Middle Falls
Just outside of L’Anse and within easy walking distance of both US-41 and the downtown marina, Falls River Falls is a staple of Baraga County exploring. From the site of an old power station this river drops close to 150 feet over a mile and a half over both name and unnamed drops, with ‘Falls River Falls’ serving as the general name for a group of the lower cascades.
Middle Falls is the main drop here, a grouping of individual plunges, slides, and cascades stretching north from the highway. A convenient bench serves as a great spot to look over this waterfall, high up on a bank, although the rocks and ledges are numerous enough to simple walk up the river next to the individual drops too.
Directions
Two possible paths lead in, depending on what sort of visit you’re interested in.
For a quick stop of just park off of US-41, on the east side of the bridge over Falls River, within view of the gas station down the road. Large gravel parking areas sit on both sides of the bridge. Head downstream, over the railroad tracks, following the trail downstream to the wooden bench. This is the best place to view the Middle Falls of Falls River Falls (unless you feel like clambering down for a riverside view below).
For a more scenic route park at L’Anse’s marina, down by the town beach. Head south down Main Street towards the factory on the other side of the river (there is a gated bridge over Falls River here). Don’t cross the bridge - stay on the town side of the river and follow the path upstream. This footpath will take you up past Lower Falls and Middle Falls, all the way to US-41. From here you can either attempt going under the bridges (you may get a bit wet) or over (crossing US-41 on foot) to Upper Falls. The trail upstream of the bridges is much smaller and more difficult to find, but it heads down off of the upper railroad bridge and heads down the bank to the waterfall.
There may be more drops upstream but some houses start showing up on the banks of the river from this point on, so proceed with caution.
Photographs
Visits
Seen in June, September and December.
- a lot of ice built up on the outcroppings
The main drops had a lot of ice built up thanks to the multiple outcroppings on its length. I still took some time to sit at the bench here, which was barely covered in snow, and relax, while huge flakes of snow dropped down softly and muffled the noisy town around us.
Sticking to the path we walked down to the bench overlooking Middle Falls and admired the waterfalls. Both Steele and Faith were impressed by the long chains of cascades and plunges, especially how close these drops were to a road we had all driven over dozens of times before.
Before exploring the new area we took Emily downstream to the wooden bench, the excellent vantage point to see the impressive middle falls.
Still generally shaped like a long slide, the main drop is an incredibly tall and varied cascade over solid grey rocks with many separate plunges, pools, and chutes. From the railroad trestle downstream to us the river must drop at least forty feet in all. We stopped here, resting on the bench near the path, drinking in the view.
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