Perry Creek Rapids

The area surrounding Black River Falls seem to be abundant with rapids and waterfalls. My next stop at Perry Creek Recreation Area is a unique and smaller park that doesn’t seem to get much traffic. Access to Perry Creek is quite easy on a short and well maintained hiking trail.

Perry Creek Rapids – Hiking trails

You will quickly come to a wire rope bridge crossing Perry Creek that looks sketchy but is actually very solid. You can see the waters are a very dark reddish color caused by different minerals & tannins.

Perry Creek Rapids – Old bridge across Perry Creek

Not far up the trail is the first small rapids that runs through an “S” shaped bend in the exposed rocks.

Perry Creek Rapids – Small rapids

And not far after the small rapids is the largest feature – a cascade-type waterfall that drops about 5 feet. Large rocks and a sandy shoreline are placed perfectly for taking photos without risk of swimming.

Perry Creek Rapids – View below the falls

Here’s another angle from directly beside the falls. Notice how it cascades down the sloping rocks beneath the surface rather than taking a plunging drop.

Perry Creek Rapids – View beside the falls

And here’s another angle looking downstream from above the falls. This entire area is quite peaceful and well-shaded from the summer heat and looks like something from a story book.

Perry Creek Rapids – View above falls looking downstream

Video

Here’s a short video of the rapids & falls in action. Enjoy!

Hiking

Extremely easy hike with minimal effort required. The hardest part is slathering on enough bug spray to keep swarming mosquitoes at bay. Otherwise this is a fantastic spot for a picnic and a hike to the falls. Perry Creek also drops into the Black River with a boat ramp just off the parking lot so I’d imagine this spot is ideal for river boating trips too.

GaiaGPS hiking data @ Perry Creek Rapids

GaiaGPS hiking data @ Perry Creek Rapids

GaiaGPS hiking data @ Perry Creek Rapids

UPDATE 2020-06-03: Bob from waterfallswisconsin.com is now calling this Perry Creek Falls. I’m in agreement but leaving references as Perry Creek Rapids intact on this page because it’s too much to change over.