Upstream from Wednesday’s picture in the Houghton Falls State Natural Area is an area called Echo Dells (also known as Lover’s Glen). It is a picturesque pre-Cambrian sandstone gorge along the Lake Superior shore comprised of a series of water carved rock cliffs and caves with small waterfalls as the half mile stream meanders towards Lake Superior and drops sixty feet to a sandy cove at Houghton Point. A second falls can be seen in the background as the stream makes a curve around a harder piece of sandstone.
The dramatic formation has been a popular recreation and picnic spot since the late 1800’s and normally the water level is very low in the fall which allows the stream bed and the caves to be explored. But my first visit to this area was in the winter and I wasn’t about to climb down the ice and snow cover cliffs and chance breaking though the ice on the backed up water. And my recent visit was just after a big storm so the dry creek bed was filled with water and since it was still raining, the slippery rocks prevented access again. Maybe one day I will get to explore the rock formations and caves on a drier day.
Echo Dells
