Big Manitou Falls

Pattison State Park / Superior, Wisconsin, USA

About Big Manitou Falls


Hiking Distance: almost roadside
Suggested Time:

Date first visited: 2015-09-26
Date last visited: 2015-09-26

Waterfall Latitude: 46.53598
Waterfall Longitude: -92.12142

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Big Manitou Falls was said to be the highest waterfall in the state of Wisconsin where the Black River dropped 165ft.

Given the waterfall’s notoriety due to its height, it wasn’t surprising to see that it was both popular and it had a lot of infrastructure to make it accessible to almost anyone.

Big_Manitou_Falls_057_09262015 - Big Manitou Falls
Big Manitou Falls

Thus, our four-year-old daughter didn’t have any trouble viewing the falls from the sanctioned lookouts.

However, we had to contend with unseasonably foggy weather during our Autumn visit in late September 2015.

The fog conspired to keep the falls from being clearly visible, and that photo above was probably as clear as it was going to get during our morning visit.

Experiencing Big Manitou Falls – The Easy Way

Although there was a signposted road and parking lot for the main office of Pattison State Park, it turned out that the easiest way to experience the falls was from a separate parking lot (see directions below).

Big_Manitou_Falls_007_09262015 - Walking past a picnic area on the way to Big Manitou Falls
Walking past a picnic area on the way to Big Manitou Falls

From that nearest lot, we carefully crossed East County Road B before going around a small lawn and picnic area.

On the other side of the picnic area was the small lookout area, where we were able to get the picture you see at the top of this page between an opening in the foliage.

Other views from this side of the Black River further downstream along the trails were obstructed and unnecessary if this waterfall was the primary purpose of a visit.

Experiencing Big Manitou Falls – An Alternate Way

That said, we noticed that there was another lookout closer to the Big Manitou Falls on the opposite side of the river.

Big_Manitou_Falls_001_09262015 - The park headquarters near Big Manitou Falls on a very foggy morning
The park headquarters near Big Manitou Falls on a very foggy morning

Although it would’ve been possible to directly reach that other overlook from the Park Office (about a mile in each direction), it turned out that we could’ve taken a 0.5-mile walk from the trailhead described above.

It would lead us to a footbridge above the waterfall before ending up at the lookouts on the opposite side of the gorge.

Given how foggy it was, we didn’t bother doing it, but in hindsight, we probably could’ve driven to Little Manitou Falls first then come back.

Perhaps that might have allowed us to more thoroughly explore Big Manitou Falls and the various ways to experience it from both sides of the Black River with a little more time for the fog to burn off.

Big_Manitou_Falls_034_09262015 - Context of Tahia trying to see Big Manitou Falls through the fog
Context of Tahia trying to see Big Manitou Falls through the fog

So given our limited experience from what we think was the best overlook, we only spent about 15 minutes away from the car.

That would make this as close to a roadside stop without actually being visible directly from the road.

However, had we experienced the falls from both sides, it probably would’ve taken more like 45-60 minutes (30 minutes of it would be from walking).

The walking distance would take 15 minutes more had we walked from the park office instead of the Falls Parking Lot.

Authorities

Big Manitou Falls resides in Pattison State Park near Superior in Douglas County, Wisconsin. It is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Big_Manitou_Falls_006_09262015 - About to cross the East County Road B on the way to the direct view of Big Manitou Falls from the nearest parking lot
Big_Manitou_Falls_014_09262015 - This was our first look at Big Manitou Falls when the fog was pretty thick
Big_Manitou_Falls_020_09262015 - Continuing to contend with the thick morning fog during our visit to the Big Manitou Falls
Big_Manitou_Falls_024_09262015 - This was the continuation of the trail leading to more distant and obstructed view of Big Manitou Falls, but that would be optional if the main purpose of a visit here was for the waterfall
Big_Manitou_Falls_028_09262015 - This was the more obstructed partial view of Big Manitou Falls from further downstream along the trail leading closer to the banks of the Black River
Big_Manitou_Falls_048_09262015 - We took some time visiting Little Manitou Falls before coming back to Big Manitou Falls, and the result was a less foggy view of the larger waterfall
Big_Manitou_Falls_035_09262015 - We weren't totally free from the morning fog, however, as you can see in this photo of our return to Big Manitou Falls
Big_Manitou_Falls_060_09262015 - Julie and Tahia heading back through the picnic area towards the nearest parking lot
Big_Manitou_Falls_062_09262015 - This was the paved path leading towards the other side of the gorge, where there was the closer lookout that we opted to skip
Big_Manitou_Falls_064_09262015 - Julie and Tahia crossing East County Road B to the closest and smaller parking lot, where we made sure it was safe to cross, especially since our daughter was with us


The nearest city of note to Big Manitou Falls was Superior, Wisconsin, which was also a twin city across the state border to Duluth, Minnesota.

We’ll describe the directions from Superior, Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin State Route 35 (WI-35) heads south of the town of Superior from the intersection of the US-2 at Belknap Street and Tower Ave (which eventually would become the WI-35).

Big_Manitou_Falls_004_09262015 - The smaller parking lot for Big Manitou Falls, which also happened to be closer to the best view of the waterfall
The smaller parking lot for Big Manitou Falls, which also happened to be closer to the best view of the waterfall

From this intersection, the most direct route would be to head south on the WI-35 for about 13 miles to the East County Road B.

Turning right onto the East County Road B, the Big Manitou Falls Parking Lot was immediately to the left.

Note that the main office and parking lot was less than a quarter-mile north of the East County Road B turnoff on the east side of WI-35.

This was where I paid the $5 for a one-hour visit.

Big_Manitou_Falls_003_09262015 - Looking back at the parking lot for the Pattison State Park headquarters near Big Manitou Falls
Looking back at the parking lot for the Pattison State Park headquarters near Big Manitou Falls

The $9 non-Wisconsin-resident fee was for the entire day, which meant that if I happened to be visiting any other Wisconsin State Parks on the same day I paid for this pass, then I’d be covered.

Unfortunately during our visit, there was a bridge washout at the Nemadji River.

Therefore, we had to take a detour about 6 miles south of the Belknap St and Tower Ave intersection on the WI-35, then head east on the County Road C.

We’d follow this road for nearly 9 miles (County Road C became County Road A after just under 2 miles), then we turned right (west) onto County Road B.

Big_Manitou_Falls_002_09262015 - There were toilet facilities at the Pattison State Park headquarters near Big Manitou Falls
There were toilet facilities at the Pattison State Park headquarters near Big Manitou Falls

We followed County Road B for a little under 3 miles before rejoining WI-35 about a quarter-mile north of the signed turnoff for the main office and campgrounds of Pattison State Park or under 0.5-mile north of the car park for Big Manitou Falls.

This detour drive took us roughly 30 minutes though I’d imagine it would be more like 20 minutes without the detour.

For geographical context, Superior, Wisconsin was 153 miles (about 2.5 hours drive) north of Minneapolis, Minnesota, 196 miles (about 4 hours drive) southwest of Thunder Bay, Canada, and 392 miles (6 hours drive) northwest of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Find A Place To Stay

Focusing on the gorge view of Big Manitou Falls before looking around the picnic area

Related Top 10 Lists

No Posts Found

Trip Planning Resources


Nearby Accommodations



Tagged with: pattison, state park, superior, wisconsin, duluth, minnesota, douglas county, waterfall, great lakes, midwest, usa, black river



Visitor Comments:

Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...

No users have replied to the content on this page


Share your thoughts about what you've read on this page

You must be logged in to submit content. Refresh this page after you have logged in.

Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:

If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...

Big Manitou Falls, Pattison State Park Wisconsin April 15, 2015 12:34 am by Daniel - Big Manitou Falls is a waterfall situated on the Black River, a tributary of the Nemadji River. The falls are located within Pattison State Park in Douglas County, Wisconsin, approximately 13 miles south of Superior. At 165 feet, Big Manitou falls is the highest waterfall in Wisconsin. ...Read More

Have you been to a waterfall? Submit a write-up/review and share your experiences or impressions

Review A Waterfall

Nearest Waterfalls

The Waterfaller Newsletter

The Waterfaller Newsletter is where we curate the wealth of information on the World of Waterfalls website and deliver it to you in bite-sized chunks in your email inbox. You'll also get exclusive content like...

  • Waterfall Wednesdays
  • Insider Tips
  • User-submitted Waterfall Write-up of the Month
  • and the latest news and updates both within the website as well as around the wonderful world of waterfalls


How To Build A Profitable Travel Blog In 4 Steps

Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
Read More About Johnny | A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls.