View the solar eclipse from Cahokia Mounds on April 8

Visitors are invited to view the April 8 solar eclipse from Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Collinsville.

Although the site is not in the path of totality, a spectacular partial solar eclipse will be visible beginning at 12:43 p.m. and continuing for just over two hours.

Cahokia Mounds is the largest pre-Columbian site north of Mexico, covering about 4,000 acres and at least 120 earthen mounds.

The State of Illinois protects 2,200 acres of the central portion of the site and 72 of the 80 remaining mounds. Cahokia Mounds is a U.S. National Historic Landmark and a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site.

During the April 8 eclipse, the site’s museum lobby and gift shop will be open to the public between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. The site’s interpretive center gallery will remain closed for most of 2024 for major mechanical renovations.

Eclipse visitors should park only in designated lots, including the warehouse parking lot near Monks Mound. Do not park along the road for safety reasons.

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, is in Collinsville, just eight miles from St. Louis, off Interstates 55/70 (Exit 6) and Interstate 255 (Exit 24) on Collinsville Road. Grounds are open to the public daily from dawn until dusk. A water fountain and portable restrooms are located in the Monks Mound parking lot, and dogs must be leashed at all times.

To schedule a guided tour, call 618-346-5160. Admission is free, but a donation of $7 for adults, $5 for seniors, $2 for students, and $15 for families is suggested. Go online for more information.

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Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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