Tahquamenon Falls

The Upper Falls drop about fifteen metres over a fifty-metre width and can carry very large volumes in spring melt, which makes them among the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi by flow. The water is brown - tannins leached from the cedar, spruce and hemlock swamps the river drains, the same process as at Blackwater Falls, and the foam at the base is a natural result rather than pollution. The Lower Falls, about six kilometres downstream, are a series of smaller cascades around an island reachable by rowboat. Longfellow set part of The Song of Hiawatha on this river. Unusually for a state park, there is a brewpub inside it, run under a long-standing concession.

What you actually see

• A fall about fifteen by fifty metres - large by flow in spring.
• Brown water and natural foam - tannins from the swamps upstream.
• The Lower Falls - cascades round an island, reached by rowboat.
• A brewpub in the state park - an unusual concession.

When to go

May to October; spring melt for volume, February for ice. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Upper and Lower Falls have separate lots six kilometres apart. Black flies and mosquitoes in June are severe. Winter access requires proper footwear and the boats do not run. It is remote - the Upper Peninsula is a long drive.

Nearby

Whitefish Point is north-east; Pictured Rocks is west.