Devil’s Kettle
The Brule River divides around rhyolite: one channel drops visibly downstream while the other plunges into a pothole that long fueled local mystery.
Artwork inspired by Birney Quick
For generations, visitors wondered where the western channel went. Minnesota DNR hydrologists compared flow above and below the falls and found essentially the same volume, showing that water rejoins the river underground nearby rather than vanishing into a distant cave.
The scientific answer improves the hike: watch how joints, potholes, and violent current interact with hard volcanic rock. The route inside Judge C. R. Magney State Park includes hundreds of stairs and can be muddy or icy; falling into the gorge is not survivable.
- River
- Brule
- Park
- Judge C. R. Magney
- Study
- Flow balanced above and below
Quick guide
- Mystery resolved
- Watch split water rejoin farther downstream
- Trail reality
- Save energy for the long stair climb out
Carry the hydrology answer into the rock and current
- Start with
- Watch the Brule River divide at the falls before following the downstream evidence that resolves its mystery.
- Look closely at
- Study the deep rock pothole from the protected overlook without assuming its visible depth explains the drainage.
- Connect the story
- Use the rhyolite gorge to connect volcanic bedrock with the river’s narrow, turbulent course.
- Plan around
- Budget energy for the long staircase and expect spray, ice, and changing trail conditions.
Good to know
Objects thrown into the kettle pollute and endanger the river; dye, logs, and tracking experiments by visitors are prohibited and unnecessary.
Notice these
- Split Brule River falls
- Deep rock pothole
- Rhyolite gorge