My strange day continued, though it has been somewhat productive. I tried to find a falls at a nearby lake but ended up at a totally different park by a river only to find my GPS pin was wrong. Then I drove through Rusk County trying to find another more secluded falls but it was mostly dried up; instead I explored some 4×4 trails and almost got stuck in some deep mud thanks to bad advice from a local. This blew away most of my other plans, though I found myself in Eau Claire County in the town of Seymour nearby Big Falls which I briefly visited back in 2019 from the west side of the river. This time, roads from the east side had finished construction and I was able to check it out from a different vantage point. Be advised if you do visit there is a small fee for entrance.
The trail from the parking area isn’t very long at all, and transitions from pavement to gravel to dirt & leaves, and then onto the rocks of the river itself.
Here’s a wide angle view with my crappy cell phone camera to show what you’ll see as soon as you pop out of the trees and first see the Eau Claire River. As you can see it dumps you right next to the falls which is pretty amazing.
Here’s a view to the left of the above photo showing some downstream features. The river diverts around a sandy island and part of it becomes calm while the other part shoots around in a bend that curves down & around for a secondary drop.
Here’s a view of the main falls standing right besides them. I’d estimate the drop here is around 5-10 feet with the largest single drop of maybe 4-5 feet.
Another view of the downstream falls/rapids which is more like a series of steps. This descends another 5-10 feet (maybe more, I’m bad at estimating) but it is more gradual.
Dogs are not allowed in the park. That never stops people from breaking the rules, including this teenager who had a big German Shepherd off leash and was letting him run wild. I had to keep one eye on them the whole time. While this photo makes them look well-behaved I can promise that was not the real world scenario. Please follow the rules people, nothing worse than careless pet owners.
After hopping down some of the rocks and carefully getting out further into the water I was able to see the main falls from below. Notice the larger rocks built up to the left? That is a giant rocky island in the middle of the river – my last visit I was only able to see the other side which completely obscures this view.
Another view of the downstream falls standing closer. The final drop is the most pronounced and runs off like a big chute and then calms abruptly.
Most of my visit was during cloud cover which is actually a good thing most of the time for photography. I did get one final view with splashes of golden colors as the sun dropped below the clouds and peeked above the trees briefly before setting. Time to head to camp for the night.
Long Exposure
I did spend a good deal of time trying to get long exposure shots. Here is one of the main falls that I think turned out pretty decent (though I can tell my camera filter is still having some problems and may need replacing soon).
Here’s the best view I could get of the lower falls/rapids section from a direct view. The water came out quite “creamy” and I was happy to keep most of the focus for detail on the rocks.
Video
Here’s a short video of the short hike and falls in action.
Hiking Data
The trail is very easy to find within the park and needs no deviation. Just follow the path and walk for a couple minutes and you’ll find it.
Round trip you’re looking at an easy 1/4 mile total. Hardest part is getting down to the river but most people without mobility issues should find this relatively easy. Just be careful on the rocks and slope, and then enjoy the great views!
