Minnesota Waterfalls are unique because they’re great to visit at any time of year! Summer is great for playing in the water, fall brings beautiful surrounding colors, winter gives you FROZEN falls, and in spring you can see the most intense falls because of all the melting snow!
We’ve spent this last year making a point to visit some of the best Minnesota waterfalls. Keep scrolling for the full list!
Each waterfall listed has a difficult indicator. Here’s how I define them!
Easy: Little to no walking to view the falls
Moderate: A longer walk is required to view the falls
Hard: Hiking up and down inclines is required to view the falls
Before you go
Make sure to grab these hiking essentials before you make your trip to the Minnesota waterfalls!
Best Minnesota Waterfalls
Vermillion Falls
Difficulty: Easy
Location: Hastings, MN (40 mins SE of MPLS)
Vermillion Falls Park is right downtown Hastings and offers some great paved walking paths around the river. Snap some photos at the top, and if you’re feeling adventurous, you can walk down the steep sides to make your way to the river. Also make sure to walk over the bridge and add a lock!
Minneopa Falls
Difficulty: Easy
Location: Mankato, MN (1.5 hrs SW of MPLS)
Minneopa Falls is part of Minneopa State Park, so you’ll need to pay a fee to enter. There’s TWO falls here that can be viewed near the parking lot at the top, but many people make their way to the base of the falls by following the stairs down to the river. On the other side of the state park (you’ll have to drive), there’s a bison enclosure, so drive through on your way out!
Banning State Park
Difficulty: Moderate
Location: Hinckley, MN (1.5 hrs N of MPLS)
Banning State Park is so fun to explore. Follow the signs in the park to get to the falls, but know that it’s a longer, but easy, walk to get there. Admire the falls from the sandstone, or easily get up close to the base. Once you’re done, take the same way back, or if you’re up for a challenge, walk along the river for some great views and glacial potholes!
High Falls and Two Step Falls
Difficulty: Hard
Location: Silver Bay, MN (3.5 hrs N of MPLS)
High Falls and Two Step Falls are both located in Tettegouche State Park. You have two options to get to these falls. The first is by parking in the visitor’s center which does not require you to purchase a pass. This route is longer and more difficult at 3 miles roundtrip. Or, you can park at the trailhead lot where a pass is required, for an easier hike at 1.5 miles roundtrip. We chose the first option even though we have the state park pass and loved it!
Related post: Must-see stops along Minnesota’s North Shore
Devil’s Kettle
Difficulty: Hard
Location: Grand Marais, MN (4.5 hrs N of MPLS)
Devil’s Kettle is one of the most unique water features to visit in the state, if not the country! That’s because as water comes down the river, part of it falls normally to continue in the river, but half of it falls into a hole and disappears! It’s disputed among scientists as to where the water goes, but according to some recent tests it looks like the water meets back up with the river at some point, they just don’t know where! So cool.
Nerstrand Big Woods State Park
Difficulty: Medium
Location: Northfield, MN (1 hr S of MPLS)
Nerstrand State Park is a great family hiking spot that’s close to the Twin Cities. After an easy walk, you’ll make it to the falls, which are so pretty! We rested at the base of the falls and even found a few cool “ice caves” being we visited at the very end of winter!
Related post: Unique things to do in Northfield MN
Cascade River State Park
Difficulty: Medium
Location: Lutsen, MN (4 hrs N of MPLS)
Cascade River State Park is one where you can really create your own adventure. Follow the trails to keep this hike at a medium difficulty level, or explore closer to the water to make it more challenging. There’s multiple falls in Cascade River State Park, and the water features throughout make it so beautiful!
Minnehaha Falls
Difficulty: Easy
Location: Minneapolis, MN
As a Minneapolis local, Minnehaha Falls is one of our favorites to explore during every season, and is somewhere we always bring out of town visitors. The falls are majestic for being so close to the city and the trails around it are great for walking around.
Fairy Falls
Difficulty: Easy
Location: Stillwater, MN
Fairy Falls is located right outside downtown Stillwater. There aren’t any signs or parking to get to the trailhead, so just type in “Fairy Falls” into your GPS and park alongside the road. If you scan the tree-line you’ll find the trailhead. You’ll see the top of the waterfall really quickly and can then follow the trail around the top of the bluff.
Related post: Things to do in Stillwater MN
BONUS: Willow River State Park
Difficulty: Hard
Location: Hudosn, WI (40 mins E of MPLS)
Including a non-Minnesota waterfall in here because it’s SO CLOSE! Our neighbors to the East (hey, Wisconsin!) have some pretty great outdoors to explore and Willow River State Park is a great example of that! It’s a great spot for swimming and kayaking. We put our kayaks in at the boat launch and then paddled up the river. It took us around 2 hours round trip, but we stopped a lot along the way! I highly recommend Oru Kyaks click here and use code “LOOKABOUTLINDSEY” to save 10%.
Stating the difficulty as hard being it’s easy to walk to, but there’s long incline on your way back up. We saw people of all ages doing it, however it might take a while. I don’t recommend bringing heavy things with you, like coolers, for this reason!
Good luck chasing the beautiful Minnesota waterfalls!
