Why this ride
302 km from Heath to Heath, about 4 h 15 of riding. The stops in between: Hopeton Earthworks, Seip Earthworks and back through Hopeton Earthworks. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Great Circle Earthworks and Seip Earthworks
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 302 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 15
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Great Circle Earthworks
Where the Hopewell builders wanted to impress, they built big, and the Great Circle at Heath is the proof. The enclosure is a ring of earth about three hundred and sixty metres across, with walls that still rise to around four metres, inside a ditch that makes them look even taller. It is the largest circular earthwork in the Americas that survives, and standing at the entrance, you see the bank curve away into the trees on both sides. Nobody knows how many baskets of soil it took, but it must have been millions.
Read the complete Great Circle Earthworks write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Great Circle Earthworks is where the day begins. Next is Hopeton Earthworks.
2. Hopeton Earthworks
Ohio is not the place you expect to find ancient geometry, but the Hopewell people built it here. Hopeton Earthworks lies on a terrace above the Scioto River just north of Chillicothe, and it is one of the sites listed by UNESCO in 2023 as the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks. These mounds and enclosures were built roughly two thousand years ago, and the scale is hard to grasp from the ground because many of the walls are low and softened by farm fields and time. The shapes were circles, squares and octagons, set out with a precision that suggests careful planning.
Read the complete Hopeton Earthworks write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hopeton Earthworks comes up 77 km in. Next is Seip Earthworks.
3. Seip Earthworks
The Hopewell people built in earth the way others build in stone. About two thousand years ago, in the valleys of southern Ohio, they raised enormous banks, circles, squares and octagons, some enclosing many hectares, and aligned them to the sun and moon. Seip Earthworks, in the valley of Paint Creek in Ross County, is part of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, which were inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2023, and the group also includes the Octagon Earthworks at Newark and the High Bank Works near Chillicothe. They were not forts or farms, but meeting places for gatherings, feasts and funerals.
Read the complete Seip Earthworks write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
153 km in you reach Seip Earthworks. Next is back through Hopeton Earthworks.
4. back through Hopeton Earthworks
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hopeton Earthworks write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Hopeton Earthworks, late in the day. Next is Great Circle Earthworks.
5. Great Circle Earthworks
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Great Circle Earthworks write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Great Circle Earthworks. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Great Circle Earthworks to Hopeton Earthworks
Great Circle Earthworks → Hopeton Earthworks is 117 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Hopeton Earthworks to Seip Earthworks
Hopeton Earthworks → Seip Earthworks is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Seip Earthworks to back through Hopeton Earthworks
Seip Earthworks → back through Hopeton Earthworks is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hopeton Earthworks to Great Circle Earthworks
back through Hopeton Earthworks → Great Circle Earthworks is 117 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.