As I started driving back towards camp, the GPS took me briefly across the Mississippi River and into Minnesota at Hudson. Came back into Wisconsin near Somerset, WI to search for Apple River Falls. There is no parking area here, just a small area on a gravel shoulder (if you visit here, please be mindful of the farmer’s property & driveway).
Walking along the guardrail and down to a fence there are some “No Trespassing” signs posted by the power company who operates a hydro plant nearby. From everything I read, this applies to the power company facilities only and public are free to access on the path which is a popular canoe portage (don’t take my word, please verify yourself to stay legal, I take no responsibility for your actions!).
From here the path gets a little overgrown and hard to follow in places, but I found my way well enough. There is a large DANGER sign nearby to alert that it can flood when they open the spillway.
Just past the sign you find yourself at the top of the falls. A large concrete bridge is constructed over the Apple River, but driving on the road you can’t even see the falls below.
A side view of the small drops at the top standing on the river banks:
And another more dramatic angle looking over the main falls’ edge to the pools below. Can you find Hippie Waldo in this shot? (Don’t forget to click photos for a larger view!)
I climbed along the rocky (and very slippery) cliff edges for a better overall view from above. Not much water flowing but still very unique!
Another angle from below. You can more clearly see the feral hippie I found also enjoying the falls. I didn’t stay long and let him have his space since he was there first. Daylight was getting short anyways – onto the next location!
Side Note from yours truly, the Lazy Author: When I publish these posts, I always set the date to the time I actually made the journey. However if you are following in real-time I’m sure you see the date is now January 3rd, 2019. I’ve been very busy travelling and fallen way behind on sharing my photos. Fear not, it is now winter in Wisconsin and I have more time indoors. Much more to come from the July adventure and later 2018 trips!
Hiking Data
The hike itself is not very difficult at all, but finding your way safely to the falls can be challenging. Be very careful near the rocks around the falls so you don’t slip and injure yourself!
