I’m in the St Louis area (don’t ask why, it’s not a good thing) and I have some time to kill on Saturday. I’m a big archeology buff and a big Native American buff, so I’m wondering if this is worth a visits. Anybody been?
It’s hard to tell from the website if there is anything to actually see other than an un-excavated mound and, of course, artifacts in the museum. I know this is not going to be like visiting Teotihuacan, but I’d appreciate any feedback from posters here.
For those unfamiliar with Cahokia, it’s a large Native American settlement in IL, supposedly the largest city in pre-Columbian USA.
There’s not much more than the unexcavated mound and the museum. If you’re into Native American artifacts, the museum may be quite interesting, but I don’t think it’ll hold your attention for an entire afternoon.
It’s basically just big open fields; not a lot to see. Other ideas:
Been up the Arch yet? The Museum of Westward Expansion underneath the Arch isn’t terrible to wander through if you’re waiting to go up the arch. The movies – particularly the one about building the Arch – are much better.
City Museum is fun, if not terribly educational. And the Anheuser-Busch brewery tour is interesting if you like factories or beer.
Otherwise, I’d suggest a visit to the Missouri Botanical Gardens (+ lunch on the Hill, of course), or head to Forest Park where you can easily spend a day at the zoo, St. Louis Science Center, or St. Louis Art Museum.
Thanks, Lightray. Good suggestions. I’m actually driving from SL to Chicago, and I noticed that Cahokia was on the way, hence my interest. I may end up just blowing out of here early in the AM and spending some time in Chicago-- been thru the airport a bazillion times, but never actually been to the city.
I grew up in the St. Louis area, and I found the Cahokia site pretty interesting. I agree that the grounds are not that interesting, but the museum is informative and well done. I’d vote for dropping by.
These are all great suggestions as well. If you’re with kids, the City Museum will be great fun for them.
I do, too, and can’t wait to get back to the SF Bay Area!
Anyway, I had a feeling that the Cahokia site, itself, would be pretty underwhelming. Too bad. I’d love to see a real live archeological site, possibly restored.
Go! Just seeing and climbing Monk’s Mound, and the smaller mounds and spaces between them, gives you a feel for the scale of the place which no video can do.
I can just about see it from my office window. Agreed that Monk’s Mound is worth a visit, but the whole Cahokia site won’t take more than an hour or two to see. The City Museum is most definitely worth it - it is one of a kind and great fun.
I love Cahokia! Not sure why it’s getting such lukewarm reviews. The museum is great, Monk’s Mound is great, and Woodhenge is great. It’s an American Indian site that you can look at without feeling guilty that White People Destroyed This, since it collapsed for unknown reasons long before Columbus.
Just make sure you actually go to the Cahokia Mounds and not Cahokia. There is nothing to do in Cahokia (except strip clubs, but even then you’d have to go to Sauget).
It’s not in the best part of town. Nevertheless, I’ve been there quite a lot, living around 3 miles away, and I like it. Quite a few field trips there as a kid. I don’t know if it’s worth a long trip, but since you’re driving by anyway, it’s worth stopping and taking a look around. The best part of Monk’s Mound was sneaking up there at night with friends, but I think they’ve finally decided to keep it open at night, at least in the summer. Runners sometimes use the stairs as hill work. I used to sneak up there to watch the St. Louis fireworks on the fourth of July.
It’s one of Collinsville’s few claims to fame, the others being the giant Ketchup Bottle, the fact that it’s the horseradish capital of the world, and Michael Stipe from REM went to high school there (with my mom) before moving back to Georgia and starting the band.
Yeah, I thought it would be cool to go to Lichtenstein just to say I’d been there, and apparently everyone else in the world had the same idea. One of the worst traffic cluster mucks I’ve even been in!
Good to know that you can actually climb Monk’s Mound. I thought maybe it was off limits. And if it’s only a 2-hour stop, that’s great, because I’m just driving through and will not have much time.
You could check out Dickson Mounds. That’s between St. Louis and Chicago. We went there on our 8th grade class trip in 1974. They have excavated (but not moved) bones there.
