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Waterfalls in Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Travel

Canyon Falls, Middle Falls, O Kun-de-kun Falls, and Ogemaw Falls

Have you ever travelled somewhere and stumbled upon something not on your list, and it turned out to be one of the highlights of your trip? That is what Canyon Falls was for me. During a 2 week journey exploring the Upper Peninsula of Michigan back in 2017, we stumbled upon this casually and minimally marked roadside park known as Canyon Falls. It was on our route further north, and so we only had about an hour to spend there.

Despite all of the other wonders I explored on that trip, Canyon Falls stuck in my mind for the last 3 years as a place I knew I had to revisit and spend more time. This year, that dream finally became a reality. Four days were dedicated to being as close to Canyon Falls as possible, which put me in the small town of Baraga, Michigan (also next to L'Anse, MI).

*On a side note, I am doing a similar revisit to Colorado in the near future to further explore the South Mineral Campground.

Canyon Falls

Canyon Falls

I photographed to my heart's content by spending hours upon hours at Canyon Falls, which also meant I was able to explore areas I hadn't been to the first time. My journey also led to exploring a few NEW locations around the area.

O Kun-de-kun Falls

O Kun-de-kun Falls

O Kun-de-kun Falls  was a bit out of the way, one and half hours west, but worth the journey. The rarely-traversed-in-the-morning trail, featuring plenty of fresh webs across the path, was also worth the end result of two amazing waterfalls. The featured image at the top of this blog was taken from inside of that waterfall, which is also the same 360 Degree Panorama teased in my last blog.

Ogemaw Falls

Ogemaw Falls

Ogemaw Falls was also a natural choice, as it was literally down the road from Canyon Falls. It was a bit tricky to find, with literally just a single sign at the trailhead hidden by some trees. This waterfall did not want to be found, but I am persistent. It was just a short walk to this quaint waterfall, which had a very cool creek over some mossy rocks shortly after.

Middle Falls in L'Anse

Middle Falls in L'Anse

Last, another location NOT on my list made a strong appearance: Middle Falls in L'Anse. I saw a sign for this waterfall while at the beach. This is literally located directly in the town of L'Anse right next to a factory. This was one of the most unusually satisfying explorations I have done in some time. I had no clue on what I would find. The journey led to what seemed like an expectedly small waterfall, to which I spent some time enjoying. I was curious what was further up the river and found a trail. The trail presented me with a series of waterfalls 10 times larger than the previous one. But that...wasn't...the...end! A fisherman at this second area said that there was a much larger fall around the corner. He was not wrong, as quite literally just a little bit around the corner was a huge series of cascading waterfalls that featured a railroad bridge at the back. You could say that Middle Falls became the Canyon Falls of this trip, in that I found something quite unexpected. This time, however, I spent plenty of time exploring.

That about sums up the highlights of this journey, so enjoy the photos below, along with this aerial video highlighting all of the waterfalls as well:

View Aerial Video of Waterfalls

Canyon Falls Aerial

Canyon Falls Aerial

This is the new area I discovered when I explored beyond the main waterfalls.
Canyon Falls Main Attraction

Canyon Falls Main Attraction

Canyon Falls Overlook Of New Area

Canyon Falls Overlook Of New Area

Canyon Falls Peaceful Bench

Canyon Falls Peaceful Bench

Canyon Falls Rocks With Cascading Falls

Canyon Falls Rocks With Cascading Falls

Canyon Falls Root Bridge To Trees On Boulder

Canyon Falls Root Bridge To Trees On Boulder

Canyon Falls Stone Path

Canyon Falls Stone Path

Canyon Falls Trails

Canyon Falls Trails

One of the sad changes to this park was that they replaced all of the old mossy planks with fresh new planks. Don't get me wrong, I get it. But the old trails definitely were one of my favorite parts.
Canyon Falls Uprooted Tree

Canyon Falls Uprooted Tree

Pequaming Abandoned Plant Aerial 01

Pequaming Abandoned Plant Aerial 01

A random side quest!
Pequaming Abandoned Plant Aerial 02

Pequaming Abandoned Plant Aerial 02

Field Of Purple Flowers

Field Of Purple Flowers

A bonus while in Pequaming was seeing fields of these flowers along the road.
Pink Flower In Field Of Purple Flowers

Pink Flower In Field Of Purple Flowers

Middle Falls Lanse Cascading Falls By Railroad

Middle Falls Lanse Cascading Falls By Railroad

Middle Falls Lanse Halfway There

Middle Falls Lanse Halfway There

Middle Falls Lanse Main Attraction

Middle Falls Lanse Main Attraction

Middle Falls Lanse Cascading Falls

Middle Falls Lanse Cascading Falls

O Kun-de-kun Aerial Portrait

O Kun-de-kun Aerial Portrait

The sun worked in my favor and created a nice perspective on the scale of this waterfall from above.
O Kun-de-kun Behind The Falls

O Kun-de-kun Behind The Falls

Don't forget to take our 360 tour behind the waterfall!
O Kun-de-kun Boardwalk

O Kun-de-kun Boardwalk

O Kun-de-kun Main Falls

O Kun-de-kun Main Falls

O Kun-de-kun Suspension Bridge

O Kun-de-kun Suspension Bridge

This suspension bridge is within eyesight of the main falls, which you can see in the background.
Ogemaw Falls Overlook

Ogemaw Falls Overlook

Ogemaw Falls Cascasding Falls

Ogemaw Falls Cascasding Falls

Ogemaw Falls Main Falls

Ogemaw Falls Main Falls

Fern Clouds Over Road

Fern Clouds Over Road

About the Author

Nicholas Klein

Founder and visual artist, specializing in all aspects of a businesses presence from imagery and video to graphics and web. A graduate of IPFW with a Bachelor in Fine Arts, Concentration Photography as well as an Associates Degree in Business. His personal photography works are focused on landscape, travel, and aerial photography.