Pipestone National Monument Travel Guide

 Stephen-KarenConn Says:  Just before the Circle Trail returns to the Visitors Center, you will pass a series of acvive quarry pits where American Indians have quarried pipestone in years past, and continue to do so today. Nearly all the tribes that could obtain the stone used it for calumets or... 

 Stephen-KarenConn Says:  As you leave the Pipestone National Monument you will see six huge boulders on the right side of the road. These boulders are of granite, which is wholly different from any of the other rock found in this vicinity.Scientists believe these were probably carried as one huge... 

 Stephen-KarenConn Says:  The Circle Trail, which begins and ends at the Visitor Center, leads to the principal points of interest in the monument. Although an intermittent light rain was falling as we walked the one mile trail, it was still a delightful experience.In this picture the trail leads... 

 Stephen-KarenConn Says:  The earliest explorers such as Catlin and Nicollet had their curiosity aroused when they saw arrows stuck in the crack atop Leaping Rock. They learned from American Indians that traditionally a young warrior, to prove his valor, leaped this chasm and placed an arrow in the... 

 Stephen-KarenConn Says:  On the ledge near the top of Old Stone Face you will find Inscription Rock, which bears the names of several early Minnesota pioneers. Some of the initials upon this rock, and other nearby rocks, were laboriously chisled by members of the Nicollet Expedition of 1838, the... 

 Stephen-KarenConn Says:  This unusual Sioux Quartzite formation, known as "Old Stone Face," has been created entirely through the forces of erosion. On the Circle Trail a natural stairway leads upward around to the left of this formation. Some of the steps have a rippled surface which are believed... 

 Stephen-KarenConn Says:  Approximately 300 different species of grasses and flowering plants grow within the boundaries of the monument. About 70 of these, including the beautiful blooming Tartarian Honeysuckle (pictured), have migrated to this area with the coming of the European settlers. Alien... 

 Stephen-KarenConn Says:  These authentic peace pipes are only one of many exhibits you will find at the Visitor's Center. In the same building a Cultural Resource Center helps to explain the art of pipemaking and Native American work with pipestone. American Indian craftspersons can be observed... 

 Stephen-KarenConn Says:  Beyond Winnewissa Falls you will come to a rock wall of Sioux Quartzite. This is the stone that overlies the pipestone. Since the pipestone layer slopes underground in this direction from the quarry pits, it would be more than 100 feet below the surface at this point.... 

 Stephen-KarenConn Says:  Just beyond the Leaping Rock, the Circle Trail turns left and crosses Pipestone Creek below Winnewissa Falls. Winnewissa means "Jealous Maiden" in the Dakota language. According to one American Indian legend, the Great Spirit called the warring nations together in the valley... 

 Stephen-KarenConn Says:  We list this as an Off-the-Beaten-Path tip because it is outside the boundaries of Pipestone National Monument, although it is directly across the highway from the entrance.Fort Pipestone is a privately owned and operated authenic replica of a Minnesota fort constructed on...