The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks carry no entrance fee at any of their sites, free to enter and enjoy from sunrise to sunset every day of the year. Mound City Group, at 16062 State Route 104 in Chillicothe, is the only fully restored site and home to the visitor center, open daily 9am-4pm except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. The broader UNESCO listing was Ohio's first, inscribed in September 2023 as the United States' 25th World Heritage Site.
No entrance fee applies anywhere across the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks' multiple locations, making this one of the most accessible UNESCO-listed destinations covered anywhere in this build; no ticket, reservation, or fee applies at any of the sites.
Ohio's first UNESCO World Heritage Site designation came only in September 2023, worth understanding this as recent, ongoing recognition rather than a decades-old listing, the earthworks themselves are ancient, but their UNESCO status is new.
Mound City Group is the sole fully restored complex among the broader collection of eight earthwork sites, so begin a visit there specifically, both for the restoration and because the visitor center is located on-site.
Mound City Group sits in Chillicothe, Ohio, roughly 45 minutes south of Columbus.
Chillicothe rewards visiting a genuinely free, recently UNESCO-recognized site, with Mound City Group as the natural starting point given its full restoration and on-site visitor center. Mound City Group itself is covered in full below.
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