A Postcard from the Moss: October 2024
St. Peter's Dome & Morgan Falls Recreation Area
I love sending postcards when I travel, so once a month I share photos with a postcard-length blurb about a place I’ve recently visited.
Come for the panoramic views, but stay for the waterfall tucked into an idyllic forest clearing! Every step of the trail to St. Peter’s Dome and Morgan Falls was worth the seven hour drive1 from Chicago.
I don’t typically explore in the National Forests—they cover such vast areas and the maps on the USFS website are limited, which means I struggle to create some semblance of a coherent itinerary. But my friends had lit up when recounting this hike one night over beers, so I saved the location on Google Maps in case I ended up in the area. It only took me about a year to make it up there.
At nine on a weekday morning, I was the third car in the parking lot—beating the rush of a large group hike that I would later run into on my descent. A few trees were beginning to turn red and yellow, so I wore a red sweatshirt to match (and to keep the morning chill at bay). Another hiker was lacing up her boots as I arrived and when it looked like we might be starting at the same time, I lingered at the trailhead kiosk to give her a head start and both of us some solitude on the trail.
The first surprise of the trail was Morgan Falls. Obviously, I knew it was there—after all, it is on the trailhead sign—but it wasn’t a crashing cascade in the middle of a river like I’m used to seeing. The water meandered down a wall of rock covered with moss and ferns, before emptying into a shallow pool. I had walked into an illustration from a fairytale2.
I grabbed a granola bar and applesauce pouch out of my pack and rested awhile. When the trail gives you the perfect place for a picnic, you have to oblige!
Past Morgan Falls, there were more rocks and roots in the tread, so I didn’t immediately notice the stonework. As I maneuvered down from one particularly high root to an eroded part of the trail, I thought, “Well, it’s convenient there is a flat rock right here I can use as a step!”
As soon as the words registered in my mind, I laughed. How many times have I bemoaned the fact that the best stonework I’ve helped to build is the most overlooked!3 For the rest of the hike, I played a game with myself—was that stone placed there by nature or by a trail crew?
I took my time getting to the top of St. Peters Dome. There were mushrooms to photograph and bird songs to (fail to) identify and rocks to run my hands over. Partway up the climb, I had forgotten that the main appeal of the hike was the view from the highest point in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. When the trail finally leveled out, I was knocked back a couple steps in surprise. This was the scenic overlook from the dreams of every leaf peeper.
The trees were not yet at peak color4, but the wind was brisk and the sun was bright. My only regret is not tossing a pair of binoculars into my pack so I could bring the horizon into focus. (Well, maybe I would have also packed extra snacks for a second picnic up on the Dome!)
I relaxed on the rocks, letting the scene wash over me, until a couple emerged from the woods onto the ledge. One last photograph and then I began my hike down, so they could also stand alone at the top of the world soaking in that perfect fall morning.
How to visit:
St. Peter’s Dome & Morgan Falls Recreation Area is located in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, about 25 minutes south of Ashland, WI. Both trails start at the trailhead on Ashland Bayfield Road. Be prepared that the last few miles to the parking lot are on a dirt/gravel road. My low-clearance hatchback managed fine on the road, but it might be a bit more harrowing when there are heavy rains.
There is a day use fee at this parking lot, but National Park passes are accepted. Also, there is a self-pay station that accepts credit cards, so you don’t have to worry about having exact cash.
Pit toilets are located at the trailhead, but there is no potable water. Camping is available nearby at Beaver Lake Campground and Copper Falls State Park.
This hike was part of a weeklong trip to the Northwoods, so I didn’t drive 14 hours roundtrip just for a 4.5 mile hike.
But not the Brothers Grimm version.
In September 2023, I helped rehab a stone staircase along the Ice Age Trail at Potawatomi State Park. As part of that project, we created a stone patio at the bottom of the staircase to define the trail and help prevent further erosion. The star of that patio is an enormous rock we nicknamed Virginia. She was about five feet long, three feet wide, and about a foot deep and once we leveled her in place, she looked like bedrock. People often post photos of that staircase on the Ice Age Trail Facebook group, but no one looks down when they are taking those photos to admire the beautiful behemoth they are standing on.
For my thoughts on peak color, read this post:
I always tell people that everyone notices our wood projects (e.g. boardwalks), but well done stone work is usually overlooked.