Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site — Attraction in Ohio

This scenic retreat in the back of beyond allows you to still the incessant thrum of modern technology and find peace with yourself and your environment: just don't come when they're doing one of their festivals unless crowds and shopping are what you're here for, because they bring the technology with them.

Bathrooms are provided, but they are hard to find and not especially well marked, for everyone's convenience: follow the gravel road past the picnic shelter and the grill pavilion toward the backwoods. In typical chauvinistic fashion women's rooms are further back than men's, though, obviously, I've never been in them so I can't comment on maintenance.

Speaking of maintenance, the area has a significant bat population. (Trust me, that is maintenance related you'll see why in a second...) There've been no reports of rabies outbreaks among the Fort Ancient bat colony, and they do their best to keep the bats roosting in the provided bat boxes instead of the picnic shelters or grill pavilion by methods such as hanging old CDs in the rafters and so on, but, I would still advise that you not eat off the bare picnic tables anywhere on site, and further wash or dispose of anything that comes in contact with them promptly when you get home.

Let me repeat, to my knowledge, there have been NO credible reports of disease outbreaks of any kind among these bats, and the staff is very careful to keep it that way, putting out vaccination baits and the like: BUT you can never be too cautious with potential fecal contamination.

As an additional note, I believe that with prior arrangement, overnight camping is possible at this site, but don't quote me on that: that's one of those things I heard from a 'friend-of-a-friend'...

Anyway, that's all out of me for now, have fun at your event here and be sure to relax in the tranquil beauty of this lovely area of...

One of the best museums in the Indian mound site category, but one of the least developed in terms of clearing the brush so you can see the mounds. Site is set upon a large amoeba shaped plataue/mesa. The majority of the mounds were built along the lip of the the mesa and some, per the staff historian, still have stone laid on their outward facing surfaces (not masonry). Many mounds here are topped with a mosaic of flat stones. Per the staff historian, many ancient world cultures understood the cycles of the sun (e.g., the solstices), but few understood the cycles of the moon which play out over an 18.6 year period. This Mississippian Indian culture understood moon cycles and the start/end of one of these cycles can be observed by standing at a particular small mound outside the current museum and sighting through a particular gap in the perimeter wall about a football field length away. This alignment is occurring this fall/early winter 2024. Fort Ancient will host a viewing party this October. Check with them for...

I loved it. Just a wonderful state park which is also on the short list for designation as a World Heritage site. The truly ancient roots of human habitation in North America - and believe it or not, in Ohio!!!! - is here at this park as proven by the ancient earthworks which were built over 2000 years ago and inhabitated by early Americans off and on over the millennia making this place literally of global significance, right in your proverbial back yard.

And there are tons of things and activities to do, for any age or physical challenge. The museum is fantastic in it's own right, and then 5here are the 750 acres of woodland and cleared areas that make this place a desirable destination year-round. Handicap accessible, real indoors toilets that are clean and well maintained and parking everywhere you need it. The only thing is the visitor's and parking fee, which is super reasonable (and annual membership is available) - for a place that is truly deserving of your support. Highly...