I awoke a bit groggy from an unlevel campsite and my boots are still sopping wet from yesterday’s expeditions, but the weather Gods are smiling upon me and it’s perfect fall conditions for hiking today. In the interest of time I drove to the Big Manitou Falls parking area off E County Road B and WI-35 and took the short walk to the accessible viewpoint.
Big Manitou Falls, the tallest waterfall in Wisconsin at 165 feet, never ceases to impress. Has to be one of the best views in the entire state.
I played around with some long exposure shots for a while with decent results. Think I need a new variable ND filter. Oh well, that’s part of the fun in photography. I could have stayed here all day even without a camera.
On my previous visit in 2018 most of the trails were closed due to storm damages; that was also the case when I visited again in 2019. This year trails have re-opened so I was able to see more than before.
From the south side of the Black River you can follow the fence along a small trail and get alternate angles but they are more obstructed than the initial location. Apparently you can also climb down into the gorge from this area on a difficult route but today wasn’t that day.
I walked back upstream following the fence guarding the ravine until it reaches the top of the falls on the south side. You can’t see much looking down from this point, but standing only feet away from a several hundred foot drop and feeling the thump of the descending water hit you is something.
Looking upstream there are small falls and rapids the whole way. Here’s the final point where the river narrows and turns 90 degrees into a chute before dropping down.
More drops upstream but all of the smaller variety now. There is a bridge ahead that is within sight now and will allow you to cross to the other side.
Here’s a view of the same rapids and falls below the bridge from the opposite shoreline. These alone are larger than some other destinations I have been to – don’t pass these up just because you saw the big one!
Above the foot bridge is the road and just beyond that is the spillway that dams up the Black River and creates Interfalls Lake between Big and Little Manitou Falls in the park.
Here’s a zoomed view of the spillway for those of you that enjoy man-made features.
Off to the side of the spillway is a tunnel leading under the highway which allows you to walk back into the state park’s main parking and picnic area.
Moving along now on the north side of the river we will move downstream and see how things appear from a different angle.
Here is that same final drop at the top of Big Manitou Falls before it drops out of sight again. Really is interesting how it narrows so quickly from like 50 feet across to maybe 5 or 10 feet, and appears to accelerate the water violently as the cascade begins.
There are paved trails, wooden staircases, and viewing platforms on this side and are very easy to reach.
At the first platform you are definitely quite close to the falls but views are obscured by the trees and rocky gorge. Personally the best part here is really getting a sense of how how small we humans are by comparison, and the mist of the water in the air spraying back upwards.
Looking down as far as you can see to the bottom, there is one very narrow chute and drop that basically no human can ever reach.
Here’s a wide angle shot to show a little more of the surrounding topography. Notice how the river bends sharply through the rocks below.
A short distance ahead on the paved path we now reach the second platform which I think gives better views but are a bit further away. There are a few small steps but otherwise much of this is quite accessible.
I spent a lot of time here playing with the camera, especially as there were no other hikers coming up this way and I had the whole platform to myself. Definitely the best view on this side of the river. You can even see the smaller side channel diverting off the main falls, which then create a large pool before dropping again in white ribbons and re-joining the main flow; this is obscured from the other shore.
Views across the surrounding forest downstream are not bad either. Those clouds looked much more ominous in the morning but now are breaking up and letting blue skies come through nicely.
My return trip to the parking lot took much the same route, but before leaving the north side I did observe a weathered dedication plaque for Martin Pattison State Park. 660 acres donated in memory of his wife Grace in 1928. Martin was a good dude.
And finally in the wooded clearing near the plaque is a historical sign detailing the geological history of the park areas. Everything we see today is thanks to millions of years of volcanic activity, oceans covering this area, and glacier formations.
Video
Here’s a video of my walk around the Big Manitou Falls area to see all the angles.
Hiking Data
Here’s the route for today’s short hike/walk. Overall this is very easy and accessible to most everyone, maybe with the exception of some stairs on the north side. Of note you can see where I walked out onto those viewing platforms, and the inaccuracy of where the marker is for the actual falls (it’s not where the icon shows it, in fact it is much closer to the north side first platform).
My distance covered was nearly one mile but I bet much of that is walking back & forth to get photos (also confirmed by the elapsed time of nearly 2 hours where I wasn’t even moving). In reality I bet it would be a bit shorter but maybe not by much. Barely any elevation change. Low effort and high reward – don’t miss it!
