Pinson Mounds Loop

Pinson Mounds protects at least 15 earthen mounds raised by Middle Woodland people roughly 1,800 to 2,000 years ago, and this loop strings the highlights together on wide, nearly flat grass and dirt paths. From the mound-shaped museum the trail crosses open field to Sauls Mound, at 72 feet the second-tallest surviving prehistoric mound in the United States, with a wooden stair platform partway up; the stairs are the only real climb of the day. South of the central mound group a boardwalk drops into the Forked Deer River bottomland, where cypress and mud flats hold standing water much of the year. There is almost no shade across the field sections, so summer hikes mean full sun, heat, and ticks in the taller grass; winter and early spring are the comfortable seasons. Stay off the mounds themselves except where stairs are provided, as they are protected archaeological features.