5 of the Most Beautiful Waterfalls in the U.P.

Michigan has over 300 named waterfalls, and the Lower Peninsula has exactly one of them

Here is something that surprises a lot of people. Michigan has more than 300 named waterfalls, and almost every single one of them is in the U.P. The Lower Peninsula has exactly one.

So if you want to go chasing waterfalls in this state, you are coming up north. Here are five of the most beautiful, spread from one end of the U.P. to the other.

Start with the big one. Tahquamenon Falls, west of Paradise in the eastern U.P., is the crown jewel. The Upper Falls drops about 50 feet, stretches more than 200 feet across, and during the spring melt pushes up to 50,000 gallons of water a second. That makes it the most powerful vertical waterfall east of the Mississippi after Niagara. Yoopers call it the Root Beer Falls, because tannins from the cedar swamps upstream tint the water a deep amber. The state recently added a fully accessible boardwalk so everyone can reach the Upper Falls.

Upper Tahquamenon Falls in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula — *Upper Tahquamenon Falls. Photo by Bobak Ha’Eri, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0* *via Wikimedia Commons.*

Way over on the western side, near Paulding, sits Bond Falls, and a lot of people will tell you it is the prettiest of them all. The Ontonagon River fans out over a wide staircase of black rock, dropping about 50 feet in a spread of white cascades. A boardwalk with several viewing spots runs right alongside it, so you can take it all in without much of a walk. Just down the road, the wild Porcupine Mountains hide nearly 100 more.

Bond Falls on the Ontonagon River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula — *Bond Falls on the Ontonagon River. Photo by Chris857 via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.*

In the heart of Pictured Rocks country, the little town of Munising is ringed by something like 20 waterfalls. The easiest to love is Munising Falls, a 50-foot ribbon that pours over a sandstone cliff at the end of a short, paved canyon trail. In winter it freezes solid and turns into a playground for ice climbers.

Munising Falls in early fall surrounded by trees — *Munising Falls in early fall. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.*

Frozen Munising Falls in winter at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore — *Frozen Munising Falls. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.*

For something a little more off the beaten path, Laughing Whitefish Falls near Sundell rewards a half-mile walk through a beech and maple forest. The water tumbles a long way down a series of rocky shelves, and three platforms let you take it in from top to bottom. It is one of the tallest and least crowded of the bunch.

Laughing Whitefish Falls flowing down a long rock slope in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula — *Photo by George A. Bredehoft via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.*

And if one waterfall is never enough, point the car to the far northwest corner of the U.P., near Bessemer. There, the Black River Scenic Byway threads past a whole string of falls, Great Conglomerate, Gorge, Sandstone, and Rainbow, on its way to Lake Superior. You can hit five of them in a single afternoon.

*Falls on the Black River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Photo by Bobbie Halchishak/USFWS, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.*

And that is barely scratching the surface. With 300 more out there, half the fun is finding your own. So grab the bug spray, lace up your boots, and go chase some water.

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