Effigy Mounds National Monument is just a few miles north of Marquette. (Photo: National Park Service)
The fine folks at National Park Foundation have declared April 20-28 as National Park Week, the perfect time to celebrate and visit the national parks, monuments and other historic sites that crisscross the country. It’s also a good opportunity to learn how to help preserve them and their surrounding landscapes.
The National Park Service lists two major destinations in Iowa: The Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in West Branch and Effigy Mounds National Monument near Harpers Ferry. Our 2023 ia magazine featured a hiking guide and other ways to enjoy the woodsy mounds, which overlook the Mississippi River. Between 850 and 1,500 years ago, Indigenous Iowans built more than 200 ceremonial and burial mounds, including 31 in the shape of various animals. While you can find conical and linear mounds throughout the Midwest and East, the animal shapes make Effigy unique.
Keep in mind, National Park Week is also a mighty fine time to explore Iowa’s 83 state parks, too. (We won’t tell the Feds.)
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