Waterfalls in Michigan

Where the waterfalls are in Michigan

Almost all of Michigan's waterfalls are in the Upper Peninsula, where rivers run over the hard rock of the Canadian Shield on their way to Lake Superior. Many are stained a deep amber by tannins leached from cedar and hemlock swamps upstream, which gives them their "root beer" colour.

The Lower Peninsula has very few natural falls; Ocqueoc Falls is the largest.

Well-known waterfalls in Michigan

Tahquamenon Falls

The Upper Falls are one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi by volume, about 200 feet across with a drop of nearly 50 feet, in Tahquamenon Falls State Park. The Lower Falls, four miles downstream, are a series of smaller drops around an island.

Munising Falls

A 50-foot fall a short paved walk from the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore visitor centre in Munising. Falls near Munising Falls.

Miners Falls

A 50-foot drop in Pictured Rocks, reached by a short trail. Falls near Miners Falls.

Bond Falls

A wide, stepped fall on the Ontonagon River's middle branch, with boardwalks around it. Falls near Bond Falls.

Manabezho Falls

The largest of the falls on the Presque Isle River in the Porcupine Mountains, near Lake Superior. Falls near Manabezho Falls.

Ocqueoc Falls

The largest waterfall in the Lower Peninsula, with a universally accessible path. Falls near Ocqueoc Falls.

When to go

Snowmelt makes late April through early June the peak. Many falls freeze in winter, and a few, such as those in Pictured Rocks, attract ice climbers. See the best time to see waterfalls for how flow changes by region.

Michigan by the numbers

The map shows 235 named falls in Michigan. 199 of them are in the USGS Geographic Names Information System, the federal register of official place names, and 36 more are named falls mapped only in OpenStreetMap. 1 have a height recorded by OpenStreetMap mappers, which is what the height filter above uses. GogebicCounty has the most, with 42.

Tallest recorded waterfalls in Michigan

Heights as recorded in OpenStreetMap, converted to feet. Guidebooks may list different figures, usually because they count every tier of a fall or only the biggest drop. Why heights differ.

Counties with the most waterfalls

From the USGS record, which gives each fall's county.

Every named waterfall in Michigan

Alphabetical within each county. Tap a name to centre the map above on it.

Alger County (20)

Alger Falls, Au Train Falls, Bridalveil Falls, Chapel Falls, Chipmunk Falls, Cole Creek Falls, Horseshoe Falls, Laughing Whitefish Falls, Memorial Falls, Miners Falls, Mosquito Falls, Munising Falls, Rock River Falls, Sable Falls, Scott Falls, Silver Falls, Spray Falls, Tannery Falls, Wagner Falls, Whitefish Falls

Baraga County (32)

Big Erick's Falls, Big Falls, Black Slate Falls, Canyon Falls, Daults Falls, East Branch Falls, Ectasy Falls, Gomanche Falls, Harley Falls, Letherby Falls, Lower Canyon Falls, Lower Falls, Lower Letherby Falls, Middle Falls River Falls, Middle Silver River Falls, No Name Falls, Ogemaw Falls, Plumbago Falls, Power Dam Falls, Power House Falls, Quartzite Falls, Ravine River Falls, Silver Falls, Slate River Falls, Slide Falls, Tibbets Falls, Tioga Falls, Upper Falls, Upper Silver Falls, Upper Silver River Falls, Upper Sturgeon Falls, West Branch Falls

Chippewa County (2)

Lower Falls, Saint Marys Falls

Delta County (5)

Chandler Falls, Haymeadows Falls, Rapid River Falls, Rose Falls (East), Rose Falls (West)

Dickinson County (9)

Ford Dam Falls, Fumee Falls, Horse Race Rapids, Hydraulic Dam Falls, Lower Mill Pond Falls, Piers Gorge Falls, Power Dam Falls, Sand Portage Falls, Upper Mill Pond Falls

Gogebic County (42)

Abinodji Falls, Ajibikika Falls, Algonquin Falls, Bathtub Falls, Big Carp Falls, Chippewa Falls, Explorers Falls, Gabbro Falls, Gorge Falls, Granite Falls, Great Conglomerate Falls, Iagoo Falls, Interstate Falls, Judson Falls, Kakabika Falls, Lepisto Falls, Manabezho Falls, Manakiki Falls, Manido Falls, Maple Creek Falls, Marshall Falls, Mex-i-min-e Falls, Nawadaha Falls, Neepikon Falls, Nelson Canyon Falls, Nokomis Falls, Ogima Falls, Ogimakwe Falls, Peterson Falls, Pinkerton Falls, Potawatomi Falls, Powder Horn Falls, Rainbow Falls, Rocky Forty Falls, Root Beer Falls, Sandstone Falls, Saxon Falls, Shining Cloud Falls, Superior Falls, Traders Falls, Trappers Falls, Yondota Falls

Houghton County (10)

Hogger Falls, Houghton Falls, Hungarian Falls, Jumbo Falls, Onion Falls, Otter Falls, Sturgeon Falls, Vista Falls, West Branch Sturgeon Falls, Wyandotte Falls

Iron County (8)

Chicagon Falls, Chipmunk Falls, Dumpy Falls, Glidden Rapids, Margeson Falls, Michigamme Falls (historical), Middle East Jumbo River Falls, Upper East Tumbo River Falls

Keweenaw County (11)

Copper Falls, Eagle River Falls, Haven Falls, Jacobs Falls, Lower Falls, Lower Falls, Manganese Falls, Silver River Falls, Siskiwit Falls, Upper Falls, Upper Falls

Luce County (1)

Upper Falls

Marquette County (35)

Alder Falls, Big Garlic River Falls, Big Pup Falls, Black River Falls, Bushy Creek Falls, Cataract Dam Falls, Dead River Falls, Dee Lundeen Falls, Eighty Foot Falls, Ely Falls, Forty Foot Falls, Froling Falls, Hogback Falls, Holeyoke Falls, Little Garlic Falls, Lower Carp River Falls, Lower Falls, Middle Falls, Morgan Falls, Mulligan Falls, Pinnacle Falls, Reany Falls, Schweitzer Falls, Tiger Falls, Trestle Falls, Turkey Neck Falls, Upper Carp River Falls, Upper Chocolay Falls, Upper Falls, Warner Falls, West Branch Yellow Dog Falls, White City Falls, Wylie Falls, Yellow Dog Falls, Yellow Dog River Falls

Menominee County (2)

Pemene Falls, Twin Island Rapids

Ontonagon County (21)

Agate Falls, Bonanza Falls, Bond Falls, Cascade Falls, Deer Creek Falls, Gleason Creek Falls, Greenstone Falls, Irish Rapid Falls, Little Falls, Little Trap Falls, Little Union Gorge Falls, Minnewawa Falls, Nimikon Falls, Nonesuch Falls, O Kun de Kun Falls, Pewabeck Falls, Rapid River Falls, Rock Bluff Falls, Sandstone Falls, Trap Falls, Wolverine Falls

Presque Isle County (1)

Ocqueoc Falls

County not recorded (36)

Cascade Creek Falls, Chapel Beach Falls, Edwnville Falls, Elliot Falls, Fumee Creek Falls, Gleason Falls, Haymeadow Falls, Houghton-Douglass Falls (110 ft), Ice, Konteka Falls, Laughing White Fish Falls, Little Pup Falls, Lower Big Pup Falls, Lower Carp Falls, Lower Morgan Meadows Falls, Mill Creek Falls, Montreal Falls - Lower Falls, Montreal Falls - Upper Falls, Morgan Meadows Falls, Overlooked Falls, Quartzite Falls, Saxon Falls Road, Silver Falls, Silver River Falls, Slate Falls, Stepping Stone Falls, Sweet Mother Moses, Tahquamenon Falls (Lower Falls), Tahquamenon Falls (Upper Falls), Ten Foot Falls, Tioga Park Falls, Tobacco Falls, Trader's Falls, Upper Bond Falls, Upper Fumee Creek Falls, Yellow Dog Falls

Before you go

The map shows where falls are, not whether they are open or safe to reach. Check the land manager, usually a state park or national forest, for closures, fees and permits, and stay on the trail near the water. Our waterfall safety guide covers the hazards, and waterfall hikes near me explains how to pick a trail.

Waterfalls near cities in Michigan

Every named fall within driving range of the city, nearest first: waterfalls near Marquette.

Waterfalls in nearby states: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois. Or see waterfalls in every state.