Visiting Jeffers Petroglyphs
Jeffers Petroglyphs offers a variety of fun and exciting things to do while visiting the site. Visitors can view a multimedia presentation, interact with hands-on exhibits, learn to hunt buffalo using an Atlatl and tour a Sioux Quartzite rock that features over 4,000 petroglyphs or rock carvings.
Touring the site can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours or more. The site offers a sheltered picnic area, so visitors are welcome to bring their lunch or a snack and enjoy nature!
Visitor Center
The Visitor Center features a theater with a self-starting multimedia presentation and hands-on exhibits. The gift shop features books, apparel, items for kids and jewelry. Restrooms, water fountains, cold drinks for purchase and a sheltered picnic area are available.
Guided Tours
Daily Guided tours are offered at: 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. each day (sunny or not). The tours start at the rockface and are led by a site guide who helps visitors by pointing out the carvings and interprets possible meanings of the petroglyphs and information about the people who made them.
Bringing Light to the Petroglyphs
On sunny days, the guided tours will be enhanced by the site guide, who will manipulate a mirror to give the illusion of late day light angles.
Programs
Adventures in Nature
Daily programs in the summer at 2 p.m. that explore Native American culture, prairies or archaeology.
Special events are scheduled on one or more Saturdays each month during the regular season and a few other days outside of the regular season.
Trails
The 160-acre site features two nature trails that will suit any visitor. The short prairie trail, approximately ¼ mile, is a gravel path which starts at the building and leads directly to the petroglyphs.
The long, prairie trail, approximately 3/4 mile, is a grassy path which starts at the end of the short trail at the very end of the rockface and takes visitors around site to view beautiful prairie flowers and grasses and ends up back at the building. The long trail features a buffalo rub that is comprised of a huge chunk of Sioux Quartzite rock, which has been rubbed to a polished finish and is smooth to the touch.
For Kids
Jeffers Petroglyphs is a wonderful experience for children. Kids enjoy looking for glyphs on the rock and trying to figure out what they mean. Special interactive stations, such as the “Packing a Travois” activity and Hunting a “Bison” grab a child's attention and teach them about life on the prairie. The Adventures in Nature programs is designed for families. Other Special Events are scheduled throughout the summer.