Where It Is and Why It’s Worth the Drive
Picture this — you’re standing in the middle of a vast southwest Minnesota prairie, the wind rustling through tall grasses, the sky enormous and wide open all around you. At your feet, a flat slab of ancient red rock stretches out in every direction. And carved into that rock are images that were put there not a hundred years ago, not five hundred years ago, but potentially more than seven thousand years ago. That’s Jeffers Petroglyphs.
Jeffers Petroglyphs is a historic site managed by the Minnesota Historical Society, located in Cottonwood County in southwest Minnesota, near the small town of Comfrey. From the Twin Cities, it’s roughly a two-and-a-half to three-hour drive southwest on Highway 169 or Highway 60. From Mankato, it’s about an hour. The address is 27160 County Road 2, Comfrey. You’ll be cruising past soybean fields and then suddenly find yourself at one of the most significant archaeological sites in North America. That contrast alone is worth something.
This destination is ideal for history lovers, archaeology enthusiasts, nature-minded travelers, families with older kids, and road trippers who love discovering unexpected places.
The Story Behind Jeffers Petroglyphs
The petroglyphs — carvings in rock — were made by the ancestors of today’s Native American peoples over a span of thousands of years. The current scientific consensus is that people began carving images into this Sioux quartzite outcropping at least five thousand years ago, and some researchers believe the site may have been in use for seven thousand years or more. That puts these carvings well before the Egyptian pyramids, before Stonehenge, before just about anything most of us learned about in school.
The rock itself is a beautiful pinkish-red Sioux quartzite — the same type of stone that appears at Pipestone National Monument to the west and Blue Mounds State Park near Luverne. The outcropping at Jeffers measures roughly 150 feet wide and 600 feet long, and for thousands of years, generation after generation of Indigenous peoples made their mark on it.
The images — there are approximately two thousand of them — include thunderbirds, bison, elk, deer, turtles, fish, humans, handprints, atlatls (spear-throwing devices used before the bow and arrow), serpents, and many abstract or symbolic figures. That detail about the atlatl is particularly fascinating: because the bow and arrow replaced the atlatl roughly a thousand years ago, the presence of atlatl carvings but the absence of bow-and-arrow carvings helps date certain sections of the rock.
Archaeologists and Native American scholars describe this as one of the longest continuously used ceremonial and sacred sites in North America. Descendants of those who carved these images — including the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Dakota, Lakota, Shoshone, and Iowa peoples — have shared that this is, and has always been, a place of prayer. Some tribes describe the handprint images as places where spirits closed the rock after emerging from it, and where those spirits could be called upon for guidance and medicine in exchange for offerings of tobacco.
Here’s a quirky fact most people don’t know: the land around Jeffers was never farmed. Not because anyone deliberately protected it early on, but because the Sioux quartzite bedrock sits so close to the surface that it couldn’t be plowed. While everything around it was converted to agricultural land over the past century and a half, this patch of rock and native prairie simply refused to be tamed. In the 1940s and 1950s, the rock was a local teenager hangout spot. The State of Minnesota designated it a historic site in 1966, and the Minnesota Historical Society opened the interpretive center in 1998.
What to Expect When You Visit
Your first stop is the visitor center, where you’ll check in, pay admission, and explore exhibits about Native American culture, prairie ecology, and the history of the site. There’s an eight-minute introductory film shown in a small theater — wordless and atmospheric, using imagery to set the mood before you head outside.
From the visitor center, you’ll walk a quarter mile along a crushed gravel path out to the rock. Once there, you can explore on your own using interpretive signage, or join a guided tour. The guided tours are highly recommended: staff naturalists lead 45-minute tours of the rock face, pointing out specific carvings and sharing historical and archaeological information, including insights gathered from Native American elders.
The Best Time to See the Carvings
Here’s a practical tip you absolutely need to know: the petroglyphs can be very difficult to see in bright midday sunlight. The carvings are shallow, and the quartzite surface can wash them out visually in direct overhead light. The best times to view them are in the early morning or evening, when low-angle sunlight casts shadows that make the images pop dramatically from the rock. Jeffers offers evening hours on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays during the summer months specifically for this reason. On sunny days, guides also use mirrors and boards to cast shadow and spotlight the carvings.
The Prairie Trail and Other Highlights
The site also has a native prairie trail — roughly three-quarters of a mile that loops back to the parking lot through the surrounding grassland. This is beautiful, uncrowded walking through over 250 species of native grasses, wildflowers, and lichens. Along the trail you’ll pass a bison rub — a smooth, worn stone outcropping where bison used to scratch themselves, leaving the rock polished to a shine. For accessibility, a golf cart shuttle is available from the visitor center out to the rock and back — just request it at the check-in counter.
Plan on two to three hours for a full visit. The special Starry Night, Prairie Night event — a tour running from 6 PM to midnight — is also worth watching for on the events calendar.
Hours and Admission
Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors 65 and older, veterans, active military, and college students, and $8 for children ages 5–17. Children 4 and under are free, as are MNHS members and Native Americans. The Minnesota Historical Society also offers four free admission days per year. Hours are seasonal and change throughout the summer and fall, so check the website at mnhs.org/jefferspetroglyphs or call 507-628-5591 before making the drive. The site is generally open from late spring through October.
While You’re in the Area
Pipestone National Monument, about an hour west of Jeffers, is a natural complement to this trip. This is the site where Native Americans have quarried the soft red pipestone used to make ceremonial pipes for thousands of years — a practice that continues to this day. The interpretive center features petroglyphs carved into the quarry’s quartzite walls, and interestingly, those carvings are often easier to see than the ones at Jeffers because of the way the stone is positioned. The two sites tell a connected story about the landscape and the people who have called it sacred for millennia.
New Ulm, about 40 miles northeast of Jeffers, is Minnesota’s German heritage capital and a wonderful addition to any southwest Minnesota road trip. Highlights include the August Schell Brewing Company — the second oldest family-owned brewery in the United States, open since 1860 — which offers daily brewery tours from Memorial Day through Labor Day ($10 per person, includes tastings and a souvenir glass). The Hermann Monument, a 102-foot statue of a Germanic folk hero, offers sweeping views of the Minnesota River Valley from its observation platform. And the famous Glockenspiel clock tower in downtown New Ulm chimes and puts on a mechanical figure show at noon, 1, 3, 5, and 6 PM daily.
Where to Eat
For a meal before or after your visit, head about 20 miles east to Sleepy Eye. The Sleepy Eye Coffee Co. (121 Main St W) is a genuine gem — housed in a beautifully restored historic Pix movie theater, this coffee shop serves handcrafted espresso drinks, fresh soups, sandwiches on house-baked ciabatta and brioche rolls, and from-scratch pastries. Their cinnamon rolls reportedly sell out early, so don’t wait. Hours are Tuesday through Friday from 6:30 AM to 4 PM, Saturdays until 2 PM, and Sundays until 1 PM.
If you’re in the mood for something heartier, the Pig and Plow Pub and Grub in nearby Evan is a popular local spot known for big portions, great burgers, cold beer on tap, and a lively atmosphere. They’re open Wednesday through Sunday starting at 11 AM — perfect for a late lunch after a morning at the petroglyphs.
Where to Stay
The closest lodging options are in Sleepy Eye and Springfield, both within 15 to 20 miles of Jeffers. The AmericInn by Wyndham in Sleepy Eye is a comfortable chain option on Highway 14 with air-conditioned rooms and free WiFi. Springfield has a Microtel Inn and Suites by Wyndham with an indoor pool and free continental breakfast — a nice perk after a full day of exploring.
New Ulm, 40 minutes northeast, offers a fuller selection of lodging including hotels with on-site restaurants and a more walkable downtown atmosphere — a great choice if you’re turning this into a two-day trip.
For something with genuine character, look into The Grainery in Sleepy Eye — a lovingly converted old farm granary nestled along Sleepy Eye Creek, available as a short-term vacation rental. With a fire pit, hammock, patio, and grill, it’s the kind of place that turns a day trip into a real getaway.
Jeffers Petroglyphs is the kind of place that stays with you. Standing on that ancient rock, surrounded by open prairie, looking at images carved by human hands thousands of years before anyone had a written language — it puts things in perspective in a way that’s hard to describe. It’s quietly powerful, and it’s right here in Minnesota.