• Artist George Catlin recorded the quarrying activity at the pipestone quarries in 1836

    Pipestone

    National Monument Minnesota

Indoor Activities

Interpretive Programs
Organized interpretive programs are available during the summer in the Visitor Center. Programs may include talks, guided walks, multimedia presentations or other activities.

Check at the Visitor Center for topics, meeting time, and place.

A cultural demonstrator is using a rasp to shape a pipestone bowl

A carver shapes a pipe bowl.

NPS Photo

Visitor Center
Inside the Visitor Center you will find numerous activities including a museum that features exhibits about Pipestone National Monument's cultural, historical and natural resources.

Visitors also have the opportunity to watch an award winning 22-minute film, "Pipestone: An Unbroken Legacy." The film provides perspective on the significance of Pipestone and the quarrying tradition still carried out today.

Cultural Demonstrations
American Indian craft workers demonstrate the art of shaping and creating pipestone crafts and pipes in the Visitor Center.

Visitors have an opportunity to interact with and learn from the pipemakers. The demonstrations are available from April to mid-October.

Did You Know?

George Catlin

George Catlin was the first European-American to visit the pipestone quarries at Pipestone National Monument in 1836.  A geologist dubbed the soft clay stone "Catlinite" after Catlin sent it to him for analysis. More...