Fort Massac State Park — Attraction in Metropolis

One of my many favorite parks in Southern Illinois. I recently visited Fort Massac State Park located in Metropolis overlooking the scenic Ohio River.

Usually, the third weekend of October the park puts on the Fort Massac Encampment which depicts the war and battles of the French and British army's in the 1750s era.

It's a wonderful event which has a full scale re-enactment of life in the 1700s with dozens of vendors in the teepee tents selling their homemade goods such as jewelry, hiking sticks,, leather clothing. The kids love it.

They have a food court with many vendors selling their food of the era, such as Buffalo meat sandwiches, chicken and rice bread-bowls, pork rinds, etc.

At 9am is the raising of the flags ceremony, 3pm they hold the mock battles firing off cannons, and other weapons of the 1750s era. 5pm is lowering of the flags ceremony.

Pets on a leach are welcome and they provide tractor driven trams for transporting site visitors from the parking areas to the location of the site headquarters, food court, and the fort.

The park is beautiful with camping sites, shelters, restrooms, etc. There are no fees or cost to the public other than purchasing food or items from the vendors.

This annual Saturday/Sunday event has been held for decades. I highly recommend this free event. The crowds are big over the two day event with as many as 150,000+ people coming and going. It's a well organized event. Mark your calendar...

Ft. Massac State Resort Park is a great historic park just across the Ohio River in Metropolis, IL. USA!

Many portions of the park are free and open to the public from Dawn til Dusk 7 days a week, 365 days a year with plenty of playground equipment for the kids and lots of picnic tables and pavilions with outdoor grills for great gatherings; large or small.

This Grand Southern Illinois State Resort Park features a life-size replica of the original Lewis & Clark Expeditionary Fort at its center with a formal museum and welcome center, depicting the life and times of this very intrical and strategic placement, that for a monetary donation you or your accompanying party can go through in about an hour and a half (two hours tops!) in total.

The fort and museum is open year round except for state and federal holidays.

To the east of the park is a fee-based RV Park & Campground. Full-service with plenty of amenities, great hiking and biking greenway trails throughout the park as well.

Sadly though that portion of the park isn't open year-round but at the beginning of every Spring the RV Park and Campground comes alive with eclectic ventuers with their; tents, RVs, boats, canoes, kayaks and paddle boats down at the boat ramp/launch with great swimming and fishing on the Illinois shoreline side of the mighty Ohio River.

Come one, come all to the Ft. Massac State Resort Park in Metropolis, IL. USA The Earthly Home of...

As you will see below, I think Fort Massac State Park is a wonderful place. I am giving it four stars instead of five only because the reconstructed fort is not presently accessible due to deteriorating structures and safety issues. This is a legacy issue having to do with decisions made when the reconstruction was done, is not the fault of the facility staff, and all the rest of the park is open and available. Having said that... I've been going to "The Fort" as we call it locally since I was a little boy. It is one of my favorite outdoor places because it is close, well maintained, and offers a variety of habitat for hiking, birdwatching, hunting, picnicking, camping, and just relaxing. Neal, the Site Interpreter, and his staff are friendly and helpful and they do a great job with the limited resources that have resulted from the state's budget issues. The visitors' center is clean and comfortable with interesting exhibits. There are several picnic shelters and tables, and the several restrooms have recently been upgraded. The park hosts quite a few events and meetings throughout the year, with the highlight being the Fort Massac Encampment each October. The Encampment draws around 200,000 visitors every year and is exceptionally...