A week from today, Poverty Point State Historic Site in West Carroll Parish will mark the 75th anniversary of Louisiana State Parks with a ranger-guided hike.

If you go

The hike at Poverty Point State Historic Site will begin at 1 p.m. Nov. 28. Visitors are asked to meet at the museum. A free medallion and hiking stick will be given to the first 10. Sack lunches are encouraged. Admission is $2 for adults and free for ages 12 and younger or 62 and older. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Call 888-926-5492.

The park offers the guided hikes monthly, but to mark the anniversary, a special-edition medallion and hiking stick will be given to the first 10 participants.

“This is our way of celebrating,” said Linda Hadden, Poverty Point’s administrative coordinator.

Parks throughout the state have been hosting events since January. Louisiana has 20 state parks and 16 state historic sites.

Poverty Point interpretive ranger Cleon Crockett will lead hikers on a 2.6-mile trek beginning at 1 p.m. Nov. 28. The trail features prehistoric earthworks, including the five ancient mounds for which the park is noted. The hike will conclude at the Bird Mound, now 72 feet tall but estimated at around 100 when it was built 3,500 years ago.

A question-and-answer session will accompany each tour. Participants are encouraged to bring sack lunches.

The 400-acre Poverty Point site was declared a national landmark by Congress in 1988, but Louisiana never transferred the land over to the federal government. Therefore, the site, which includes trails and a museum, is maintained and funded by the state.

Poverty Point is in West Carroll Parish, east of Monroe on Louisiana 577. More than 10,000 people visit annually, Hadden said, to study the culture of area inhabitants dating to 1100 B.C.

“It’s an amazing site and an archaeological find,” Hadden said.

The next scheduled ranger-guided hike is Dec. 12. Park admission is $2 for adults and free for ages 12 and younger or 62 and older.

Hours are from 9 to 5 p.m daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s day.

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Contact Manivanh Chanprasith at mchan@vicksburgpost.com