We Heart MN: Waterfalls


In this series, we’ll pick some of our favorite things about Minnesota and share some related book suggestions. (We’re open to your suggestions! Comment below or email us and tell us some of your favorite MN things!)

In the middle of the state where CMLE is located, things are pretty flat. But if you venture north or south, you can find some pretty impressive waterfalls to admire! If you need something to tide you over in the meantime, here are some books (not necessarily all based in MN) to read or recommend:

Waterfalls of Minnesota by Lisa Crayford
“Let Master Photographer Lisa Crayford guide you to the top-ranked waterfalls in the state, as well as her “secret waterfalls.” Your bucket list should definitely include these 117 gorgeous locales that decorate Minnesota’s landscape, including bridge views, short hikes, secluded waterfalls in urban areas and hidden gems along the North Shore.”

Waterfalls of Minnesota’s North Shore: A Guide for Sightseers, Hikers, and Romantics by Eve Wallinga
“Let the Wallingas lead you along scenic pathways to the magnificent waterfalls of Lake Superior’s North Shore. The Wallingas have explored the rivers and creeks flowing into Lake Superior and have provided maps and directions to over 130 waterfalls.”

Above the Waterfall by Ron Rash
“Les, a long-time sheriff nearing retirement, contends with the ravages of poverty and crystal meth in his small Appalachian town. Nestled in a beautiful hollow of the Appalachians, his is a tight-knit community rife with secrets and suspicious of outsiders.
Becky, a park ranger, arrives in this remote patch of North Carolina hoping to ease the anguish of a harrowing past. Searching for tranquility amid the verdant stillness, she finds solace in poetry and the splendor of the land. 
A vicious crime will plunge both sheriff and ranger into deep and murky waters, forging an unexpected bond between them. Caught in a vortex of duplicity, lies, and betrayal, they must navigate the dangerous currents of a tragedy that turns neighbor against neighbor—and threatens to sweep them all over the edge.”

Waterfall (River of Time #1) by Lisa Tawn Bergren
“Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Betarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives among the romantic hills with their archaelogist parents. Stuck among the rubble of the medieval castles in rural Tuscany, on yet another hot, dusty archaeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds…until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.
Suddenly Gabi’s summer in Italy is much, much more interesting.”

A New Path to the Waterfall by Raymond Carver
“Raymond Carver, author of Where I’m Calling From, is widely considered one of the great short story writers of our time. A New Path to the Waterfall was Carver’s last book, and shows a writer telling the truth as best as he knows how in the time left to him. The sixty-odd poems in this collection are linked by Carver with selections from other writers, most notably Chekhov, whose work was an inspiration and a guide, and by the cumulative force of the life and death questions he poses in them.”