Trailhead Adventures

Hike Details



Minnehaha Falls located at Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park.  The Falls cascades through a cut in the rock into a pool below.

Minnehaha Falls located at Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park. The Falls cascades through a cut in the rock into a pool below.

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Note: Trail conditions change over time.  If you discover any inaccuracies with this post during your visit, please post a comment below to let us know.

Minnehaha Falls is one of the park’s two waterfalls. The falls can be best described as flowing down a narrow cut between rocks. The fall’s width is probably no wider than 12-inches as it cascades down the rock face into a pool at the base of the falls. Trail conditions near the top of the falls are sketchy at best and can be dangerous during wet weather conditions or fall with heavy leaf cover hiding some of the deep drops along the top part of Nelson Ledges. The hike is rated as moderate as you need to search for the falls and blaze your own trail at spots, but the hike itself is easy.

The falls viewing area is located near a cliff edge, and getting a full view of the falls involves getting close to the edge. Once you hike to the top of the ledges area near the falls start searching for a tall red Emergency Location pole. This pole is located near the falls viewing area, and you will hear the falls as you walk towards the pole. There are no signs, railing, or fencing near the cliff where the falls are located.



As mentioned earlier, Minnehaha Falls is just one of two waterfalls located at Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park. The other falls, Cascade Falls is located just under a half-mile northwest of Minnehaha Falls. To reach Cascade Falls from Minnehaha Falls, I would recommend hiking along the base of Nelson Ledges for the full experience, however, some of the best views of Cascade Falls are found from the trail above. If hiking the high route above the cliffs, be sure you watch out for smaller openings between rocks that could be hidden by leaves and avoid walking too close to the cliffs.

Trail Walkthrough



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