Rocking Chair Falls
The tall cliffs that surround narrow Mulligan Plains hold back a number of wonderful things. Inaccessible groves of old growth, forgotten cabins, and pristine lakes are all perched hundreds of feet above the remote valley. Two of these lakes, the Rocking Chairs, sit close to the edge of the cliffs and seep down through a series of cracks and plunges. If you catch them during the right time of year, this waterfall is truly impressive.
Directions
Mulligan Plains is a remote yet not terribly difficult area to reach. From Ishpeming head north on County Road 573, turning off of US-41 near the ski museum, and taking the paved road through the town (bearing left at the fork near the cemetery), around the winding Deer Lake, and keeping on the left fork at the multiple forks that lead up to the south shore of Dead River Storage Basin. 15 miles from US-41 there will be a bridge over the Dead River and a two-track leading left - take this off the main road.
Follow this winding road over Mulligan Creek for 1.1 miles before turning right at a wide sandy track that sneaks up, hidden by the thick pines. This track heads along the west side of Mulligan Plains. Keep on it for about 1.5 miles until there is a driveway on the right side. Park near the driveway, staying out of the way of any other vehicles.
Head past the gate on the driveway and follow the main route for less than a half mile before turning left down the overgrown track. If you see a cabin, you’ve gone too far. Follow the overgrown track past three huge, stagnant puddles, each more difficult to get around, until you reach Mulligan Creek. Cross on the downstream beaver dam. As soon as you get across look for a footpath leading to the right - it may be blazed, as plenty of campers and fishermen frequent the Rocking Chair Lakes.
Don’t go up to the lakes quite yet, though. Follow the footpath for a short distance until it crosses a tiny, muddy stream. This is the outflow from Rocking Chair Lakes. Turn and follow the little stream up until you reach the cliffs. The waterfall is up there. It is possible, but not the best ida, to climb all the way up the cliffs here and reach the overgrown northern end of the lakes, and you’ll see all the drops on the way.
Photographs
Visits
Seen in July.
- busy after a night of thunderstorms
Without much of a plan I wandered east towards the rising cliffs and bumped into a busy little stream flowing over sand and mud. A stream? I didn't expect to find a stream and there wasn't anything marked on the maps. It didn't take long for the stream to twist up the rocky cliffs and form some small yet exciting drops, squeezing through the hard grey rocks above. What did take long was to find a way up; the steep cliffs were sheer rock here and I soon learned that climbing them outright was a very dumb idea.
Comments
4 comments
Hi! This post is 12 years old, so I'm not sure if you'll see my comment this many years later :)
This is so crazy... that little log cabin in the woods belongs to my in-laws (but my husband and I use it the most)! My brother came across your blog while digging around the internet for other spots to visit while we are out there (We live in Minnesota)! We've had a few random people stop at it over the years, and this is the first I've seen proof of it! Thank you for being respectful to our property! Quite the hike you made up to the lakes!
Hi Courtney! That's so cool, I used to love the Mulligan area and am quite jealous that y'all have a place up there.
Okay....what is recommended to see the falls then?
Hey Jacob, hopefully you see this comment years later. The Rocking Chairs are my must-visit list for this summer. I've been coming across these old posts of yours and I'd love to pick your brain sometime if you're willing.
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