A little under an hour south of Columbus, OH in Chillicothe, OH is Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. The national park site is focused on the Hopewell people with a visitor center, mounds, and earthen works. There are varying sites to visit throughout the area, but we recommend beginning at the main site with the visitor center to help get acclimated to Hopewell culture to better understand the sites and the cultural meanings.

The visitor center has a short film and a small museum. Outside of the visitor center are some mounds and earthen works that have a variety of meanings, such as the cardinal directions or status of the member who lived on top of the mound. The park offers ranger led tours, but visitors can also hike and explore the grounds without a ranger. When we visited we went to the visitor center and then walked around the grounds, which took around an hour. There were only a few other people at the park, making it a relaxed national park site visit. We both found the earthen works to be interesting and enjoyed the opportunity to learn about Hopewell culture.