Field NotesOhio
Upper Falls in the Old Man's Cave gorge, Hocking Hills, with visitors on the rocks

An independent field guide · 365 places

The field guide to outdoor Ohio

Parks and forests, ancient mounds, caves, waterfalls and back roads, with the story behind each place and where to eat and fuel up nearby.
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Old Man's Cave, Hocking Hills · Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0

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117 parks in 7 regions

Elk Lick Road Mound (East Fork State Park)

Bethel · Clermont County · Southwest Ohio
An Adena mound by a state park picnic area
National Register of Historic PlacesState park

A small Adena burial mound in the woods behind the restrooms at East Fork State Park's Indian Mound Picnic Area, with an ODNR marker.

Where
In the woods just behind the restrooms at the Indian Mound Picnic Area
Built by
The Adena, judged by the mound's conical shape and setting
Marker
An ODNR sign beside the picnic area
Listed
National Register of Historic Places, 1975
Park
East Fork State Park, one of the largest in Ohio

The story

This small conical mound stands in the woods at the Indian Mound Picnic Area of East Fork State Park, just behind the restrooms, with an Ohio Department of Natural Resources marker in front of it. The marker credits it to the Adena, who lived in this part of Ohio from about 800 BCE to 100 CE, based on its conical shape and its setting. It has not been dated, and no excavation is on record.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 as the Elk Lick Road Mound. It is one of very few ancient mounds inside an Ohio state park with a picnic table beside it.

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Visiting information you can trust

Content last reviewed
November 2026 — this is when Field Notes Ohio's content was last checked, not a live status.
Primary official source
Official page
Location confidence
Verified entrance or visitor center
Published coordinates
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
Tickets or admission info

Prices, hours, closures, campsite availability and trail conditions shown elsewhere on this page are not live — always confirm with the official source before you go.

The Mound Behind the Picnic Shelter

Families come to the Indian Mound Picnic Area for the shade and the grills, and many never notice the low, rounded hill in the trees behind the restrooms.

It gave the picnic area its name. It is older than anything else in the park.

Behind the legend

The Adena attribution, the dates and the location come from the ODNR marker and the National Register listing. Nothing is known about who is buried here, because the mound has not been excavated.

If you go

Drive in on Park Road 2 from Elklick Road, read the marker and look at the mound from the clearing. Treat it as you would a cemetery.

Visiting

Status
State park picnic area
Managed by
Ohio Department of Natural Resources (East Fork State Park)
Hours
Open during state park hours.
Admission
Free
Please note
View it from the picnic area and do not climb it.
Official information →Directions

Parks nearby

East Fork State Park
About 1 miles · One of Ohio's largest state parks, with an 82-mile trail network.
Open
Stonelick State Park
About 14 miles · A quiet lake in Clermont County farm country.
Open

Details last checked 2026-11-05. Confirm hours and prices before you go.

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