History of Community
The City of Trails & Gateway to the Wild and Scenic St. Croix River welcomes you!
St. Croix Falls was incorporated in 1887 and became a city in 1958. The first white settlement at the falls was in 1838. Native people have inhabited the St. Croix Valley for the past 700 years.
The City of St. Croix Fall has an estimated population of 2,200, comprises an area of approximately 3.5 square miles and is located on the western border of Wisconsin, approximately 45 miles northeast of Minneapolis-St. Paul.
The beauty of the St. Croix River Dalles, the proximity to the Twin Cities, award winning schools and many more quality of life features make St. Croix Falls a tourist destination as well as a residential area where people put down roots and raise families.
The St Croix River plays a central role in shaping the community from the historic battles between the Fox and Anishinaabe, to early logging days, the damming of the falls to provide energy, the Gaylord Nelson conservation movement and today’s celebration of the river as a recreational resource.
Just an hour away from Minneapolis and St Paul, our little town benefits from an urban sense of progress fueled by friendly neighbors, smart business owners, a lively arts community and dedicated city officials. Committed to a local and sustainable lifestyle, St. Croix Falls has miles of trails within the city limits, supports a thriving farmers’ market, hosts a community garden and uses solar energy to heat the city library. If you’re not careful, you might find yourself in good company, toting a buy local canvas bag through Interstate Park on your way to a lovely lunch along the riverside.
St. Croix Falls is known for its wide variety of recreational, relaxing, and entertaining events throughout the year. St. Croix Falls abuts two parks whose focal points are the St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota). It is home to the Park Headquarters for the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, and it lies adjacent to the Interstate Park, a state park of Minnesota and Wisconsin that spans the Minnesota-Wisconsin state line along the St. Croix River Dalles with parts of the park on both sides.
The St. Croix Falls Dam built in 1907 is located in St. Croix Falls.
Except for the dam in St. Croix Falls, the river is free-flowing for much of its length and still relatively unpolluted, the St. Croix flows through some of the most scenic and least developed country in the Upper Midwest. Today the river is preserved as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, which includes the St. Croix’s well-known Wisconsin tributary the Namekagon River, was established in 1968 as one of the original eight rivers under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The Lower St. Croix was added to the system in 1972.
The St. Croix provides ample opportunities for kayaking, canoeing, tubing, fishing, hiking, cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing, rock climbing, touring, picnics and other recreational activities. Low to medium hazard rapids can be found at St. Croix Falls, perfect for kayaking. The cliffs in this area are know for some of the best climbing areas in Minnesota and Wisconsin. This 164 mile long river can be navigated from its source in Solon Springs to its mouth just below Prescott with a portage around the dam at St. Croix Falls. The colors presented during the fall along the river are spectacular and should not be missed. Some of the best views of the river and its environs can be found at St. Croix Falls and in Interstate Park. Originally created by the outflow of Lake Superior at the end of the Glacier era, the St. Croix is a scenic wonderland.
St. Croix Falls is the western terminus of the Ice Age Trail and the Gandy Dancer Trail.
The 98-mile Gandy Dancer recreational trail follows the old Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie railroad grade from St. Croix Falls north to Superior. This grade was commercially used for approximately 100 years starting in the late 1880s. Upon abandonment, part of the corridor was purchased by Burnett County and the State of Wisconsin for use as a recreational trail. The scenic beauty and geologic wonders of the Dalles of the St. Croix Riverway, has been hosts to residents and tourists for more than one hundred years.