Poverty Point World Heritage Site

09/25/2026

Join us this Saturday at 10 AM for our ranger-guided hike on Public Lands Day! This is a great chance to explore your local public lands. In this case, Poverty Point World Heritage Site protects, preserves, and presents an artificial landscape as created by indigenous peoples here over 3,000 years ago. We will also be picking up litter (if present) on the trail.

09/11/2026

A reminder to girl scouts and their families that site entry fees are waived this weekend, so please take advantage of this program!

🌲 Girl Scouts Love State Parks Weekend is THIS WEEKEND!🌲

September 11–13, 2026.

Ready to explore? Entry is completely FREE for all Girl Scouts at all Louisiana State Parks and Historic Sites!

⚜️Come out for a weekend of self-guided tours, family hikes, and outdoor fun.

Plus, girls can earn a unique event patch for participating! 🎒

✨Don't wait—secure your spot today!👉 Register here: https://tinyurl.com/yc64838h

Billy Nungesser Lt. Governor of Louisiana

09/02/2026

Families with children 5 and under receive free admission to the site this weekend! (along with all other Louisiana State Parks and Historic Sites)
Please take advantage of this program!

08/24/2026

There were sweet fruits for those who braved the heat of the summer Forager Hike this past Saturday! We sampled possum grapes, muscadines, and American beautyberry along with learning about various medicinal plants along the trail. One visitor found the only pawpaws that survived the late frost this spring along with the ongoing summer drought. It was a good time to connect with the indigenous gathering traditions of those who build the mounds and earthworks of Poverty Point over 3,000 years ago.

08/21/2026

Do you want to get better connected to native plants along with ancient mounds and earthworks! Join us for the summer Forager Hike on Saturday Aug. 22nd at 10 AM. Be aware that this will be a HOT hike, so dress appropriately and bring water. Full info is in our event page!

08/14/2026

Visitors are always asking about the white markers arranged in circles inside the Plaza of Poverty Point and for good reason. They are designed to spark interest in showing something is there. Decades ago, in the history of site archaeology, excavations uncovered large postholes inside the Plaza. The full scale of the postholes and their arrangement into circles (along with other features) was not fully understood until a team of archaeologists began to conduct geophysical surveys (using magnetometers, magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistance, etc.) in the mid-2000s. These sorts of surveys using remote sensing equipment are still ongoing today.

There is currently evidence for at least 36 different timber circles constructed within the Plaza of Poverty Point. The individual post holes themselves measure between 2 and 2.5 feet in diameter and are commonly 6 or more feet deep. This means the timbers placed within these holes were large and may have stood around 20 feet tall. Charred cypress fragments and other charred botanical material recovered from posthole edges showcase different calibrated radio carbon dates ranging from 1620 to 1100 BCE. And as more dateable materials are recovered, there may or may not be older or younger dates to add to this story.

As things stand now, there may have been several timber circles standing simultaneously in different areas of the plaza. They were built, removed, and replaced over centuries of occupation and use of the site. There is currently no evidence suggesting what sort of rituals and ceremonies took place inside these open-air structures, and there is no evidence of roofing, constructed walls, or domestic use. Future archaeological work will add more data and hopefully create a better understanding of these structures. We do know they were a long standing and important architectural tradition among the indigenous peoples of the site due to the massive amount of labor required to build, remove, and replace the structures over several centuries.

08/09/2026

We had a great crew for this last week’s Atlatl Workshop! Three dedicated visitors spent several hours successfully shaping their own dart-launching implements under ranger supervision and guidance. Stay tuned for future programs!

07/31/2026

We wish all a very happy World Ranger Day! While this is the 20th celebration of this occasion as created by the International Ranger Foundation in 2006, park rangers have served our federal and state lands for over 100 years. We are pleased to preserve, protect, and present the natural, cultural, historic, and archaeological resources found at your public lands! This includes our rangers here at Poverty Point World Heritage Site, who want you to join us for a visit!

07/26/2026

We appreciate everyone taking the time and energy to bring in collections for the Artifact Identification program yesterday! In total, our rangers and staff worked through 10 different collections with artifacts from the past 13,000 years being represented!