Copper Falls State Park is often ranked among Wisconsin's top state parks, and it's easy to see…read morewhy. Located in the Northwoods of northern Wisconsin, the park's highlight is the Doughboy Trail, a well-developed two-mile loop that offers excellent views of both Copper Falls and Brownstone Falls. The trail is easy to follow, well-maintained, and includes several scenic overlooks. Because of its distance--several hours from cities like Madison--I recommend combining a visit with other Northwoods attractions. A great option is to stop here while exploring the Apostle Islands or the Bayfield area. Once inside the park, follow the main road past the ranger station until it ends at the parking lot, where you'll find restrooms and the Doughboy Trailhead. This is a beautiful park and well worth the stop, especially if you plan it alongside other northern Wisconsin adventures.

As we traveled north, we stopped at several state parks, and Copper Falls stood out as one of the…read moreprettiest--often noted in reviews for having the highest waterfall in the area. We were able to park easily and walk a short, fairly easy loop to reach the falls. The view of the waterfall was beautiful, though the trail itself isn't very shaded. Thankfully, the weather was mild during our visit, which made for a pleasant stop. Parking was plentiful, and the park overall felt accessible and well maintained. A worthwhile stop for an hour or so if you're exploring northern Wisconsin.

Hidden away in Gurney, Wisconsin-it was only a 23 minute (15miles) drive from Copper Falls State…read morePark. Well, you're obviously into waterfalls-why not go to an less travelled waterfalls? Maybe this is a rhetorical question, but we didn't know that this little gem was so close by. Yes, there are steps to view the best vista of the falls. Believe me-it's worth it. Bring your sneakers or hiking boots because you are gonna wanna check out this area and it's not set up for lots of tourists (i.e. dirt trails not asphalt trails). Bathrooms are kinda rustic too. There's a shelter by the parking area. I only wish I could have gotten here by bicycle *sigh*

Very nice experience. Beautiful falls and just a short walk from lot. There are a few stairs.read more

This is a relatively easy, well maintained, and beautifully scenic trail…read more Whether or not you're able to actually see falls, really depends on the level of water flow. We were here during a dry spell and so there were no falls to be seen. That said, the trail itself is gorgeous and the end (right before it loops you back toward the parking lot) has a stunning view of Lake Superior. Pro-tip: There's more than a view of Lake Superior. There's a staircase down to an outcropping of flat rock that while we were there folks were using as a jumping off point to take a dip in the lake! It's pretty protected and makes for a great swimming hole. We didn't get in the water but enjoyed watching others take the leap. Get to it!

A very pretty short hike through a nice scenic gorge. We never did see any falls and barely any…read morewater in the creek (guess it is a very dry summer). The end of the trail leads to a great view of the bay and a place to stretch out in the sun. The boardwalk on this hike is one of the nicest and sturdiest boardwalks I had ever encountered. This thing is made to last. Even without any water falling it is worth the time to see this place.

My girlfriend and I enjoy visiting beautiful parts of the country and going on day hikes. Even…read morewhen these hikes are only a couple miles long, I panic and begin to despair towards the back half. So it's important that we find the right mix of natural beauty and for my sanity's sake, brevity. Fallison Lake Nature Trail is a 2.5-mile loop trail rolls through rich birding terrain. The lake is surrounded by a mixed coniferous/deciduous forest of balsam fir, hemlock, red pine, white pine, sugar maple, white birch, and large-toothed and trembling aspen. The trail crosses bogs and a hemlock glade. Some of these ancient giants of the Northwoods are hundreds of years old. The longest loop of the trail goes all the way around 50-acre Fallison Lake: we took a shortcut and skipped the final bog to cut down on my whining!

Called Interstate Falls because it's directly on the MI/WI border, this spot is only about a 10…read moreminute drive from Ironwood, MI, and only about a 10 minute hike from the parking lot. We saw lot of fun fungi on our hike in and spotted some folks foraging some of the mushrooms and even overheard them saying that they had found some chanterelles. It was an easy hike in on the main path, or you can switch it up to some more tretcherous terrain slightly closer to the falls along the stream (hiking poles recommended if you do so, especiallyif it's been raining recently). It appears that they recently redid all of the steps down to the main waterfall, but there are probably the equivalent of a 3 or 4 story building worth of stairs, which definitely winded a member of our party experiencing some health issues. The falls themselves are about about 15 feet high and there are some miini waterfalls along the a lot of the path on your way in as well. Beware: Google Maps may send you the wrong way. Based on a sign on someone's driveway on the route that Google told us to take that says it's private property, I gather that Google regularly tries to route folks through what it thinks is a public road but is clearly private property. I feel like this happens pretty regularly and that's that Google maps also seems to be unaware of unaware of incredibly major road construction projects. Its vexing to say the least. These lousy directions cost us about 15 minutes, so be sure to double check your route and enter from the MI side, not the WI one.

Hidden gem on the South Shore of Superior! Located just out of Port Wing on Big Pete Road, you can…read morehave the best of both worlds: clean unpopulated beach on Lake Superior AND a beautiful boreal forest! Park along Big Pete Road or walk in...you won't regret it!

Pure Michigan! Such an amazing place!…read moreGreat parking, picnic tables and lots of hiking trails with million dollar views!

Spent the weekend of 10/6-10/8 in Ontonagon and the Porkies to enjoy fall colors and it was…read moreperfect! I would say peak color might the following weekend but it's suppose to rain so something you have to just make the most of it - it was still so so beautiful!! We hiked the escarpment trail to the opposite side of the lake from the scenic overlook. It was a stunning hike and very clean. Definitely a lot of ups and downs, shading and then also bluffs or trails along the lake to take photos and enjoy the scenery. Such a wonderful place!!!

We hiked the Lakeshore Trail from the Meyers Beach parking lot. (National Park Service. $5 parking…read morefee; $2.50 if you have a Senior Pass or Access Pass. May, 2023). As noted by others, this is a launch point for kayaks to launch for views of the sea caves and cliffs. We were at this location twice in late May, 2023, and national park Rangers were there on both days (Wednesday, Friday) ensuring that kayakers were prepared for the rough and cold waters, and to provide guidance to hikers. There are clean vault toilets at the location. Regarding the Lakeshore Hike, we did about 2.2 miles of the hike, returning on the same trail to make it about 4.4 miles roundtrip. The trail continues to a campground site (I believe NPS reservations are required) but we didn't go that far. The first 1.8 miles are largely inland, without views of Lake Superior. Of this segment, the first 0.7 miles are almost completely on a double plank boardwalk that goes over swampy land in parts. It requires some stepping up and down on planks, following terrain changes. After you cross a service road at 0.7 miles, the trail alternates between plank boards and regular trails. As you approach the crevasse at 1.8 miles, there are quite a few ascents and descents wherein you go down to a stream-bed and then back up. Some of these are steep but have logs to help with footing. The stream crossings all had sturdy boards or bridges to cross. At 1.8 miles, you reach the crevasse area with views of Lake Superior. Take a look on both sides to see sea caves and the deep crevasse. There are benches here too so it made a great lunch spot. Be careful not to get too close to the edges. It's a long way down! Beyond the crevasse, walk another 0.4 miles to the "basin". This stretch is relatively easy (flat) walking with spectacular views. My husband, who has been hiking in the Himalayas recently, found the entire trail to be easy. For me, I'd characterize it as moderately challenging. On the positive side, there is very little elevation change, so I wasn't huffing and puffing. However, I have balance issues, so I didn't particularly like the footing for the ascents/descents to the stream beds nor all of the roots on the trail. Some of the steps up and down, even on the boardwalk, were also a bit too high for my short legs! Having walked with hiking poles and an occasional hand from my husband helped. Finally, remember bug spray. The mosquitoes are active. 4-star rating overall instead of 5 due to distance required to walk to get views of the sea caves and mosquitoes. 5 stars for the Park Service.

You have to come check out the sea caves on the shoreline of Lake Superior. Meyers beach is the…read morelaunching point for kayaks. It's also the location for the hiking trail. The views from the water are beautiful! I highly recommend the water instead of the walking trail. There are multiple vendors you can rent kayaks and wet suits from. You can even take a guided tour. We personally, have our own kayaks and decided to do our own trip. The DNR do sit at the beach and give you the whole spiel on safety and risks. It is recommended to use sea kayaks due to the rough waters of Lake Superior. We have used normal lake kayaks and used good judgement on the water/ weather conditions. Both times were just fine on the normal kayaks. Just be careful. The waters are freezing all year-round and if you do go overboard near the caves there's no good spot to pull off. Check out my pics of the stunning caves!

A great place to take the family for summer camps, beautiful hiking, nature education and tons of…read moreprograma

This is going to be one of those reviews where I open with a quote/poem. Today's selection will be…read moreone of my favorites from Wendell Berry: When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free. Now that I got that out of my system, I love this place. They offer a ton of camps and classes for children and adults all centered around nature and conservation. I rememember coming to the day camps here and having a blast. I did the Spanish Lanuage immersion camp, general day camp, but never the week long over night. They offer cabins for rental as well. There was this one we went to that was like way out there on this trail and built from super old wood in a lincoln log kind of way. And now just looking at their website, they apparently rent that out too on a nightly basis. Ooh and the bogs. They have this massive bog on the property that you can walk through and it has all these crazy species of plants. There's even one of those insect eating plants and orchids and stuff. Now that I'm thinking about it, this place would make for a great Yoga retreat. If you're reading this Ms. Hunt or whoever owns this place, you should explore the idea of a partnership with a Yoga studio. You could be like the Kripalu of the midwest.