Explore
Mounds Heritage Trail
Madison and St. Clair Counties, IL | 10 Miles
Type: Regional On-Street Cultural Trail
Our role: Working with numerous regional partners through the Confluence Project, HeartLands Conservancy helped to form and denote the routes for this trail.
Location & Directions
We recommend beginning the journey at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site and ending at Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park in East St. Louis.
Trails & Facilities
The multi-use trail route includes visits to mound sites, museums, historic buildings, and cultural landmarks. It combines both a bike route for cyclists and an auto tour. Download the brochure and map here (PDF)
Restrooms, picnic facilities, and a gift shop are available at the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site Interpretive Center. Signs are posted throughout the length of the trail. https://cahokiamounds.org/
Regulations
This is an on-street trail best experienced via bicycle or automobile. All state and local street regulations apply.
Overview
Mounds Heritage Trail
The Mounds Heritage Trail was created in the early 2010s through a partnership between HeartLands Conservancy (then named Southwestern Illinois Resource Conservation & Development), the Confluence, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, and Great Rivers Greenway.
The trail introduces people to the Mississippian Culture that once reigned at Cahokia Mounds, mimicking what it could have been like to travel between mound centers in the region. The route links a fascinating mix of cultural and natural resources in Illinois and Missouri, connecting Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Illinois with the historic sites in what was once called “Mound City,” St. Louis, and other mounds throughout the region. It is a signed, multi-use on-road route, with an emphasis on bicycling and an auto tour for motorists.
The concept spurred from a University of Illinois landscape architecture student, Jay LeChien, who proposed the development of plan and design for a trail from Cahokia Mounds to the Eads Bridge in East St. Louis, Illinois. The heritage trail is meant to be an experience; an element that guides visitors to places of historical significance, takes advantage of local ecology, and inspires others to appreciate the history of the ground they walk on.
Funders included the Norman J. Stupp Foundation, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the National Park Service, and Confluence Greenway.
If you would like to find out more about how to create a new public trails, feel free to call Laura Lyon at (618) 566-4451 ex 22 or email her at la********@*******************cy.org
You may find information on our Trails Page and Ways to Give page helpful, too.