Situated on the remote bluff tops and ridge-crests of the Driftless Area is an ancient 1,000 old spiritual Native American landscape. The Effigy Mound Culture, ancient ancestors of today’s Wisconsin tribes, buried their dead in ornate earthen mounds shaped like the animals of their world both physical and spiritual

Complex mound groups of Eagles, Bears, Deer, Foxes and Wolves- Perhaps representing the totem clans of these ancient people  walk hand-in-hand over the  sacred landscape with depictions of Thunderbirds, Water Panthers and Shaman-heroes of ancient tales.

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Join our expert guides on hikes to these remote and hidden sites throughout southwestern Wisconsin. Explore, photograph, and ponder this ancient spirit world formed by the millennia old burial grounds designed to be seen only by the Thunderers, the spirit-protectors of ancient Native American cultures from the sky-world.

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Each of our Effigy Mound tours are led by nationally recognized archaeological scholars and regional experts who will explain what we know of the Effigy Mound Culture from archaeological digs and Native American oral history. Learn what these mounds and their alignments seem to tell us of the ancient past and the world view of the ancient Native Americans of the Driftless Area. Mound groups exist at the “top of the world” on the bluffs and Coulee tops the Driftless Area that are difficult to reach and access.

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Let Extreme Driftless guide you to these ancient historic and sacred spots of our region! Combine your love  of  history  with  a  rigorous  outdoor  adventure hike to the epic blufftop vistas of the Driftless peaks…or with a leisurely 5-minute stroll from your car through the fall colored woodlands and forests. It’s up to you at Extreme Driftless tours!