toltec mounds archaeological state park

The Toltec Mounds State Archaeological Park is a fantastic place to visit. If you are interested as I am in history in general, and Native American history and archaeology in particular as I am, then this is a great place to go. I have been an archaeologist for many years, and have done work at Toltec. The current staff there is great, and will allow access to the lab if requested so you can observe curation and artifact analysis. Great place.

A beautiful location outside of Little Rock, Arkansas situated by an oxbow lake near the Arkansas River. An isolated landscape with a peaceful walking trail around the site. Well documented signage and an informative educational museum.

Great day for a 1.5 mile walk. Dog friendly. Amazing mounds on the lake. Perfect day for a stroll and so much history and information

The stop to the Toltec mounds was absolutely fantastic. The park is free unguided tours, has restrooms, a gift shop area and artifacts on display. The ranger explained that only a fraction of the artifacts are on display the rest are in their archeological area. I want to say how enthusiastic and friendly the staff was at this park. It was amazing; they recommended other sites on our trip as well as places to eat. Top notch staff at this park.The park has two trails, one is paved the other is not. With the massive rains from the night before we only walked the paved trail, but we felt it was a great time. A very nice view from a dock overlooking Mound Lake. The path we walked only took about an hour and that was with several stops to read about each mound.As another reviewer stated my only complaint is that we couldn’t access the top of the mounds. It would have been very interesting to see that view.Defiantly make the time to stop and check out this park if you’re in the area.

Without a guided tour through the park, the admission is free. The park is maintained in excellent condition, and it is easy to see that the state has invested a pretty penny into the facilities. The staff is more than willing to answer and assist visitors in any way possible. My only complaint would be there is no staircase to the top of any of the mounds. At other parks, this provides the best view of the park, and aides in putting the ancient village in perspective. There are two main trails that offer views of the oxbow lake, and that run in between the mounds. Hands on programs seem to very popular as well.

This is truly a hidden gem not far from Little Rock. Neat and clean, well maintained, well laid out, interesting exhibits, beautiful walking paths and above all, extremely enthused park rangers eager to help visitors enjoy their visit! Due to changes in the tax system in Arkansas, there is no fee at this State Park. We visited one morning in March and had a great time. There is a very interesting movie to orient visitors as well. Lots of school groups come here to visit and they are well prepared to handle them. Great State Park. Highly recommended.

This was interesting but mysterious. The archeologists haven't figured out why these mounds were created. They know when and how but there is no historic record because the Plum Bayou culture (A.D. 650 to 1050) had no written language and didn't even decorate their pottery! The current thinking is that this was a ceremonial center for outlying tribal members to gather periodically. There is some evidence that the layout is designed to celebrate the solstice and equinox. Frankly, I think these folks just missed the mountains and built some of their own. LOL

The visitors' center has a lot of hands on activities for kids, but very few artifacts from the site on display. That being said there are some and enough information to make the quick run through the museum worth while. The park offers two walking trails, one a half mile loop and the other a mile and a half figure eight. We opted for the shorter route but we still saw all the visible mounds. The longer tour encompasses all the known mounds, still visible or not. Be sure to visit the boardwalk that runs behind one of the mounds on Mound Lake. The short video in the visitors' center is a must to really understand the layout and appreciate the site.

The trip was short the information led you to want to do more searching. I felt like I had stumbled up on a little of the past. How & Why were the questions I explored with my child. She was so excited and she wanted to search other sites in our state. Learning Can Be Fun she said. Score one for the boring parent.

At Toltec Mounds State Park, Arkansas has developed an interesting park that provides visitors with detailed information, attractively presented regarding the Plumb Bayou Mound Dwellers who once lived on this site. For visitors willing to brave the heat, there is an about 1 mile guided tour that passes by several of the mounds, including the tallest mound in Arkansas. For visitors unable to complete the walk, an informative video and multiple exhibits/artifacts relating to the previous residents of this area of Central Arkansas are available for all to see at the park's very comfortable visitor's center. At the center, helpful Park Rangers inform visitors about the Mound Builders who once inhabited this site and do everything possible to make sure that guests' experiences are pleasant and educational ones. With free admission, a beautiful visitor's center, the tallest mound in Arkansas, and a fascinating story to tell about the Plumb Bayou Mound Dwellers, Toltec Mounds State Park is a site for anyone interested in the early Native American residents of this area to visit. In a little over an hour, one can see the video, enjoy the visitor center's exhibits, take the guided tour around the mounds, and enjoy this hidden treasure of Central Arkansas.

Located about 20 minutes from downtown Little Rock, Toltec Mounds State Park is must-see. We visited with a 10 and 13 year old, they enjoyed the park. My kids learned about the Mound Dwellers in school, so his unique bit of history became alive for them. Children younger than 8 may not appreciate this park.Go inside first, watch the video and visit the museum to get a better understanding of the park and the mounds. The trail is about 3/4 mile long and winds through the Mounds, it also documents where other mounds were located. Be warned: The mosquitos were out in force. Fortunately, they had bug spray in the museum and we sprayed down before we went on the walk.There are so many opportunities at this park to learn about this ancient culture, it's worth at least one visit.

Toltec Mounds State Park can be worth visiting once, but there's little reason to return to this park a second time. The park openly admits that most of the mounds have been heavily degraded or destroyed, and these sad facts certainly show. There is only one truly good mound in the entire park. The park is also small, making it possible to see all this park has to offer in less than a hour. A nice side benefit to this park is that the mounds were built on the banks of the Arkansas River, so you do get a nice view of the Arkansas River at this park. My advice is that a traveler passing through the area should skip this park, but anyone who lives in the Little Rock metroplex should try and check out this state park once. A helpful tip of advice for anyone traveling using a Garmin GPS: Type this location using its specific address. I originally typed in just the park's name and let Garmin do the rest. Garmin then led me into the middle of a dirt road about 10 minutes from the park, believing I had arrived at my destination. I was then able to find the park after typing in the specific address.

Wow! Great place to visit. Very educational and fun. Lots to see and do while you are there. Great place for kiddos too. and you get to hunt arrowheads too

Family had a reunion here. Was a nice big room with tables and air conditioning. Was a great place to have the get together.

My middle school class rates the Toltec Mounds as their favorite field trip every year. Yes, it is just big mounds of grass, but the staff does an excellent job of describing how the Native Americans used the area. An easy mile walk takes you past the mounds and down to a lake where the children delight in buying turtle food and feeding the red-eared sliders. Be sure and bring quarters. The inside display and film are nice and the staff will do presentations for a group. All the presentations are excellent, but the pinch pot and spear throwing activities have been the kids' favorites.