A rare summer waterfall at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan
A rare summer waterfall is seen in a video taken on July 16, 2024 by park rangers on the so-called Dairyland winter ice climbing route at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Provided by Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Stunning waterfalls offer a glimpse of Michigan’s natural beauty, many of them cascading over cliffs or along canyons in a rural landscape.
Michigan has more than 20 waterfalls, mostly in the Upper Peninsula. The natural water formations are a tourist attraction in the state’s rural areas. Here’s a look at five of the state’s waterfalls.
Michigan Falls
- Laughing Whitefish Falls State Park: The falls are part of the 360-acre state park and run through a gorge surrounded by a forest of white pine and hemlock, 20 miles southeast of Marquette. Three observation decks offer views at different levels, and a half-mile walk through a beech-maple forest is also available. The state park also offers hiking, wildlife and bird watching opportunities.
- Munising Falls: This 50-foot waterfall plunges over a sandstone cliff in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The trail to the falls is an 800-foot paved path in a gorge along Munising Creek, and an observation deck with two staircases offers further views. The area includes benches, parking for cars, buses and RVs, restrooms, pet access, and trash and recycling services.
- Ocqueoc Falls: Ocqueoc Falls is located on the Ocqueoc River in the northeastern part of the Lower Peninsula. To access the falls, park in the day-use area and walk the Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway to the viewing area. The area includes about six miles of hiking, biking and cross-country skiing trails, as well as a state forest campground with a hardwood forest.
- Superior Falls: These falls span the Michigan-Wisconsin border and fall a total of 110 feet over the Montreal River in several stages. The site is accessed from a viewing area near a parking lot, and one hikes down a steep slope to Lake Superior. The falls plunge into a large gorge in the river, not far from Lake Superior, which gives the falls their name.
- Tahquamenon Falls: This popular tourist destination includes the 200-foot-wide and 48-foot-high upper falls, as well as the five lower falls about four miles downstream. Nicknamed “Root Beer Falls” due to the amber color of the water, these falls are located within the nearly 50,000-acre Tahquamenon Falls State Park. The state park also offers camping, a boat ramp, over 35 miles of hiking trails, and a variety of wildlife species.
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Name origin
Many of Michigan’s waterfalls have indigenous names that have their roots in the state’s Native American population. Michigan includes 12 federally recognized tribes, nearly half of which live in the Upper Peninsula, according to the State of Michigan.
Laughing Whitefish Falls drains into the Laughing Whitefish River and then empties into Lake Superior at Laughing Whitefish Point. According to Ojibwe tradition, the tip of the point looks like a laughing fish from the water.
Ocqueoc is considered, according to various reports, to be an English or French interpretation of the indigenous term meaning “sacred waters” or “crooked waters”.
Tahquamenon, also a name of indigenous origin, is somewhat more obscure. Indigenous and Jesuit scholars have recorded various spellings and meanings over the years, including from the Ojibwe, Ottawa, Algonquian and Potawatomi languages.
