Flint Ridge State Memorial

Flint Ridge State Memorial is an archaeological site in Ohio spanning 525 acres of forest with hundreds of ancient quarry pits and colorful flint deposits across the landscape. The location features a museum, trails that guide visitors through the terrain, and informational stops explaining the geology and prehistoric extraction methods.

Indigenous peoples quarried flint from this ridge for thousands of years, extracting stone to create tools that traveled across the continent to distant regions. The extensive mining operations here represent one of the largest prehistoric industrial activities in North America.

The site displays how prehistoric people shaped and traded flint tools, which were essential goods that connected distant communities across vast territories. Walking through the exhibits, you see the fingerprints of these ancient trades in the objects themselves.

The site offers trails of varying lengths that let you explore at your own pace, with parking available near the entrance and facilities at the visitor center. The terrain is uneven in places, so wear appropriate footwear for walking through wooded areas and across the quarry landscape.

The site contains bands of colorful flint in distinctive rock layers that make it scientifically important and visually striking when you walk the land. These particular stone varieties allowed prehistoric miners to find and extract high-quality material that was then traded across the entire continent.