Pine and Popple Falls

There are seven waterfalls on the Wild Rivers. SEVEN!! Big Bull Falls, Washburn Falls, Jennings Falls, Meyers Falls, Bull Falls, LaSalle Falls, and Breakwater Falls. Wild Rivers refers to the undeveloped, pristine quality of the rivers. In 1965 the state of Wisconsin designated three rivers, the Pine, Popple, and the Pike as Wild Rivers. The legislative intent was to "preserve some rivers in a free flowing condition" and to protect them from development for the purpose of giving people an opportunity to enjoy natural streams.

Jennings Falls is familiar, because it's the one closest to my property and gets hiked to by the dogs and me on the daily.

Jennings Falls drops the Popple River about 10-feet. It is a secluded falls with extensive opportunities for exploring. There is a feeder creek and extensive mossy deadfalls. This is a river location for trout fishermen and in 2008 a project was implemented that restored the trout habitat.

The second set of falls I visited is Breakwater Falls. This is a 45-foot 3-tiered set of falls (though how they define the tiers is unknown to me) that, depending on the water levels can be calm or thunderous. I think my visit was in the middle?

Charlie loved it! Clementine put up with it as needed. One thing you will notice is there are three collars on the dogs. One is a tracking collar if they get loose. The second is a beeping collar. We do not use the shock portion unless absolutely necessary. The beep function works perfectly. Third collar is a prong collar. Once you have a 85lb dog on a leash pulling you through the woods and across sharp boulders in an attempt to jump into the raging water, you will understand the necessity of it.

Finally, the third falls I visited was LaSalle Falls. And boy, was it worth it. The hike in was about 1/2-mile and the terrain was easy to manage. This waterfall plummets an impressive 22-feet over an outcrop that rises from 2-billion year old bedrock. Now reading the information on it, I missed the downstream walk that has a steep walled, 1/2-mile gorge filled with rapids. Next time!

LaSalle Falls is by far my favorite so far, and is worth taking time to sit and enjoy.

With that, the nature surrounding the falls was absolutely gorgeous. More photos and identifications to add to the photo galleries! For now, here are some photos to enjoy. I thoroughly enjoy the little micro-environments that are pocketed throughout these woods and shores.

Lastly, the dogs and I visited Keyes Lake to get their energy out (really, it was to see if there were any loons). No loons, but they loved playing in the water!