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Fort Ancient, Oregonia, OH

Photo: Rdikeman, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

SightseeingHistory BuffOutdoor Adventure

Fort Ancient

Walk the earthen walls of a 2,000-year-old Hopewell hilltop enclosure above the Little Miami River, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

State Route 350, Oregonia, OH (7 miles southeast of Lebanon) · Oregonia, OH

About Fort Ancient

Fort Ancient is the largest prehistoric hilltop enclosure in the United States, with about 3.5 miles of earthen walls around a 100-acre site on a bluff 270 feet above the Little Miami River. People of the Hopewell culture built it in stages between roughly 200 BC and AD 400. It became Ohio's first state park in 1891, and in 2023 it was named part of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks World Heritage Site. The Ohio History Connection runs the site, which has a museum, so check its page for hours before you go.

  • #earthworks
  • #native american history
  • #world heritage site
  • #hiking
  • #archaeology

What's around here?

The closest stops to Fort Ancient, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Museums

    Harmon Museum

    Under $25

    A multi-floor museum in Lebanon, Ohio, with art, archaeology, Shaker objects, textiles, and a recreated 1800s town square.

    6.6 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sightseeing

    Rombach Place

    Check prices

    A historic house in Wilmington, Ohio, that is now a museum and a named historic site.

    14 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
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    Miamisburg Mound

    No admission fee

    Climb the steps up a 65-foot Adena burial mound on a ridge above the Great Miami River for a wide view over the Dayton area.

    18 mi awayMore like this

  • Shopping

    Town and Country Shopping Center

    Check prices

    Kettering, Ohio shopping center with a broad mix of retail, dining, and seasonal events.

    20 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    SunWatch Indian Village

    Under $25

    Walk through rebuilt houses, gardens and a sun-watching post plaza at a rebuilt Fort Ancient village beside the Great Miami River.

    23 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Carillon Historical Park

    Under $25

    A 65-acre open-air history museum with the 1905 Wright Flyer III, historic buildings and a 151-foot carillon.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    23 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

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