Florence Cook Roefer Prairie Trail

Florence Cook Roefer, known as the "Grand Old Lady of the Prairie," was an early leader in preserving these rock carvings and the surrounding prairie. Born in 1913 and dying in 2000, she served as the first site manager of Jeffers Petroglyphs, nurturing 33 acres of unplowed native prairie and supervising one of Minnesota's first prairie restorations on the site's 47 tilled acres. She had a great love of native prairie and in 2000 Governor Jesse Ventura recognized her unique contribution to preserving Minnesota's cultural and natural heritage. A mowed, rolling trail of native and restored prairie stretches 3/4 of a mile back to the visitor center, where plants, insects, and animals from many habitats can be found, and near the end stands a rock polished to a mirror finish by back-scratching buffalo.

Minnesota · United States