Minnehaha Falls

Minnehaha Creek carries water from Lake Minnetonka and the Minneapolis lakes on a winding journey across the city, and near its end it reaches Minnehaha Falls. There the creek pours over a lip of hard limestone about fifty-three feet down into a plunge pool, then continues through a deepening gorge to the Mississippi. The waterfall is fed entirely by that creek, so its power rises and falls with the rain and snowmelt, thundering in spring and slowing in a dry late summer.

The falls sit within Minnehaha Regional Park, established in the late nineteenth century as one of the first parks in the city and long a favorite gathering place. A trail leads from the overlook at the top down stairs into the gorge, where visitors can stand near the base of the falls and follow the creek downstream through the shaded ravine all the way to the great river.

The word Minnehaha comes from the Dakota language and describes the falls and the creek. It is often loosely translated as 'laughing water,' but that rendering came from Longfellow and later writers rather than from the Dakota themselves, and the truer sense refers to the waterfall and its rushing water. This land is the homeland of the Dakota people, whose name for the country, Mni Sota Makoce, meaning the land where the waters reflect the skies, gave Minnesota its name.

In 1855 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published The Song of Hiawatha, a long narrative poem that used Native names and settings and gave one of its central characters the name Minnehaha. The poem was enormously popular, and it fixed the name Minnehaha in the national imagination and turned the falls into a destination. Longfellow drew on published descriptions and images of the falls without ever visiting them, an odd twist for a place his words made famous.

Below the falls the creek has carved a gorge into ancient limestone and sandstone, rock laid down when this region lay beneath shallow seas hundreds of millions of years ago. The trail through the gorge passes rock walls and shaded hollows before opening onto the Mississippi River, and the whole ravine is a cool, green refuge from the surrounding city streets.

The wider park is a landscape of old hardwoods, formal gardens, statues, and picnic grounds, connected by trail to the Mississippi River corridor and, upstream, to the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes. It is part of the city's celebrated park and trail system, so a visit to the falls can extend into a long walk or bike ride along the river or the creek. Statues in the park, including one of Hiawatha carrying Minnehaha, nod to the poem that made the place famous.

Spring is the falls at their loudest, swollen with snowmelt and rain, and the gorge greens up quickly. Summer brings warm days, full shade in the ravine, and the park's gardens in bloom, a popular time for picnics and strolls. Both seasons are ideal for walking down into the gorge and along the creek to the river.

Fall paints the hardwoods gold and red above the water, a beautiful and quieter time to visit. Winter is the falls' most dramatic transformation: as the creek slows and freezes, the waterfall builds into towers, curtains, and cones of ice that draw photographers and cold-weather visitors. The paths turn icy then, so footing matters, but the frozen falls are one of the signature winter sights of Minneapolis.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

Minnehaha Falls, in Minnehaha Regional Park in Minneapolis, is a beautiful and beloved fifty-foot waterfall right in the heart of the city, where Minnehaha Creek plunges over a limestone ledge into a scenic glen. Immortalized in a famous poem, the picturesque falls are the centerpiece of a lovely urban park with trails, gardens, picnic areas, and paths leading down into the gorge and along the creek toward the Mississippi River. A cherished city oasis, the falls draw visitors year-round. With its scenic waterfall, park, and trails in the city, Minnehaha Falls offers a delightful destination in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

You can view the beautiful waterfall from overlooks, walk the trails and stairs down into the glen and along the creek toward the Mississippi River, stroll the park's gardens and paths, picnic, bike, and enjoy the scenic urban oasis. The waterfall and the gorge trails are highlights, and the falls are lovely in every season, from full spring flow to frozen winter ice. It is a favorite city escape. With its scenic waterfall, gorge trails, and park amenities, Minnehaha Falls offers a delightful and accessible outdoor experience in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Minnehaha Falls is beautiful year-round, with late spring bringing the fullest, most powerful flow from snowmelt and rain, summer offering lush greenery and pleasant weather, and fall bringing lovely color to the glen, while winter transforms the falls into striking frozen ice formations, a unique sight. Spring and early summer offer the most dramatic water. For the most powerful falls aim for late spring, for pleasant weather summer or fall, and for the frozen spectacle, winter, at Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Stay on designated trails, stairs, and overlooks, keep back from the edge at the top of the falls and along the creek, and supervise children closely, as the rocks can be slippery and the drop is significant. In winter the stairs and paths can be icy, so use caution or avoid them when hazardous. Do not climb on or behind the falls. Watching your footing, staying on the trails, and keeping children close ensure a safe visit to Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Minnehaha Falls is in Minneapolis, Minnesota, within reach of St. Anthony Falls and the Stone Arch Bridge, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden with the Spoonbridge, the Foshay Tower, and across the river the Cathedral of Saint Paul and Como Park Zoo in St. Paul. That makes Minnehaha Falls a delightful stop to combine with the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, St. Anthony Falls, and the other attractions of the Twin Cities on a visit to Minnesota.