Rock Falls (2021)

Made a quick pitstop while in Ellsworth, WI and took a peek at the map. Realized I wasn’t far away from Rock Falls where I had previously missed out due to road construction. Someone told me the work was now done, so I headed to the small town to see what I could find. There is definitely a bridge there again and it appears to have been finished not long before my visit as the grass seed hasn’t even started to sprout.

Rock Falls – Newly constructed bridge and road completed in late 2021

Rock Falls – Construction date tag on bridge over Rock Creek

Next to the bridge is a small grassy area with a walkway to a stone memorial and a couple parking spaces. Chain link fence now guards the slippery slope down towards Rock Creek. Fun fact: Rock Falls is listed as an unincorporated community in the town of Rock Creek, but many of the local buildings are labeled with either one name or the other and I’m not sure I see a consistent pattern. But, there is also a Rock Falls, Wisconsin that is near Merrill and it’s a completely different town.

Rock Falls – Newly constructed park area adjacent to the falls

A closer look at the granite memorial to the memory of Justin and Darren Hoover. The text is the poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann. Some work still needs to be done for the stone base but I’m sure that’s in the plans.

Rock Falls – Granite memorial stone with poem Desiderata

Due to the new fence and slope of the rocks leading down to the gorge, the best way to see Rock Falls is by walking onto the bridge over the creek. Here is the falls view looking directly down from the overpass.

Rock Falls – View of main falls while standing on the road bridge above

The downstream area has also changed with the new construction. Previously there were some old stone and concrete piers in the creek itself from much older versions of the bridge and they have now been removed completely. Some small rapids may exist down there but are hard to see with the naked eye.

Rock Falls – View of Rock Creek downstream of the falls

Upstream from the bridge there is a marshy lowland area that is labeled as Rock Falls Millpond on the maps. I can’t make out any existing mills here any longer, but historically there must have been one where the dammed up the creek and this entire area was probably under water. The land past this clearing is labeled as “DNR Land” but I have not explored there yet.

Rock Falls – View of the Rock Falls Millpond marsh area above the falls

Just downstream of the flat creek and marshland is where the creek starts to descend in an abrupt transition to rapids. All the rock work on the banks appears to be new and again sloped pretty drastically with sections of chain links preventing any easy direct access. Best views are from above anyways so this isn’t a very big deal.

Rock Falls – View of rapids above the falls on Rock Creek

Drone Views

It was a quiet afternoon and nobody else is usually to be found in the area. I launched the drone for some aerial views which give the best perspective that are completely impossible from the ground. Here is a birds-eye view from high above looking back upstream. This should give you some context about the surrounding area.

Rock Falls – Drone view from high above the creek

Here’s the view from directly downstream of the falls looking back upstream on the creek to show how much the rapids section drops before it reaches the falls proper. I’d estimate it drops somewhere around 10 feet in this section.

Rock Falls – Drone view from near the main falls drop

And of course the main attraction is Rock Falls. Here’s the view from an elevated angle which of course makes it appear smaller than it really is. One surprise that I didn’t notice before from the bridge is how there is a notch cut into the rocks above the falls

Rock Falls – Drone view of the main falls

The best view I could capture was slightly elevated but looking directly back at the falls. This is definitely one of the larger falls you’ll find in the state but unfortunately remains hidden from view to most. Overall drop has to be something like 20-30 feet as it crashes to the shallow pool below. This view had eluded me several times now, and I’m happy to cross it off the list.

Rock Falls – Drone view of the main falls

With a bit of bittersweet emotion, this location ended up being the final stop of my 2021 fall road trip. I would have continued for a couple more days, but the weather turned cold and several other places I stopped at on the return journey were completely dry. I hadn’t showered in a couple days and it was just time to pack it in. But I am thankful that sometimes the stars align and I’m afforded these longer trips to explore my favorite places to be: anywhere outdoors and not at my desk at work.

Video

Here’s a view of the falls from the ground and the sky. Enjoy!