Tyler Forks River Trail

The Tyler Forks River Trail extends beyond the main gorge loop to follow Tyler Forks Creek upstream through a deeper and wilder section of the volcanic canyon, reaching the cascade known as Devils Gate where the creek squeezes through a narrow slot in the basalt barely wide enough for the water to pass. The trail leaves the main gorge complex and follows the creek east on a rough path that requires more careful footing than the developed Brownstone Falls loop, crossing several small tributary ravines and scrambling over root-bound sections of basalt outcrop. Devils Gate is the geological climax of the hike: the creek has exploited a vertical joint in the lava to carve a slot canyon three feet wide and fifteen feet deep, the water disappearing into shadow before reemerging in a churning pool below. The falls of Tyler Forks itself, a broad cascade over layered basalt shelves, sits a short distance downstream and can be viewed from above on the gorge rim. The forest along this trail section is particularly undisturbed, with large yellow birch and sugar maple on the upland slopes above the gorge and dense cedar and alder along the creek margins. The loop returns via the upland forest above the Bad River gorge, offering a quieter perspective on the landscape after the drama of the canyon.