The actual development of the area as a park was by the Works Progress Administration 1936–1937,[1] including construction of a limestone staircase leading from the base of the falls up to East River Parkway.

[4] In the 1960s, redevelopment of the park resulted in four main areas: nature preserve, boat launch, picnic site, and scenic falls.

Hidden Falls Regional Park lies within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and is maintained by the City of Saint Paul.

More than a century ago, a stream in St. Paul's Highland Park carried stormwater from higher ground over Hidden Falls ... after Henry Ford's factory was built early in the 20th century, stormwater was ingloriously routed through buried pipes to pour untreated and unwatched into the river.

[5]Ford's Twin Cities Assembly Plant closed in 2011, and in the 2020s, the site's redevelopment was set to include a restoration of the area's watershed, with plans for more consistent waterflows over the falls and a filtration of pollutants from the water.