Last Updated on: 9th September 2025, 11:11 am
The site of Cahokia, located just outside of St. Louis, is home to the largest earthen pyramid in the United States. But amazingly, it had a sister city roughly 360 miles away, now located about 40 minutes east of Madison, Wisconsin. Inhabited by the Mississippian people from around 1100-1250 AD, Aztalan State Park was designed as a smaller replica of Cahokia itself.
A visit here is especially recommended for those who’ve already been to Cahokia. But even if you haven’t, it’s well worth your time if you find yourself in the area and have the slightest interest in ancient history and archaeology.
Following our guide to Aztalan State Park, we’ll also be going over several more ancient mounds in the Madison area.
Aztalan State Park
At the time of writing, Aztalan State Park costs $16 for out-of-state license plates and $13 for Wisconsin vehicles. As impressive as the park is, the price is rather excessive given its size.
The park normally seems to be unstaffed, and payments are handled by placing cash in an envelope.
Aztalan State Park has two main parking lots: one to the northwest and another to the southeast, close to the main pyramid. I happened to park and begin my explorations from the northwest lot.
Before or after your visit to the core of ancient Aztalan, don’t miss the series of large conical mounds just next to the parking lot. Some of them were found to contain burials, while others lack burials and were built to commemorate significant events. They exist outside of the city’s stockade.
Speaking of the stockade, as you walk down the trail into the main site, you’ll soon encounter it – or at least its modern-day replica.
The original stockade consisted of over 7,000 posts that were connected with willow branches and then plastered together with clay. While the current version seems rather easy to breach, the original was three feet thick!
The stockade also contained bastions and watchtowers. And though the wall appeared entirely shut from the outside, it contained secret entrances concealed by overlapping sections.
Such stringent security measures, of course, tell us that Aztalan was not a peaceful and carefree society, though it’s unclear who their main enemies were.
With that said, Aztalan also had inner stockades surrounding its main plaza and residential areas, and they were likely built to delineate the different zones.
While one could walk directly to the main pyramid, I decided to save it for last. I began my visit by proceeding toward the Northwest Platform Mound. It’s a five-foot-high earthen mound with a base measuring 105 x 82 feet.
Oriented, north-south, it likely served as a tomb for the elite. In fact, archaeologists discovered no less than eleven people buried within.
Notably, the internal mortuary structure in which the people were buried was aligned to both the summer and winter solstices.
If you head all the way, to the northeast edge of the site, you’ll encounter more remnants of the stockade. Lining the entire eastern edge of Aztalan State Park, meanwhile, is the Crawfish River.
Not only did the river serve as an important transport route linking Aztalan all the way to Cahokia, it was a vital source of food. And residents also gathered plant materials here for making things like baskets and nets.
Even long before the Cahokians arrived, this area had been inhabited by native tribes, with the oldest archaeological remnants dating back to 8,000 years ago.
And some mounds dating back to 2,000 years ago have been found on the other side of the Crawfish River. But today, there’s no way for visitors to cross.
The eastern end of the settlement was the main residential area. While no replicas are standing today, residents would’ve lived in ‘pit houses’ that were dug into the ground and then covered over with exterior structures made of clay and wood.
The purpose of such semi-underground structures was for insulation during both the summers and winters. Residents also would’ve planted crops here during warmer months.
Like Cahokia, Aztalan featured a prominent earthen pyramid where the most important rituals took place.
While Cahokia’s Monks Mound is 100 feet high and measures out to 1000 by 800 feet, Aztalan’s pyramid is only 16 feet high, measuring 180 by 130 feet. But aside from the size difference, the two pyramids are nearly identical.
Much like Monks Mound at Cahokia, the pyramid once hosted a wooden structure at its top. Also like Monks Mound, it consists of two main levels.
It’s unclear if this pyramid also featured a large wooden post at its top, though it would be safe to assume that it did.
Today visitors are free to climb the main pyramid which offers excellent views of surrounding Aztalan State Park. Straight ahead, you’ll be able to see the ‘Southeast Mound,’ a circular mound that contained a burial.
After checking out another section of the stockade, I walked around to appreciate the main pyramid from different angles. It’s easily one of the most impressive mounds in this part of the Midwest.
I then headed north back toward the northwest parking lot. In Aztalan’s heyday, this area was the location of the main plaza. And in addition to songs and dance, it was here that the ancient Mississippians played the traditional game of Chunkey.
Though the rules of the game aren’t entirely clear, it typically involved one man throwing a wooden javelin at another man’s disc-shaped stone.
While it’s believed to have originated at Cahokia, the game was played as far west as North Dakota by the Hidatsa tribe!
For reasons that remain a mystery, both Cahokia and Aztalan were abandoned around 1250 AD.
While possibly just a coincidence, the great Puebloan settlements in the Southwest, such as Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde, were also mysteriously abandoned right around the same time. And we know that the two regions were at least connected through trade.
Just north of Aztalan State Park is the Aztalan Museum situated in a 19th-century building. It’s unclear if the museum has anything to do with the archaeological site, but in any case, it was closed during my visit.
In any case, the nearby charming town of Lake Mills is a great place to stop for food either before or after your tour of Aztalan State Park.
More Madison Mounds
While Aztalan State Park is surely the most impressive archaeological site in Wisconsin, the state is home to roughly 4,000 surviving mounds. And there are several different sites to check out in the Madison area alone.
While by no means an exhaustive list, what follows are various mounds site that I was able to see during my brief visit.
Bear Mound Park
Located in the center of a roundabout in a residential area, Bear Mound Park is an effigy mound in the shape of a bear that was built sometime between 700-1200 AD.
Most surviving effigy mounds in the United States are located in northeast Iowa and in southern Wisconsin (plus some in Ohio), while bears were among the most common motifs used for such mounds.
Visitors are free to walk around on top of the mound. But as with many effigy mounds, the shape is very difficult to make out from ground level.
The Outlet Mound
The outlet mound is another lone mound situated right in the midst of a residential area. Rather than an effigy mound, this is a conical mound that was likely used for a burial. Incredibly, it’s estimated to be up to 2,000 years old.
The Mendota State Hospital Effigy Mound Group
Along the northern shore of Lake Mendota is the Mendota State Hospital. And the hospital grounds happen to be home to a series of mounds. They’re rather tricky to find, as there’s no on-site signage, but the marker on Google Maps is more or less accurate.
Once you’re close, it would be a good idea to switch to the free Organic Maps app, which not only marks the location of each mound but also tells you what each one is.
On the way to the parking area, you’ll pass by a panther mound. You’ll then find a parking lot near a couple of cottages.
Here you’ll encounter a couple of eagle mounds and a deer mound (at least according to the app). While I’m not completely sure, there seemed to be a long linear mound in the area as well.
Some of these mounds are quite large and pronounced, and it’s a shame there wasn’t more here to aid curious visitors.
While in the area, also be sure to make a quick drive over to Governors Island which offers a great view of the lake and the Madison skyline in the distance.
Additional Info
As I was only passing through, I know little about Madison or the best neighborhoods in which to stay. I stayed at the I stayed at the Super 8 by Wyndham, a franchise that I’ve had plenty of positive (or at least neutral) experiences with in the past.
Unfortunately, I found this one to be rather dirty, and there seemed to be multiple suspicious characters hanging out in the parking lot. With that said, it was fine for a single night stay on a budget.
If you’re looking for something slightly fancier, consider the The Madison Concourse Hotel, Wyndham Garden Madison Fitchburg or The Edgewater.