Poverty Point Walking Tour Map (click to enlarge)

The best way to tour the Poverty Point archaeological site is on foot along a 2.8-mile hiking trail that leads to 20 points of interest. Aside from one hill at Tour Stop 2, the trail is flat and easy to hike. Be sure to pick up a Hiking Trail Guide at the Visitor Center before you begin. The guide comes with your park entrance fee.

It takes about two hours to complete the tour of Poverty Point on foot, but if you are short of time (or have trouble walking), there is an option to tour the park by vehicle that takes about 45 minutes. However, the vehicle tour only goes to 11 points of interest and is not nearly as thorough as the walking tour. See the Driving Tour web page here on National Park Planner for more information.

Much of the Poverty Point Trail is out in the open, so be sure to wear a hat and apply sunscreen if avoiding the sun is important to you. I also suggest carrying insect repellent because mosquitoes are a big problem during the warmer months. They aren’t always present, so don’t apply the repellant until you know for sure there are more mosquitoes than you want to put up with.

The Poverty Point Trail begins behind the Visitor Center. A TRAILHEAD sign indicates the starting point, and all along the trail are arrows pointing which way to go, so you can’t get lost. To begin the hike, head southeast along the Bayou Maçon (the river that forms the eastern border of Poverty Point National Monument) in the direction of the Archaeology Laboratory building. Stops on the tour are marked with numbered posts. When you reach a stop, read the corresponding information in the Hiking Trail Guide. The first stop is .2 mile away.