Kolomoki Mounds State Park
Blakely, Georgia, United States
A Woodland-period mound center in southwest Georgia, occupied roughly 350 to 900 CE, where eight mounds ring a plaza and Mound A, at 57 feet, is described by the state as the largest Woodland-era platform mound in eastern North America.
Kolomoki was a major ceremonial center of the Woodland period, occupied from about 350 to 900 CE, with eight documented mounds arranged around open plaza space in the Lower Chattahoochee River Valley (Georgia Department of Natural Resources). The state describes Mound A, a 57-foot platform mound, as the largest Woodland-period platform mound in eastern North America, anchoring a group that includes two burial mounds and several smaller ceremonial mounds. Archaeologists consider the site significant enough to have named a cultural expression after it, the Kolomoki phase of the Late Woodland Southeast, and its painted and stamped pottery ties it to exchange networks across the region.
The park carries layered history of its own: the Civilian Conservation Corps built its infrastructure, and the site has been a Georgia state park since the mid-twentieth century (Georgia DNR). Two lakes, forests and trails now share the 1,293 acres with the mounds. One access note matters: the state parks page states that the museum is undergoing operational changes to comply with updated Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act regulations and currently offers no museum experience, with ranger-led programs and guided tours offered instead. That is an honest, current NAGPRA-era fact worth carrying: the mounds contain ancestral burials, and their treatment is actively being renegotiated with descendant communities.
Visiting
The park is operated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The park is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Parking is $10 per vehicle per day, or a $70 annual ParkPass. The museum experience is suspended pending NAGPRA-related operational changes; ranger-led programs and guided tours are available by contacting the park office. Contact: 229-724-2150.
Photo: Tony.freeman, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kolomoki-temple-mound.jpg))
Associated traditions & practices
Visitor stories
