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Waterfalls of the Keweenaw

Conditions:

Warm, cloudy, buggy, heavy recent rain

Companions:

Katie, Logan

Vehicle:

Saturn Vue

After a great adventure a few days ago, I wanted to take Katie around Houghton County to visit another big group of falls. This time I aimed for sites that were not as remote as my previous trips, though, as she wasn't a fan of bushwhacking through the woods. We planned to go on a big circle, going from L'Anse to Kenton back up through Twin Lakes, visiting around eight falls and all.

Taking the scenic route down, we stopped first at Otter Lake near Tapiola. After admiring the lake, cabins, and odd animal remains at the dock, we headed further south and soon found the Hanka Homestead. The flies dive-bombing our windows deterred us from getting out and walking around, though. We also saw some old mining remains along the roads in this area.

Our first waterfall stop was along Dault's Creek. I was a bit worried about these falls, as I had heard that they were on posted private property, but they were close enough to the road to hear and had no signs in site. We parked on the side of the road and I walked down the creek's bank alone, as Katie and our puppy Logan didn't feel like walking through the dewy grass and trees. The falls were small but pretty, especially with all of the dew-wet rocks and vegetation surrounding them.

Our next stop was a short distance to the southwest on a more remote road. Ogemaw Creek has a small falls on it near the outskirts of the Baraga Plains within a few hundred yards of the road. Once again I went down alone, this time because the river bank was ridiculously steep and had heavy undergrowth. I headed down and almost stepped in the falls, as the hill goes straight down into it. After getting a few images of the falls and the smaller drops downstream, I headed up the hill to meet Katie and hear a surprising story: she and Logan had just seen a baby bear cub! Logan wanted to play with it, but they got back in the car quick enough to avoid the mother. After chuckling over their tale and waving goodbye at the fisherman across the road from the falls, we headed into the Baraga Plains on our way to the next falls.

Unfortunately, I didn't have good maps of the area, so we ended up wandering quite a bit on the plains. They are rather pretty, and the old jail camp near Ogemaw Creek was also a nice stop, but the lack of signs and meandering forest roads were confusing. We eventually crossed Sturgeon River, and after stopping by a farm to think and say hello to grazing cows, we figured out where we were and headed to Tibbets Falls.

These falls are one of several along the Sturgeon River, being located between Canyon River Falls and Sturgeon River Falls, and they are certainly the weaker of the three. None of the drops were that visible with the swollen waters, and though the water looked impressive and dangerous, it was more of an overgrown rapids then set of falls. The trails were nice, and it turns out that the North Country Trail goes right along this section of Sturgeon River, so they were marked with blue diamonds. The area was a bit muddy, though, and Katie and Logan had a hard time getting up and down the bank.

After eating our picnic-lunch in the car, driven there from the black flies, we headed south to Covington to grab some bugstray at the gas stop. Heading on a real road again, I debated on our next stop: Lower Dam Falls or straight to Agate Falls. Figuring that we might as well get everything while we were this far south of Houghton, we stopped at Lower Dam Falls and got disappointed there. The dam itself is small and creates a small recreational lake with limited access, and the falls is just the water pouring down an open cement shaft out of the dam. I did search downstream for a bit hoping for a more natural drop but didn't find anything. The only neat thing about this area was the metal grating leading out and over the chute, which let you lean over the falling water and experience a healthy dose of vertigo.

Further west from this point was Jumbo Falls on the Jumbo River, one of the smaller falls in this area. The other falls were farther south, though, so we only visited Jumbo. The road was a bit tricky, as it splits into several directions with no explanation in a small meadow. Heading as straight as possible will take you to the falls, where an informational sign about fish and well-groomed trails easily lead you to the falls. The mosquitoes back here were bad, so after a few pictures we headed back out for the main stop.

Agate Falls is a relatively well known waterfall near Bruce Crossing, mostly because it's huge. They are quite possibly the largest falls in terms of width by height in the Upper Peninsula. A parking area and wooden walkway lead to the falls, though you will have to go down the dirt paths in order to get a really good view of the falls. Katie and the dog opted to stay on the lookout while I ventured down, though she regretted it after seeing my pictures. The roadside park itself has picnic areas and restrooms, and a gift store w/ Jilbert's is located within walking distance of the falls.

Turning north at the Bruce Crossing, we stopped next at O Kun de Kun Falls trailhead. I had hoped that the forest service road was accessible, but it was locked and gated, so we got ready for the mile plus hike and headed straight down the road. The black flies were simply horrendous in this area, though, and Katie and Logan ended up retreating back to the car. We had walked a good distance down the road, and I soon found out that we were probably only minutes away from the falls. I walked with them until a small path led south off of the grassy road, which I took through the woods. This trail forked after a distance, and I took the right fork, which led to the upper falls (known as the Creamy Peanut Butter Slide by kayakers) before following the river to the main falls. These falls were very impressive and had a camping spot and wooden bridge nearby, and I really wished that Katie and the dog could have seen it as well. With the persistant black flies, though, I ended up jogging back to the car.

It was getting dark by the time we hit Wyandotte on the way back up north. Hoping for a short walk, we stopped at the golf course here looking for Misery River and Wyandotte Falls. We got luckily, with a small sign pointing out the trailhead and a five minute walk to the falls. Spending a little time walking up and down this river revealed some smaller falls in the area, but nothing near the size of the main drop.

Heading back up to Houghton in the twilight tired and content, we stopped by a fast food place for a quick bite. We had visited all eight falls, and only the Lower Dam Falls had truly disappointed us. Also, thanks to the route we took, there was a lot of falls in the southern reaches of Houghton County finished. All in all, it was a great trip for us and a full day for our puppy.