Cottonwood County: Rock Art, Prairie, and Local History

Sacred rock carvings, unspoiled prairie, and a rich local history give Cottonwood County its distinctive character. At Jeffers Petroglyphs, rock art and landscape take center stage; other places tell stories of early settlements, regional technology, and transportation history. You can tailor your trip to the topics that interest you most.

Rock Art and Prairie at Jeffers

Jeffers Petroglyphs is home to about 5,000 sacred rock carvings, created by the ancestors of today’s Native Americans. The site is considered one of the world’s oldest continuously used sacred sites. This cultural significance shapes the visitor experience as much as the landscape: trails wind through unspoiled prairie with more than 250 species of grasses, wildflowers, and lichens.

The rock face at Jeffers Petroglyphs is part of the 23-mile-long Red Rock Ridge, which stretches across Cottonwood County. Free parking for cars and buses is available on-site. The site combines practical visitor amenities with opportunities to experience rock art and prairie ecology.

Archaeological Traces and Regional History

Mountain Park also brings landscape and history together. The park was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 4, 1973. Now drained, Mountain Lake was the site of Indigenous villages and camps over a period of 3,000 years. Another distinctive feature is the undeveloped rise of the former island in Mountain Park, which is especially well suited to observing wildlife and numerous bird species.

In Westbrook, the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha Depot is a historic transportation building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in the summer of 1900. The Minnesota Hall of Fame Telephone Museum in Heritage Village traces the development of telegraphy and telephones through the history of local telecommunications.

The Cottonwood County Historical Museum’s exhibition hall covers the county’s history, from the presence of Native Americans to life in the 1940s. The Remick Gallery showcases works by local artists. The museum also offers an expanded research library for genealogical research. Visitors can explore history from a variety of angles: archaeological settlement traces, transportation and telecommunications history, art, and family research.

Parks and Waterways

The parks offer a range of different landscapes. Sara Park features wooded areas, a stretch of prairie grassland, and a shoreline along Lake Augusta. South Dutch Charley Park was home to Charley Zierke, described as the first settler of Cottonwood County. Here, natural landscapes and local history come together in their own distinctive ways.

If canoeing is part of your travel plans, the Des Moines River is designated as a canoe route. There are three river access points in Windom. The 40-acre Talcot Lake County Park is in Cottonwood County on Highway 62 between Windom and Fulda. It offers an opportunity to experience the wildlife and natural beauty of Southbrook, the county’s southwesternmost township.

A historical description of Red Rock Falls County Park recounts trails along Sioux quartzite outcrops that lead to a 30-foot waterfall cascading over the rocks. Together with information about Sara Park and Talcot Lake, this offers a varied picture of the county’s landscape: from woods, prairie grassland, and lakeshore to quartzite outcrops and a designated canoe route.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Windom, Marshall County, Chippewa County, Wadena County, Dodge County, Becker County, Washington, Hennepin.

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