The Munising Area is blessed with many wonderful waterfalls. You've already seen Scott Falls on the last page. Here are some more.
| This is Alger falls, a nice falls at the intersection of M-28 and M-94. It's very difficult to get a good shot of this falls, at least this time of year. Every time I passed by it seemed that much of it was concealed in shadow. And if I had a chainsaw handy, and no one was around, that sapling in front of the falls would bite the dust in no time flat. :) |
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This is Miner's Falls, which is not far from Miner's Castle, Miner's Beach, Miner's Delicatessen and Miner's Mining Store (for all your Mining Supplies). I'm sorry, couldn't help myself on those last two.:) Anyways, the falls is within the National Lakeshore property and is about a mile round trip hike from a parking area. Last hundred feet or so are a doozy of a drop, so if you're not good at climbing steep slopes, stick to the observation decks. |
| This is Wagner Falls. It is reached by turning onto M-94 off of M-28 just east of town and then driving less than a mile to a parking spot on the left. Then follow the footpath. With Alger falls, being partly in shadow was bad. Here, Wagner being almost entirely in shadow was good because at least it was consistent. It allowed me to take this neat pic with streaking water by using a longer exposure time. |
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This is Tannery Falls. From what I understand it has not been open to the public for all that long. To get here you take H-58 to Washington like you would for Munising falls (more on them later). The trail to the falls is on the right side of H-58, but turn onto Washington, and then park off the road there in a convenient spot not far from the intersection. DO NOT PARK ON H-58!! I wisely heeded this advice, but saw someone that did not and got a ticket! Follow the path up the hill that is west of the creek. It's steep at first, but levels out. At the end of the trail you're rewarded with this really nice view. |
| The falls aren't the only attraction at Tannery (of course that's the case for most of the falls up here). There are some very interesting rock formations like this one. It's quite the amalgam of the organic and inorganic, almost to the point where you can't tell where one ends and the other begins. |
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At the entrance to the 'grotto' where the main falls are located, you'll see this mini-falls. It's no more than two feet tall and is obviously artificial. I don't know if this was part of a larger dam that held back the stream or not. Call it a hunch though, but I think it may have held back water for a tannery. :) |
| If you're lucky, you won't see these two cluttering up the landscape of Tannery falls like they are here.:) This was a difficult shot to pull off. I didn't bring a tripod, so I had to set the camera on the best spot I could find. Unfortunately that spot was across the creek on the other side of the grotto! I hit the timer and ran like heck to get into the photo. |
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Ok, hopefully this is the one and only time I ever pay admission to a waterfall. They're defiinitely pretty, but sheesh, it just feels wrong for some reason.:) Signs on M-28 lead you to the falls. You enter through a gift shop then walk a path to the falls. My wife described the path as a "naturalists nightmare" because of the non-native plantings along the way. After you visit the falls, keep touring the grounds to the fish pond. I dont care if I am an adult, it's still kind of fun watching those trout go into a feeding frenzy when visitors throw fish food into the water. |
| This is Bridal Veil Falls. I know this not because I remember it from the sunset cruise from Aug 2003, but because someone let me know about it after I posted a larger version of this pic in pasty cam's guest archives. |
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We'll end this page of Munising area falls with....drum roll please......Munising Falls. (What'd you think? I'd end it with Niagra Falls or something?) Head east out of Munising on H-58 and follow the signs to the parking lot. There's a nice gift/book shop there and then a trail to the falls of about 800 feet (so says the sign at the trailhead). Obviously the water flow here isnt that great, but it was late August so I'm sure it runs better in the spring. Crumbling rocks have made it necessary to close off the rear of the falls to spectators, though based on footprints I saw past the railings, I dont think that has stopped everyone. I'm not particularly happy with this picture. The sun was right above the cliff and created a nasty glare at the top. Perhaps next time I visit I'll have to do it in the evening. |