WI State Parks – Amnicon Falls & Pattison State Parks
Covid-19 caused a major change to my summer travel plans. I decided to stay closer to home in order to limit the number of people that I am exposed to. Rather than taking the 6 or 7 week trip to Alaska that I had planned, I would investigate the state parks in my home state of Wisconsin! Over the years, I have visited many of the state parks. With over forty different parks with campgrounds, there are still many that I have not seen. During the summer and fall, I plan to cross more of these parks off of my list!
Living in northern Wisconsin, Amnicon Falls State Park and Pattison State Parks seemed like perfect first new parks. They are located in the far northwest corner of Wisconsin, near the city of Superior. For me, it was a two and a half hour drive through beautiful forests and wetlands to get there. Driving along Lake Superior in Ashland is always a joy!
Before Any Trip – Planning
As always, I used google maps and online maps of both parks to determine parking options. I travel in a 32 foot Class C motorhome and I have learned it is best to plan ahead. That way I know exactly where adequate parking is available.
Amnicon Falls State Park and Pattison State Park are about 30 minutes from one another, making it perfect for me to camp in one park and then take a day trip to the other park. That left me with the decision – where do I camp?
Amnicon Falls State Park
Google Maps showed me that Amnicon Falls State Park would not have ample daytime parking for me. So, I decided to camp there instead! Pattison State Park would be a great day trip, and I could see places where I would be able to park my motorhome, CeeCee, while hiking the trails to see the many waterfalls.
Amnicon Falls State Park offers a small, rustic campground with 35 campsites (one of which is a disabled site), a playground (which was closed because of covid), and three sets of pit toilets and water fountains. There is no electricity available in the campground, and no flush toilets or showers so be prepared for boondocking!
We arrived early in the afternoon. I was able to practice my stellar backing up skills to get my rig into site #19. It was a much tighter turn than I had expected. The roads in Amnicon are very narrow, probably having been built at a time when campers weren’t as large as they are now. I was not the only “big sow” in the campground, but there were other available sites that would have been much easier to get in and out of. Those sites were also much larger. As I backed up, I was aware of my neighbors watching and probably taking bets on how many attempts I would need in order to swing CeeCee’s wide girth around the trees, avoiding the site post and staying on the camp pad. Whoever made a bet of three would have been the winner!
We set up our site and enjoyed some old-fashioned camping with no electricity or water connections. I felt excited for the socially distanced break in nature. It had been a long time since I had parked my rig and spent a few days like this!
Hiking Amnicon Falls State Park
Have I mentioned that this state park is small? While it IS very small, it manages to pack a lot of amazing vistas and experiences into such a tiny place. I can brag that I hiked all of the trails in the park (which when you realize that there are only 2 miles of trails, it seems less like bragging and more like pretending to hike!). We woke up the first morning, ate breakfast and got ready to hit the trail!
One of the nicest parts of camping here is that you feel as though you own a piece of the park during your stay. We hiked to the beautiful footbridge and immediately felt as though we were in a different world. Tiny tiered waterfalls cascaded along the entire river until finally reaching one of the four larger waterfalls. The solitude of the forest paths along with the covered bridge and pockets of riverfront spots where you can sit for a quick picnic or just relax were invigorating.
If you are brave enough, we were not, you can even walk down to the base of both the upper and lower falls and swim in the waterfall! The rocks along the river with bluffs on both sides reminded me of my Narrows hike in Zion National Park!
Be sure to plan to stay for quite awhile and just soak in the beauty of this state park! After we circled both of the island paths we returned to our campsite and felt as though we had the most precious backyard for the night!
Pattison State Park
On our last full day, I got CeeCee travel ready and carefully pulled out of the campsite. I knew that it would be a challenge to get the rig back in after our day trip to Pattison State Park.
Pattison State Park is home to the highest waterfall in Wisconsin and the fourth highest waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains! It was going to be a very hot and humid day, and I was grateful to be leaving the campground so that I could run my generator and keep the camper as cool as possible for my dog, Kricket. Ok, let’s be honest. I was glad to cool it off for me, too!
Pattison State Park is about a 30 minute drive from Amnicon Falls State Park, making it possible to visit both places in a well-planned single trip. Parts of the route are marked clearly while others are not, so be sure to know where you are going or you will get a great extra tour of the area!
During my research fro this trip I noticed that there was RV parking near the trailheads for both Big and Little Manitou Falls. The park also has a campground with 59 different sites, one of which was for disabled campers. Many of the sites allow you to pull your rig through, avoiding backups for those that don’t relish the challenge. Many sites also offered electricity. There is one centrally located shower house and two sets of pit toilets. This park offers a beach area with tons of parking and also has an RV dump station, which I planned to use to empty my tanks and refill my fresh water as Amnicon Falls did not have an RV dump station.
I parked across the street from Big Manitou Falls and we hiked the very short trail to the two overlooks on the south side of the river. The views were amazing! I had no idea that there was such a large waterfall in Wisconsin and the pictures I had seen just did not do it justice!
We then hiked to another bridge and found a small bench along the river. We sat and watched the water circle around rocks and logs that blocked it’s way. We tossed small branches into the river and watched them navigate around the different eddies caused by logs and rocks, unknowingly moving closer to the giant falls.
The northern side of the river offers close up views of the water as it meanders and collects speed before tumbling over the edge and dropping 165 feet to the base of the waterfall. The second overlook on the trail is high above the gorge. It offers views that stretch for miles above the treetops, making you feel like you are up with the birds for views that only they get to have.
After the half-mile hike to both sides of the river, we climbed back into CeeCee and drove a few miles south to the parking area for Little Manitou Falls. This hike to the falls was seriously just a few hundred feet from the parking lot!
Can you see her?
While these falls can be considered “little” by comparison to the height of Big Manitou Falls, they still have an amazing presence! While sitting on a bench to take it all in, I noticed that this was also a tiered waterfall with some smaller drops higher up the river before the river split, creating two waterfall areas.
Final Thoughts
Both Amnicon Falls State Park and Pattison State Park are considered to be near the top of any “Must See” list of Wisconsin State Parks, and with good reason! I would like to return to both! Next time I will camp at Pattison State Park to take advantage of the swimming beach on Interfalls Lake. (And the electricity!)
Pros and Cons of Amnicon State Park
Pros: Very secluded and private campground. Trails to the falls are easily accessible from the campground. Lots of little areas along the river that offer private spots to sit and enjoy nature.
Cons: Campground is rustic, with no electric sites, no showers, and no RV dump station. If you are used to camping this way (which I am), it is fine. This is a great place for a day trip,if you have a small vehicle. There is very limited parking for larger rigs.
Pros and Cons of Pattison State Park
Pros: Many campsites with electricity. Many pull through sites. Shower house. RV Dump station. Beach. Trails to falls are easily accessible from the campground. Great parking for day trips, even for large rigs. The waterfalls are amazing and easy to reach!
Cons: Very busy as this is a special destination in the state. The trails can be crowded, especially during the school year with field trips.
These parks are well worth the trip even if you do not live in northern Wisconsin! In fact, they will make you feel like you have traveled into a completely different area! So, get out there and explore!
If you would like to go RVing, here’s Everything You Need To Know!
