Waterfalls – Neaton Adventures

Gooseberry Falls State Park-Two Harbors-Minnesota

February 15, 2025Posted in Adventure, Christi Neaton, hiking, Minnesota, Minnesota State Parks, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, UncategorizedTagged Adventure, Christi Neaton, exploring, Gooseberry Falls, Gooseberry Falls State Park, hiking, Hiking Adventures, Minnesota, Minnesota State Parks, nature photography, Outdoors, Waterfalls, Winter, Winter hiking6 Comments

We hiked Gooseberry Falls State Park January 30^th, 2025.

The weather was winter perfect to look at the falls.

Gooseberry Falls were almost completely frozen. It is the first time in my life seeing the falls frozen. It was beautiful!

I tried to get as close as I could to the frozen falls.

As I walked onto the frozen river to photograph a direct shot of the falls, I could hear my mom’s voice in my head say, “be careful, you’re standing on a river.” If you are not familiar with frozen waterways, rivers are much more dangerous than frozen lakes due to the current flowing below. Luckily, I made it out without falling in the river.

The view of the frozen river with a heart stomped on to the snow.

Our hiking adventure was .52 miles.

Minnehaha Falls-Minneapolis-Minnesota

May 11, 2024Posted in Adventure, hiking, Minnesota, Mississippi River, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, UncategorizedTagged Adventure, Coldwater Spring, exploring, Ford Dam, hiking, Hiking Adventures, Minnehaha Creek, Minnehaha Falls, Minnesota, Mississippi River, Nature, nature photography, Outdoors, Parks, travel, Waterfalls1 Comment

Today’s hiking adventure began at Minnehaha Falls.

Spring is officially here! The tulips and crabapple trees are blooming all throughout the park.

All the rain Minnesota has received lately was definitely noticed as we passed the fast flowing Minnehaha Creek.

The Minnehaha Falls

We took the steps down to hike the trails below. But first, we had to take in all the different views of the falls.

The trail followed along the Minnehaha Creek.

I find it amazing how many times I can hike an area and still find something new. The following map was located on a large rock. It has been there since 1969. Well, today was the first time I noticed it.

Nature’s colors were so vivid today.

We found lots of names carved into the sandstone.

The trail led us to a wooden bridge. We watched as the Minnehaha Creek emptied into the Mississippi River.

The Mississippi River

We decided to hike a new path up the side of the bluff. The Veterans Home was at the top. They have a beautiful campus. We crossed over the Veterans Home bridge.

The Ford Dam on the Mississippi River

We hiked the paved trail towards Coldwater Spring which is located between Fort Snelling State Park and Minnehaha Falls Park.

We made our way back to Minnehaha Falls Park.

Down the long staircase we went to hike the trail along the other side of the Minnehaha Creek.

A different view of the Veterans Home Bridge we crossed earlier.

The trail led us back to the Minnehaha Falls.

Today’s hiking adventure was 5 miles.

West River Parkway-Minneapolis-Minnesota

April 17, 2022Posted in Adventure, hiking, Minnesota, Mississippi River, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, UncategorizedTagged Adventure, exploring, hiking, Hiking Adventures, Minnesota, Mississippi River, nature photography, Outdoors, Parks, River Trail, Waterfalls, Winter4 Comments

Today’s hiking adventure started out on the West River Parkway in Minneapolis.

We began our hike on the paved path, however, we quickly found our way walking down the stone steps to the river trail.

The trail we were on was called The Winchell Trail.

Due to the recent rain and snow we had, the river trail was muddy and slippery at times. We were even able to see some icicles along the rocks.

The trail brought us to the Locks and Dam #1. Unfortunately, the observation deck was closed for the season. This allowed us to see several different views of the Ford Parkway Bridge.

Once on the other side of the Ford Parkway Bridge, we continued our hike along the river trail in St. Paul. We found two waterfalls along the trail. The first waterfall was still frozen.

The second waterfall we saw is called Shadow Falls. The waterfall trickled down the side of the rockbed.

The limestone bluffs offered great views of the Mississippi River.

The river trail continued to the Lake Street-Marshall Bridge.

We decided to continue our hike past the Lake Street-Marshall Bridge to the Franklin Bridge. The paved trail offered views of the Short Line Bridge and the Franklin Bridge.

We jumped back on the Winchell Trail after crossing the Franklin Bridge. We were able to hike under the Short Line Bridge which allowed us a close view of the giant metal pieces it was constructed from.