Pattison State Park
6294 South State Road 35, Superior, WI 54880
About Pattison State Park
Pattison State Park sits about 13 miles south of Superior on WI 35, and its 1,400 acres hold Big Manitou Falls, where the Black River drops 165 feet through a gorge cut into ancient lava flows. That makes it the highest waterfall in Wisconsin and, by the DNR's reckoning, the fourth highest east of the Rockies. Little Manitou Falls is a shorter walk upstream.
The park exists because of a Superior lumberman. Martin Pattison, who made his money in timber and iron and served as mayor of Superior, bought the land on the Black River to prevent a power company from damming the falls, then donated it to the state. His Queen Anne mansion, Fairlawn, still stands above the Superior waterfront as a museum, which makes the connection between the city and the park unusually direct.
For Twin Ports households the practical appeal is a real waterfall, a swimming beach, a campground, and a hiking network twenty minutes from Superior and about thirty-five from Duluth, on the Wisconsin side where the crowds are thinner than at the Minnesota North Shore parks. A Wisconsin vehicle admission sticker is required.
Good to know: Big Manitou Falls, the highest waterfall in Wisconsin, Little Manitou Falls, hiking trails, swimming beach, campground, Black River gorge, picnic areas.
Neighborhoods it serves
Flat, affordable, and across the bridge: the working half of the Twin Ports.
Billings Park (Superior)Superior's river bluff: a signature park, a view of Duluth, and the quietest streets in the city.
OliverFive miles from Superior across the river, with a Wisconsin tax bill.
Where these facts come from
- Wisconsin DNR, Pattison State Park accessed 2026-08-14
Last reviewed 2026-08-14 by Guide editorial.