Spring Waterfall Photos

I don’t recall a waterfall season that has lasted as long as this one. With a high snowpack inland from the Grand Marais area and low temps, the spring melt has been taking awhile. That has keep the river levels at high, spring runoff for almost a full month now. It seems likely that the levels will remain high for another week or two.

Saying that it is waterfall season is a little bit of a misnomer. It’s not accurate because the major waterfalls run from spring to early winter. Even when there isn’t a massive amount of water coming through the falls, the waterfalls still look pretty.

The next two photos show the difference between a typical spring runoff event and a what the same waterfall looks like by the middle of June.

This can vary as well. After a big summer thunderstorm, the water levels can rise quickly and make the waterfalls look like they are raging.

One of the things that I love about this time of year is that the small side canyons that don’t run expect during a big storm and spring runoff are running. The following two pictures show waterfalls in the lush moss-covered side canyons running at somewhat high levels. It’s hard to get into these locations, especially when there’s still knee-deep snow.

But the main thing that I love about the spring is the raging rivers that are often just trickles in the summer.

If you have some free time in the next couple of weeks, it’d be worthwhile to head to northern Wisconsin, Michigan or Minnesota to visit some of these waterfalls while they still have a lot of water in them.

Until next time

That’s a wrap for this issue. I hope you enjoyed seeing the waterfalls at their spring levels. I’ve been out in the Blue Ridge Mountains and am looking forward to sharing a few photos from the trip.

My 2024 Photography Workshops are open for registration. About 50% are currently full and several just have a space or two left. You should come.

For the parting images, two photos of Cascade River State Park. The show the same waterfall in spring and fall. The first is spring with its snow and massive amount of water. The second is fall with grown leaves on the black basalt and a barely any water pouring over the lip and plunging into the dark pool below.