Frozen Waterfalls and Winter Hikes

When a friend from Atlanta asked if we could go to “that frozen waterfall,” I jumped at the chance. The “Real Feel” temperature was -12, but we bundled up and headed out.

Minnehaha Falls is one of the oldest and most popular parks in Minneapolis. It became one of the first state parks in the United States when it was purchased by Minneapolis in 1889, only New York had created a state park at that time. The name Minnehaha comes from the words in the Dakota language which mean waterfall and the park is listed on the National Register of Historic places. If you haven’t been there, you should – and consider doing it in the middle of winter. The views from the top were striking:

We braved the stairs (more like snow slides) and started hiking in to get a closer view. It looks like we aren’t the only ones who have a hard winter:

With the cold, I was amazed to find pockets of open water along the way:

The view from the ground was amazing too:

We didn’t risk the terrain to get any closer, but decided to head towards the Mississippi River instead. It was overcast and the landscape seemed so black and white:

There was no movement on the Mississippi River:

Up river, the Lock and Dam was frozen:

We started the walk back and I was happy to see signs of life:

And just in case you’re wondering, this is how one prepares for frigid hikes in Minnesota winters: