Hogger Falls
A wide, stepping cascade with an odd angled cut across the river’s flow, Hogger’s Falls is a unique little drop nestled deep in the Ottawa National Forest. This waterfall marks the beginning of a chain of drops on West Branch Sturgeon River between two twisting swampy sections. Relatively remote and with no marked path, Hogger’s Falls is a good challenge for explorers looking to break away from maintained paths and easy hikes.
Directions
Take Newberry Road south from M-38 near Nisula beyond the unimproved sign to where the road ends at West Branch Sturgeon River. Backtrack up the road for a quarter mile to the first overgrown, gated forest access road that leads east. Take this road on foot for about a half mile before cutting to the right, down the river bank, for a few hundred feet to the falls. The waterfall is just upstream of the huge sandy curved bank.
Note: it may be more convenient to visit West Branch Sturgeon Falls first and just follow the river upstream to Hogger Falls.
Photographs
Visits
Seen in April, July and August.
- gushing white water
A short jaunt through the snowy woods and I was standing below the gushing white water. This, this was a much better time to visit than the summer. I took my time playing around here, getting close enough to the frothing water for water droplets to splash up my camera lens. One thing I noticed today was just how sudden the river banks were here; Hogger Falls was the start of a little canyon, complete with overhanging sandstone walls in sections, that would stretch all the way down to West Branch Falls.
- the river really low
The last time I made it to Hogger I could barely make out the outlines in the dim light. Today I could see the entire thing. It's a pretty cool drop, with towering rock walls on both sides and a good-sized stepping formation on the right. Even with new pictures in better light I had a nagging feeling I'd be returning.
I made it to the waterfall dimly lit and hard to make out in the waning light. Hogger Falls was a neat one, stepping stairs and steep banks, even if the photos were barely worth snapping the shutter.
Comments
3 comments
Hello, my first post-combo-question:
Hogger Falls...on satellite Google Maps, it has multiple "white spots" on the river.
Which one is the official Hogger? There appears to be six-ish falls/cascades/rapids, in which I can see. Hogger has the Google pin at the furthest upstream falls; and the last falls Google pinned as West Sturgeon River Falls.
I will be seeking them all, but clarification of correct knowledge would be dandy.
West Branch Sturgeon Falls...on official Ottawa National Forest maps, it appears on the unnamed creek between West Branch Sturgeon River and Perjory Creek. A huge "white spot" on the river appears on that locale, as suggested locale of the WBSF by the USFS.
Adding to this, where WBSF appears with this Google pin drop is the equivalent latitude as where USFS places WBSF on the unnamed creek. Add to this...same latitude on Perjory Creek, there is also a big "white spot" on this creek.
What is your experiences with all of this?
Thank you, Marty
Hi Smartee! Hopefully I can answer some of your questions.
So, it's my understanding that what you said about Google's marks are mostly correct. The uppermost drop on West Branch Sturgeon River is Hogger, and the lowermost is West Branch Sturgeon Falls. There are multiple drops in between the two drops on the river, none of them as tall as either Hogger or WBSF. However, I don't think that there is anything on or near Perjury - that's too far downstream. I haven't gone that far, but judging by the terrain out there and the elevation profile it seems unlikely (though not impossible) that another waterfall is that far east.
Hope this helps!
Waterfalls locations on Google are approximate at best. My experience is all falls are on the main branch. Could the white areas be late winter ice/snow? Often the goofle photos are taken in soring before leaf out starts and can be difficult to differentiate ice dams from waterfalls. Would love to hear there is more to see here though!
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