This is our 16th and final National Monument that we visit during this trip.
While its interesting, saying that there’s not much to see is not an understatement. Mounds are simply piles of dirt that were manmade. This is passed on not only by the native oral history, but was also confirmed via LIDAR that human remains and objects are buried under these. Most of these are simply round mounds, so it feels a bit like “nothing to see here, folks”. A few of these are bear-shaped, hence the name effigy mounds. But let’s say it takes a bit of imagination to see a bear in their shape.
Having said all that, these are considered sacred by the natives, and therefore are rightly being preserved by making the land a National Monument.
This may all sound a bit negative, but the location is at elevation, and borders the Missisippi river, so the trail was nevertheless pleasant to walk, and offered a couple of stunning views of the river, and across into Wisconsin.
