Iowa National Parks

Iowa's national parks have significant archeological resources to give visitors insight into early cultures, past presidents, and the exploration and westward migration of our country.

Visit These Iowa National Parks:

Effigy Mounds National Monument: Before Europeans arrived, a unique American Indian "Effigy Mound" culture developed in the upper Midwest building thousands of earthen mounds in the shape of animals across the landscape. Today, over two-hundred mounds are preserved intact here; thirty-one are effigies in the shape of bears and birds found along hiking trails. February 23rd: Bald Eagle Appreciation Day.

Effigy Mounds Weather

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site: Herbert Hoover exemplified the ideal of individualism and the self-made man. His expertise as a mining engineer made him a millionaire by age 40. Having been raised in the Quaker traditions of humanity and generosity, Hoover then embarked on a course of public service for the rest of his life.

Herbert Hoover Weather

Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail: Between May 1804 and September 1806, 32 men, one woman, and a baby traveled from the plains of the Midwest to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. They called themselves the Corps of Discovery. In their search for a water route to the Pacific Ocean, they opened a window onto the west for the young United States.

Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail: Led by Brigham Young, roughly 70,000 Mormons traveled along the Mormon Trail from 1846 to 1869 in order to escape religious persecution. The Pioneer Company of 1846-1847 established a route from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Salt Lake City, Utah, covering about 1,300 miles that would include construction of new ferries and bridges, and the placement of markers for others to follow.