Funeral Mound at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park

HIKE TO THE OCMULGEE MOUNDS AND HISTORIC SITES

Stop 6: Funeral Mound

Hiking route to all Ocmulgee mounds and historic sites (click to enlarge)

To continue the hike around Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park from the Trading Post Site, look for a trail next to the Muscogee Creek Indian wayside exhibit and a bench located at the foot of the bridge. There is a gap in the weeds, and you can actually see another footbridge at the bottom of the hill. The trail takes you through a swampy area and comes out in a field next to Funeral Mound. The hike to the site and a stop at Funeral Mound takes about 15 minutes.

Trail to Funeral Mound at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park

Trail to Funeral Mound at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park

Funeral Mound, unlike all of other mounds in the park that were built as pedestals for homes and buildings, actually contains burial tombs. This was discovered when the Central of Georgia Railroad sliced off part of the hill to lay its tracks. Over 100 bodies were found in the mound, and many more remain buried in the portion that still exists today. 

While the trail comes out at Funeral Mound, the wayside exhibit for the mound is at the vehicle parking lot located around the corner to the right. You’ll be next to the park road, so follow this to the parking lot.

View of Funeral Mound from the parking lot, Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park

Access to Funeral Mound is now blocked off by fences, but during my first visit to the park in 2014, the fences were not there. I was able to walk around to the back of the mound where it was sliced off when the railroad came through. The railroad tracks are just a stone’s throw away and are still used today.

The back side of Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park’s Funeral Mound was shaved off when the railroad was cut through the area

Railroad that damaged the Ocmulgee’s Funeral Mound is still in use today

The next stop on the hike is Great Temple Mound and Lesser Temple Mound. You can see both from the park road near Funeral Mound, so start walking towards them.

Great (right) and Lesser (left) temple mounds as seen from Funeral Mound in Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park

On the way, you will pass the trailhead for a half-mile loop trail that branches off from the road. I suggest skipping this unless you just want some extra exercise, for there are no sites to see—it’s just a walk in the woods. It takes about 15 minutes or so to hike it if you opt for more exercise.

Typical terrain of the loop trail near Funeral Mound, Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park

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