Gardener’s Falls and Creek Mouth
After a few visits to Calumet Waterworks Park, I finally ventured up Gardener’s Creek to investigate a Google pin called Gardener’s Falls. The creek isn’t very wide–on a good day, I could jump across, and I’m by no means an athlete. The creek mouth is a slow meandering water flow, but shortly upstream, there are several rapids and small falls. I wouldn’t consider any of them a proper waterfall in their own right, but together, they’re quite pretty.
If you follow the water across Lakeshore Drive, the creek continues into Gardener’s Creek Nature Trail. Here, there are a few more rapids and falls, most of which are taller and mightier than those on the Superior side of the road. I went about a half-mile up and turned around after the creek slowed, returning back to Calumet Waterworks Park to hunt for rocks.
In addition to viewing the water from the creek tumble its way to Lake Superior, I was able to enjoy a few clusters of wildflowers along the banks of the stream. The most prevalent were what I believe are Marsh Marigolds, which are vibrant yellow flowers that grow near water in the springtime.
If you aren’t into hunting rocks, or you fill your bucket and want to continue enjoying the park, exploring the creek and falls are well worth your time. The falls may just be rapids to some, but they’re quite pretty. Odds are, you’ll be the only one there to enjoy them.
