Stephens Falls Trail

Stephens Falls is one of Wisconsin's few interior waterfalls not associated with the Lake Superior watershed, a rarity in a state where most waterfall scenery concentrates in the far north. The falls drop approximately 25 feet over a Cambrian sandstone ledge into a small pool hidden in a hemlock-shaded glen, their sandstone setting giving the water a warm amber tint that contrasts with the usual dark volcanic backdrop of northern Wisconsin waterfalls. The trail descends steeply from the parking area through a forest of oak, hickory, and hop hornbeam that represents the classic vegetation of the unglaciated Driftless Area, which was bypassed by the last glacial advance and retains a landscape of deeply cut stream valleys and steep sandstone bluffs unique in the Midwest. The ravine containing the falls is noticeably cooler than the surrounding upland due to cold air drainage from the hemlock stand above the falls, creating a microclimate that supports ferns, mosses, and wildflowers more typical of northern Wisconsin. The falls are most impressive in April and May when snowmelt swells the stream, and are barely a trickle by late August in dry years. The turnaround point provides views up the sandstone gorge above the falls where the stream cascades over additional ledges visible through the hemlocks.