Indian Mounds Park

Indian Mounds Park spreads across rolling terrain with woodlands and grasslands along the Mississippi River bluffs in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood. Several mounds rise from the landscape, constructed by Indigenous peoples thousands of years ago as burial sites.

The park was established in 1892 to preserve mounds built by Indigenous peoples approximately 12,000 years ago as burial sites. These structures demonstrate a long history of habitation in the Mississippi River valley by successive cultures.

The site holds deep meaning for seven Indigenous communities who maintain spiritual and cultural connections to this land. The mounds serve as a place of remembrance and continued reverence for the peoples whose ancestors were laid to rest here.

The park offers picnic areas, grilling facilities, tennis courts, and paved trails with views of the Mississippi River. Visitors will find restrooms and sheltered gathering spaces available for groups, making it accessible for day trips.

These are the last surviving Indigenous burial structures remaining anywhere in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. Walking through the park offers a rare direct encounter with these archaeologically significant landforms that exist nowhere else in the region.

Location: Saint Paul

GPS coordinates: 44.94560,-93.05360

Latest update: December 10, 2025 16:01