Ocmulgee National Monument

1207 Emery Highway
Macon, GA 31217

Phone

Park Phone Number
(478) 752-8257

Explore the Ice Age to the Space Age

Ocmulgee National Monument is a memorial to the relationship of people and natural resources in this corner of North America. We preserve a continuous record of human life in the Southeast from the earliest times to the present, there is evidence here of more than 12,000 years of human habitation. A diversity of natural and cultural resources combines to provide an abundance of reasons to visit.

Directions

FROM ATLANTA-

Drive south on I-75 to Macon. Exit I-75 onto I-16 east (exit on left) . Get off I-16 at exit 2 (Coliseum Drive), take a left under the highway and proceed to where Coliseum Dr. ends at Emery Highway. Turn right on Emery Highway and proceed to the third light. Our entrance is on the right side of the road.

FROM SAVANNAH-

Take I-16 west to Macon and get off at Exit 2 (Coliseum Drive), take a right and proceed to where Coliseum Dr. ends at Emery Highway. Turn right on Emery Highway and proceed to the third light. Our entrance is on the right side of the road.

FROM FLORIDA-

Take I-75 north to Macon and get onto I-16 east at the Major Bobby Jones Interchange. Exit I-16 at exit 2 (Coliseum Drive), take a left under the highway and proceed to where Coliseum Dr. ends at Emery Highway. Turn right on Emery Highway and proceed to the third light. Our entrance is on the right side of the road.

FROM GRAY, GEORGIA-

Drive south on Gray Highway-129. After you pass Shurling Drive take a left on Second Street, go one block and take a left onto Emery Highway. Travel east on Emery Highway 4 lights. Our entrance is on the right side of the road.

Place to Picnic

Visitor Center

Things to Do

• Envision the past viewing exhibits and a 17-minute movie at the Museum.
• Stroll to the Earthlodge and Early Mississippian temple mounds.
• Immerse yourself in a wetlands environment by taking a walk on our new boardwalk.
• Walk back in time through the wilderness of the Ocmulgee River floodplain on the River Trail.
• Bicycle on a quiet park road
• Contemplate Georgia's "Fall Line" environment along Walnut Creek.
• See Ocmulgee after dark during Lantern Light Tours in March.
• Learn about Middle Georgia's history and environment during Earthday in April.
• Experience the very special Ocmulgee Indian Celebration on the third weekend in September.
• Take a spring or autumn Ranger-led field trip to the Lamar Mounds and Village

Nature

Ocmulgee National Monument is located along the Ocmulgee River in central Georgia at the "Fall Line," a unique strip of land stretching from South Caroline across Georgia into Alabama. Eons ago, ocean waves pounded the southeastern shoreline of the North American continent. 

The warm sea deposited sand, silt and marine clays along the beach. Gradually, the sea retreated and reveled a sandy plain. This former beach with its dunes, remained as a narrow band separating the Coastal Plain from the rolling, rocky hills of the Piedmont to the North. 

The environmental variations within this region afford diverse natural resources and habitat for a rich variety of plants and wildlife, including a number of endangered and threatened species.

The park's 702 acres encompass upland fields and forests, with riverine woods and wetlands along Walnut Creek and the river. The Ocmulgee River Heritage Greenway provides an undeveloped corridor between Ocmulgee National Monument and Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge downriver.