Last Updated on: 4th September 2025, 12:25 pm
Northeast Iowa is home to one of the largest concentrations of ancient mounds in the US, many of which are now located in Effigy Mounds National Monument. Established as a protected area in 1949, the park is home to hundreds of mounds in total, with a few dozen being in the form of animal effigies.
The mounds can be viewed by walking along tranquil hiking trails which also offer stunning views of the Upper Mississippi River. Whether you’re interested in American archaeology or simply want to go somewhere for a hike, you’re unlikely to regret a visit. But it’s not the easiest place to reach.
Effigy Mounds National Monument isn’t located near any major city, with the closest town being Marquette, Iowa. Therefore, a visit might be better suited for those doing longer road trips. For example, I stopped here during the journey between Minneapolis and Madison, Wisconsin.
The Effigy Mounds National Monument Visitor Center
Effigy Mounds National Monument is open daily throughout the year and entrance is completely free. The Visitor Center is also open most days except major holidays.
Its museum is well worth checking out before your exploration of the park, as it’s a good way to learn about the mound building traditions of ancient America, and along with where this particular region falls on the timeline.
Following the early Archaic Period, the most prominent mounds built in the United States were by what we now call the Hopewell culture, which thrived from around 300 BC–300 AD. The best example of their mounds can be found in Ohio.
Following the decline of the Hopewell, there was a period when natives went back to building smaller mounds that were largely void of decoration, much like the earlier Archaic Period.
And then came the Effigy Mound Period, which lasted from around 700-1300 AD and was largely concentrated in the upper Midwest. This era is also known as the Late Woodland Period.
Most surviving effigy mounds are located here in northeast Iowa and southern Wisconsin. There are also some notable effigy mounds in Ohio like the Serpent Mound, though that’s likely a lot older.
At Effigy Mounds National Monument, the mounds often take the shape of birds, reptiles and bears, with the latter being the most common.
As with ancient petroglyphs, the true purpose and meaning behind effigy mounds remains a mystery, but we do know that some of them were aligned astronomically.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, as many as 10,000 mounds were documented in northeastern Iowa. But now there are less than 1,000. And among those, Effigy Mounds National Monument is home to 206.
But most of the mounds here are not actually effigy mounds, with conical and long linear mounds being the most numerous. The park contains 31 effigy mounds in total.
Aside from learning about the history of the ancient mound builders, the on-site museum also details relations between Indian tribes and the US government throughout the 19th century.
The Hike to Hanging Rock
The park is divided into two main units: North and South. We’ll solely be focusing on the North Unit here, which is accessible from right outside the Visitor Center.
The longest version of the North Unit trail takes visitors to an overlook called Hanging Rock. The out-and-back hike is 5.7 miles (9.2 km) in total and should take around 2.5–3 hours.
Of course, you could also just hike it partway and turn around wherever you please.
As we’ll cover below, the trail also features some optional detours to additional viewpoints.
For those interested in the South Unit, it appears that the entrance is located further south along Highway 76 and not accessible on foot from the Visitor Center. Judging by the official map, the South Unit appears nearly as large as the North Unit, but few people seem to visit.
At the start of the trail, the first landmark you’ll encounter is known as ‘3 Mounds,’ which appears to be a group of conical mounds.
The conical mounds here were likely used for burials, and some of them even date back to 2,500 years ago!
As mentioned above, though the park is of course most known for its effigy mounds, there are only 31 of them in total, with conical, linear, and compound mounds making up the majority.
Near the beginning of the hike, the trail will fork into two. The western trail takes you to the Little Bear Mound Group, while the eastern trail takes you to Eagle Rock and Fire Point.
Fortunately, this part of the trail forms a small loop, so you can choose one direction and then walk down the other half during the return trip. In my case, I decided to see the Little Bear Mound Group first.
On the way there, you’ll pass by what seem to be long linear mounds, most of which were built between 1700 and 1300 years ago.
You’ll then reach the Little Bear Effigy. But without a sign indicating its location, you’d never know you were standing in front of a bear effigy.
Next, you’ll reach the Great Bear Effigy, the largest effigy mound remaining in all of Iowa.
A lot of imagination is required when looking at the effigies from ground level. And given how most mounds are surrounded by forest, the shade cast on them makes thing even more difficult to make out.
But how can archaeologists even tell what each effigy mound represents? In the 1970s, they outlined the mounds in lime and then photographed them from the air.
During my visit, I felt that it would’ve been nice if the effigies were still outlined to serve as a visual aid for modern visitors.
Before reaching the final overlook known as Hanging Rock, you’ll pass by two out-and-back detours taking you to additional viewpoints. The first detour is to ‘Twin Views,’ but I decided to save it for the return trip.
After a long walk through the forest, the scenery began to open up a bit. But before I knew it, I was deep in the forest again, and the trail became increasingly steep.
While still a moderate hike, the Hanging Rock Trail was considerably longer and more tiring than I’d anticipated.
At the uppermost part of the trail, you’ll encounter yet more mounds, mostly of the conical variety. And a bit further down, you’ll finally reach Hanging Rock.
Hanging Rock is home to a viewing platform offering excellent views of the Mississippi River. With views like these, it’s no wonder why the ancient mound builders made use of this area for hundreds of years.
Given how Hanging Rock is the highest part of the North Unit and the most distant area from the Visitor Center, I wasn’t surprised to find myself alone up here.
But as we’ll cover shortly, don’t feel bad if you lack the time or energy to make it all the way. Some of the lower overlooks of the river are just as, if not even more so, impressive.
As the hike was taking a bit longer than I’d anticipated, I decided to skip the second-highest overlook known as ‘Third Scenic View.’ But if you make it there, you should encounter an effigy mound of a bear along with some conical mounds and a linear mound.
Instead, during my return journey, made a brief detour to ‘Twin Views,’ which was well worth the small amount of extra effort.
Here you’ll find another conical mound right at the edge of the overlook. The view of the Mississippi, meanwhile, is similar to what you can see from Hanging Rock, albeit from a slightly different angle.
As mentioned earlier, near the beginning/end of the hike is a small loop. On the way up, I’d taken the lefthand path, so I decided to come down via the opposite side.
Interestingly, the part where the trail branches off toward the Fire Point overlook contains a long row of seemingly countless conical mounds.
To my surprise, the Fire Point overlook was arguably the most scenic of the bunch, proving that higher is not necessarily better. The trail curves around, allowing visitors to admire the river from various perspectives, while I also happened to catch a train run by.
Finally, I returned to the Visitor Center and back to the parking lot. I then headed toward Wisconsin – arguably one of the best states in the entire country to see ancient mounds.
