Why this ride
From Chillicothe it runs 388 km to Chillicothe; allow about 6 h 13 of riding. On the way it passes Hopewell Mound Group, Seip Earthworks, Mound City and Great Circle Earthworks. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
High Bank Works and Great Circle Earthworks
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 388 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 13
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. 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. High Bank Works
Most people expect an ancient monument to be made of stone. High Bank Works is made of earth, and it asks you to do a little more of the work yourself. It sits in the Scioto Valley a few miles south of Chillicothe, Ohio, on flat bottomland that looks like any other farm field until you notice the low grassy banks drawing a perfect circle joined to a perfect octagon. The Hopewell people raised these walls roughly two thousand years ago, with baskets of soil, no draft animals and no metal tools.
Read the complete High Bank Works write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
High Bank Works is where the day begins. Next is Hopewell Mound Group.
2. Hopewell Mound Group
Among the fields of the Paint Creek valley in southern Ohio, a few kilometres from Chillicothe, lies a patchwork of low grassy ridges that once formed one of the largest earthwork enclosures in North America. The Hopewell Mound Group is the site that gave its name to the whole Hopewell culture, which flourished in the Ohio valley from about 200 BC to AD 500. It was named after Mordecai Cloud Hopewell, on whose farm it stood in the nineteenth century. The enclosure originally surrounded about a hundred hectares, with walls and many mounds, and archaeologists have found rich deposits of ceremonial objects within.
Read the complete Hopewell Mound Group write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hopewell Mound Group comes up about 24 km into the recorded legs. 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
about 47 km into the recorded legs you reach Seip Earthworks. Next is Mound City.
4. Mound City
Mound City is a quiet place, set in a grassy enclosure on the bank of the Scioto River just north of Chillicothe in southern Ohio. It looks like a low earth wall with a gap in it, and inside are about two dozen mounds of different sizes. They were built around two thousand years ago by the people we call the Hopewell, who created a vast network of ceremonial earthworks across the Ohio Valley. The site is part of Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, and in 2023 it was recognized by UNESCO among the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks.
Read the complete Mound City write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mound City, about halfway. Next is Great Circle Earthworks.
5. 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 sits at 199 km, about halfway. Next is back through Mound City.
6. back through Mound City
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mound City write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mound City comes up about 315 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Seip Earthworks.
7. back through Seip Earthworks
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
about 341 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Seip Earthworks. Next is back through Hopewell Mound Group.
8. back through Hopewell Mound Group
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hopewell Mound Group write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Hopewell Mound Group, late in the day. Next is High Bank Works.
9. High Bank Works
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete High Bank Works write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 388 km.
Leg by leg
High Bank Works to Hopewell Mound Group
High Bank Works → Hopewell Mound Group is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hopewell Mound Group to Seip Earthworks
Hopewell Mound Group → Seip Earthworks is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Seip Earthworks to Mound City
Seip Earthworks → Mound City is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mound City to Great Circle Earthworks
Mound City → Great Circle Earthworks is 121 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Great Circle Earthworks to back through Mound City
Great Circle Earthworks → back through Mound City is 121 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Mound City to back through Seip Earthworks
back through Mound City → back through Seip Earthworks is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Seip Earthworks to back through Hopewell Mound Group
back through Seip Earthworks → back through Hopewell Mound Group is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hopewell Mound Group to High Bank Works
back through Hopewell Mound Group → High Bank Works is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.