Carp River Falls
Deep in an immature river gorge, Carp River Falls is a rushing tumble of water tightly hemmed in by forested hills and mountains. Numerous small rapids run along this final stretch of the Carp River, with most of the larger and impressive drops clustered north of Morgan Creek’s inlet. A landfill and reservoir upstream give the river a distinctive, unpleasant odor and color, but that doesn’t stop fisherman visiting the lower rapids every spring.
Directions
Park either in the northern lots for Marquette Mountain (just south of Marquette on County Road 553) or up along Marquette Mountain Road (the first two-track leading west from 553 past Marquette Mountain). Follow the river upstream past Morgan Falls to Carp River Falls about a mile upstream. The north side is much easier, along Marquette Mountain Road, and gives much better views of the larger drops.
Photographs
Visits
Seen in April.
- each drop loud and overfilling with spring melt
Slowly the river's rapids grew, eventually forming wide cascades, then some decent sized lower drops. They spanned the entire river in a set of cascades, loudly crashing down between the steep banks and around snowy boulders. They reminded me of the upper falls on this river, many miles upstream, where the blocky grey rock gave in horizontal slabs instead of the Dead River's basalt plunges and chutes. A short distance above came a quick succession of drops, each one loud and overfilling with spring melt, and the river twisted sharply back and forth here, each twist forming a sharp angle in the bank that was difficult to work around.
Comments
3 comments
This description, along some others of certain rivers, is very ignorant. A reservation that causes the color and odor* of a river to change?? Seriously? The landfill doesn't do anything either, the river is not smelly or have a weird color?? It's called Tannic Acid.
Hey Kaleb Martin, how about looking up the word reservoir and then go ahead and delete your silly post. Seriously?
There are areas of the Upper Peninsula where the rivers run near old tailing ponds from the mines. The middle branch escanaba river is a n example. It has a chemical smell, not a tannins smell. Jacob is a long time hiker and explorer, he is not ignorant. He knows the difference. Go visit Company Meadows falls and tell me the smell is from tannins....
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