Mill Pond Spillway

Last stop on my short weekend trip is just south of Grant Park on the Oak Creek Parkway at a small man-made “waterfall” (spillway) called Mill Pond Spillway.

Oak Creek Parkway – Milwaukee County Park System sign

Not much fanfare at this location – only one small historical sign entitled “Millstones from Fowle Mill” detailing how the millpond was created to power the grist mill grinding wheels.

Millstones from Fowle Mill historical sign

I’m not too jazzed about man-made “waterfall” features but this is a decent small spillway that mimics a waterfall quite well. Here’s an angled view from the right side.

Mill Pond Spillway – Angle View

Here’s a more direct view. The drop is 5-10 feet or so and only about 1/2 of the spillway is really flowing right now. I’ve seen other online photos after heavy rain showing how this really moves.

Mill Pond Spillway – Head-on View

And another angled view from the left. You can see a bit more of the millpond above the spillway where it flows from Oak Creek upstream.

Mill Pond Spillway – Angle View

Moving downstream you can see the spillway through the tunnel that passes underneath the roadway.

Mill Pond Spillway – View through the tunnel

And just a few steps from the tunnel there is a smaller tiny shelf “falls”. Not sure if these are natural rocks or also man-made but doesn’t matter. Fairly popular spot with the locals for fishing.

Mill Pond Spillway – Small shelves below the spillway, people fishing

That’s a wrap for this leg of my travels. Stay tuned – much more to come and still have a huge backlog of things from 2019 and even back to 2016!

Video

Here’s a short clip of the spillway in action. Enjoy!