge. Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, as well as many other parks in the St. Louis Metro area, will be hiding jingle bells in the trees for you to find. Hike around our grounds and take pictures of yourself with as many bells as you can. You’ll then post them using the Heartlands Conservancy’s new tracking system (Details coming soon). For every picture, you’ll get another entry in a raffle with some fun prizes, including a two night stay at Camp Ondessonk for up to 6 people! All the prizes are for the adventurous.

Registration is $25 per person. More details can be found by following the below link:

https://heartlandsconservancy.org/jingle-hike-challenge/

Have fun!

FREE Membership Only Event

Make your reservations today by calling 618-344-9221

Sunday, October 17th & Monday, October 18^th (10:00 am – 3:30pm)

Back to the City of the Sun, an Augmented Reality Experience

Be one of the first to view and review the NEW Augmented Reality project going on NOW at Cahokia Mounds World Heritage Site.

MEMBERS ONLY can bring the past to the present on an iPad to observe the NEW release of the Monks Mound Tour. You’ll see detailed 3D models bring the past to present with unparalleled realism. Touch Knowledge Point icons that will add to your experience with extra information about artifacts or structures. As you walk between these various stops, you can listen to audio and learn even more. Visitors can stand on the ground where only the mounds remain and through the lens of a digital device, see other cultural features that were present a thousand years ago.

On this tour you will see:

The temple that once stood on top of Monks Mound and its interior

A typical Mississippian dwelling

The stockade wall

A charnel house on Fox Mound

People performing activities and more!

GRAND PLAZA TOUR Coming Spring 2022

Click the following link to learn more.

https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/597734365

Join Dr. Julie Zimmerman for the Cahokia Mounds Nature/Culture Hike on October 17. You’ll learn about native plants and animals and how the Mississippian culture interacted with them and the environment. 

This is a 2-hour hike through some of the less commonly traveled trails, so make sure to wear appropriate clothing, sturdy shoes suitable for hiking, and to bring water. Sunscreen, bug spray, and snacks are advised, though make sure any refuse makes its way back to our trash cans at the Interpretive Center. It is imperative that no one climb the mounds, as unauthorized foot trails on the sides of mounds are causing sever erosional problems on these ancient monuments. 

The Summer Solstice Sunrise observance will be held tomorrow, June 20th, at 5:20 am. Meet at the Woodhenge reconstruction. Atop a stepladder at the center post, Bill Iseminger will discuss the discovery and significance of the ancient calendar. Welcome the rising sun with Bill as he has done four times each year, during each solstice and equinox, for the last 41 years, and learn about this intriguing structure. No ceremonies will take place during this event. For more information, call 618-346-5160.

Our new Woodhenge shirts will be on sale tomorrow for $15. Have a great time!

Hello all!

This is just a reminder that, due to loosening COVID restrictions, you no longer need to make reservations to visit the Interpretive Center. However, masks are still required in the building.

Come for a fun and safe visit!

This year’s Nature/Culture Hike is taking place Saturday, June 12th. The event starts at 1:00 pm and is free to attend. Join volunteer and SIUE Archaeology professor Julie Zimmerman on a 5.4 mile hike through most of the site. You’ll learn about the mounds and their cultural significance and hopefully spot some of the beautiful wildlife at the site. The weather should be mild. A great day for a hike!

Indian Market Days are here! 21 Indian artisans from many different tribes have joined us to show their beautiful hand crafted wares. Come join us today from 12 to 5, and if you can’t make it today, we’ll be here from 9-5 on Saturday and 9-4 on Sunday. Bring a friend!