Waterfalls of the Keweenaw

Conditions:

Cool, sunny, recent rain

Companions:

Katie, Logan

Vehicle:

Saturn Vue

Faith and I were planning on going for an epic adventure on Sunday, so Katie and I decided to go for an easy hike on Saturday afternoon. We got the dog and headed down to L'Anse, taking Dynamite Road straight into the Arvon Mountain outskirts. The day was sunny and slightly cool, and everything looked like it was going to be a good adventure.

Our first stop was in a gravel pit along Arvon Road near the Silver River. The driveway to the pit is a stone's throw from the bridge over Silver River, and though it is normally gated, it was open (probably for hunting season). Parking before it turned and started weaving northeast, we headed towards Silver River to the clearly audible falls ahead.

Upon reaching the edge of the riverbank, though, Katie decided to call it quits. The banks were quite steep, more difficult then I remembered, and the river was swollen from recent rains. Disappointed, we turned around and, after playing around the gravel pit with Logan, headed further east.

The last time I had visited Middle Silver and Slate River, our next stop, was in the midst of a heavy downpour. I remembered the roads and trails, but the heavy rain had made the entire adventure more of an arduous task then a joyride. I wasn't keeping my eyes peeled for extra stops, so when Katie and I saw several parking spots and heard the spill of a small waterfall along Arvon Road before Black Slate Falls, I was surprised but not astounded. We pulled off the road and found a series of gentle waterfalls, similar in size and shape to Black Slate Falls, roughly a half mile upstream from the actual falls. They were easier to access and climb around, though, so we spent close to an hour adventuring downstream and taking fall-themed pictures before continuing on.

Our next stop was at the wooden bridge over Slate River, where there are well trod paths to Quartzite and Black Slate Falls. Katie was very surprised at the natural beauty of Quartzite Falls, with the water spilling down into a deep, large pool surrounded by tall cedars. There were several vehicles also parked here, as the colors were absolutely splendid at this time of year. I headed up to Black Slate Falls alone to take pictures, which are just south of the bridge and almost visible from the road, and we decided to head back into L'Anse to grab a bite to eat.

We were unsure what to do next after dinner, as the sun was already low in the horizon. There were quite a few waterfalls within a short drive, but we had both been to most of them together already. Setting our sights on unexplored territory, we headed out to Point Abbaye in the fading light.

The roads were windy and rough, but not quite as hard of a drive as I expected. There was a surprising number of houses at Aura, but civilization quickly died out after Townline Road. Staying under thirty miles per hour with the curves, we parked and started walking after the sun had gone down. The trail was short, though, and we were able to make it to the rocky point in short time.

The area was quite unique, though we couldn't see much in the dark. I could barely make out the Huron Islands to east, as well as the mountainous area to the southeast, but wasn't able to make out individual peaks. You could hear and see some spray shooting up off the large, flat rocks at the point, but neither Katie or I wanted to get to close to the edge in the darkness.

We headed out, going much slower on the way back, and made it back to Houghton around nine at night. I had kind of hoped to take Katie to the Slate River Falls canyon, but we decided to try that trip in the summer, when we could go swimming. Point Abbaye and fall colors near Mt Arvon was plenty for this trip, anyways.