potato river falls

I took a vacation this year and took my kids to see some of our local waterfalls and they just loved this little falls. It is worth the drive!

It is a bit steep in the area to get down to the falls so you might have trouble there. steps do help. It's a nice country drive getting to the falls.

I stayed at Copper Falls State Park for a few days in June of 2014 and in my planning and research I found Potato Falls. It's only 30 minutes north of Mellen (where CFSP is located) off Hwy 169 - turn left on Falls Road. There is a great web page that gives details of this falls (www.gowaterfalling.com/waterfalls/potatolower.shtml) Unfortunately the previous reviewers did not find this site because they missed the fact that there is a trail that takes you down to the river. And as pointed out by that author, the only way to get a great shot of this magnificent waterfall is to cross the Potato River. To do this you will need a pair of water shoes, a walking stick and a ziplock bag for your camera. I recommend bringing lots of 100% Deet and a swim suit and towel would've come in handy as well. Crossing the river in June was scary but very do-able. It would have been slightly easier if I had followed my own recommendation and brought a walking stick but very carefully placed feet allowed me to cross at what I felt was the lowest and narrowest part of the river. I ended up going in up to my thighs and not falling which was a plus. Once across the river it's about 150 feet of shallow water and/or braking through some thick brush. This waterfall is grand at about 60 feet high and at least 3 times that in width. This year the water was high and the falls just ROARED!! I took about 10-15 minutes taking pictures and video before making the exhilarating trek back across the river.

This is a falls that you should visit. Good size and water flow when we visited. There are quite a few steps down the observation point but it is well worth it. It gives you great view of the falls. The trail goes off to the left from the parking lot and it is a fairly short walk to the stairway down to the fall observation deck.

There were 250 stairs down, down to what??? I am still wondering. Was told there is an amazing waterfall, but there is no way to get to it to see it. After 250 stairs back up we packed it in without going to the other trail. It was okay, but the park was a county park and it just felt dirty and overused and undercared for, (picnic area and bathrooms).