Wisconsin's tallest waterfall at 165 feet, by the DNR's own superlative, dropping the Douglas County Black River toward Lake Superior in Pattison State Park.
April through mid June
Big water window
in a typical year
Snowmelt
What drives it
Black River
Climatology
Data on this page
Black River is ungauged
Wisconsin DNR
Managed by
their rules govern
Trail status, closures and safety rules belong to each falls' managing agency, named and linked on every page.
The season
What fills Big Manitou Falls, and when
This Black River, the Lake Superior one, not its Mississippi-basin namesake, runs tannin dark and melt-driven: April through mid June is the thunder window, and dry late summer narrows the fall to ribbons. No gauge exists on this Black River; the gauged rivers of the same name are in central Wisconsin, a different stream entirely.
Typical best flow: April through mid June
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What the agency itself says
Pattison State Park features the highest waterfalls in Wisconsin and the fourth highest waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains. Big Manitou Falls is 165 feet high and Twin Little Manitou Falls is 31 feet high.
Pattison State Park (Wisconsin DNR)What a snowmelt year looks like at full send: Palouse Falls in mid April, when the Palouse River is still carrying the melt. The same falls in late August is a ribbon. Timing is most of the visit. “04-15-14-palouse” — Dsdugan — CC0
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Right now
Current flow at Big Manitou Falls
The other half of the story: the same Palouse Falls in late August. Nothing is wrong; this is what a snowmelt river does every year once the melt is spent. “Palouse Falls 20100829” by Mark Wagner, CC BY-SA 2.5
Getting there
Access, in the agency's words and ours
Overlooks near the Highway 35 parking areas serve Big Manitou, with Little Manitou Falls upstream; the park is open 6 am to 11 pm year round, per the DNR.
Tannin water over old rock (Blackwater Falls, West Virginia; the name fits both rivers). Big Manitou runs Wisconsin's tallest version toward Lake Superior. “Blackwater Falls (15437499241)” by Benjamin Smith from United States, CC BY 2.0
Common questions
Big Manitou Falls flow season FAQ
The reliable big-water window is April through mid June. This Black River, the Lake Superior one, not its Mississippi-basin namesake, runs tannin dark and melt-driven: April through mid June is the thunder window, and dry late summer narrows the fall to ribbons. No gauge exists on this Black River; the gauged rivers of the same name are in central Wisconsin, a different stream entirely.
Black River has no USGS gauge near the falls, so the seasonal pattern above is the flow guide for Big Manitou Falls, and Pattison State Park (Wisconsin DNR) is the source for current conditions on the ground.
Ribbons by September in a dry year, a connected 165 foot plunge at melt. The tannin stain photographs beautifully at either extreme.
Pattison State Park (Wisconsin DNR). Overlooks near the Highway 35 parking areas serve Big Manitou, with Little Manitou Falls upstream; the park is open 6 am to 11 pm year round, per the DNR. Trail status, closures and safety rules are theirs, and their page is linked on this one; nothing here overrides what they publish.
Yosemite Falls in May, running on snowmelt that will be gone by late summer. The National Park Service tells visitors the falls can be dry by August, which is why every falls page here starts from its watershed. “Tourists below Yosemite Falls (39832011431)” by Mike McBey, CC BY 2.0
Two rivers meeting in an ancient lava gorge: Copper Falls on the Bad River and Brownstone Falls where the Tyler Forks crashes in, both gauged upstream.
Flow windows are typical-year climatology drawn from the driver and the agency language quoted above, not forecasts. Live readings and per-date percentiles are U.S. Geological Survey data, public domain; the above-or-below-typical line is our comparison and is labelled as such. Access, trail and safety information belongs to Pattison State Park (Wisconsin DNR). National picture: waterfall season across the US → Hero image: “Blackwater Falls (15437499241)” by Benjamin Smith from United States, CC BY 2.0
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