Free admission will always be the rule at Effigy Mounds in the future

Effective immediately, entrance fees will no longer be collected at Effigy Mounds National Monument, and park staff will no longer sell National Parks and Federal Recreation Land passes.

"Effigy Mounds just isn't configured in a way that makes fee collection efficient and effective," said superintendent Jim Nepstad. "It works well at a lot of other National Park Service sites, but we've finally come to the conclusion that our energies are best spent elsewhere."

In the past, the National Park Service charged visitors who used the visitor center or hiking trails a daily fee of $3 per person, or $10 for an annual park pass. Visitors were also able to purchase NPS and Federal Recreation Land passes (also known as America the Beautiful passes). These passes remain available for purchase on line or in person at locations that charge fees.  A complete listing of locations is available at http://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html.

"I think this will work well for everyone," Nepstad continued. "Visitors won't have to worry about whether they've paid for the year, and the NPS can put to better use both the financial and staff resources previously committed to administer the park's fee collection program. And if visitors really enjoy their stay, they can always choose to leave something in the donation box if they wish."