Cahokia 🇺🇸

Located in southwestern Illinois directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Cahokia Mounds is a National Historic Landmark and UNESCO World Heritage Site preserving the remains of a vast Native American city. Existing from roughly 1050 to 1350 AD, Cahokia served as the largest and most influential urban settlement of the ancient Mississippian culture.

At its apex around 1100 AD, this complex ancient metropolis spanned six square miles and was home to thousands of inhabitants, featuring an engineered layout of ceremonial plazas, pathways, and around 120 earthworks. When you visit this state archaeology park, you can explore a 2,200-acre site containing approximately 80 manmade earthen mounds, which represent the largest pre-Columbian earthen construction in the Americas north of Mexico. You will see incredible evidence of a sophisticated, planned society that engaged in long-distance trade, astronomical alignments, and elaborate public rituals.

The site highlights the fascinating history of indigenous builders who hand-constructed immense earthworks using millions of cubic feet of soil transported in woven baskets. Managed by the Illinois Historic Preservation Division and supported by the Cahokia Mounds Museum Society, Cahokia offers you an unprecedented look into North America's remarkable pre-Columbian urban history.

What to see at Cahokia

• Explore approximately 80 surviving manmade earthen mounds across a 2,200-acre park.
• Discover the central urban site of the Mississippian culture dating from c. 1050–1350 AD.
• Learn about ancient trade networks that exchanged exotic copper, chert, and marine shells.
• See evidence of an ancient planned city featuring grand plazas, pathways, and woodhenge structures.

Visiting tips

Take time to appreciate the immense hand labor involved in moving 55 million cubic feet of earth using woven baskets to construct these ancient monuments.

How long: 2-3 hours · Best time: Morning

How to get there & what’s nearby

Cahokia is easy to reach on St. Louis’s public transport. For where to stay, the weather and full itineraries, see our St. Louis travel guide.