Tahquamenon Falls

Well I finally took the family up to Tahquamenon Falls, we made what is supposed to be a 2 and half hour trip which actually turned into a 5 hour trek and let me tell you five hours in a car, with two very young children equals not much fun at all! However even with the torture of the kids driving us nuts on the way up we still had a lot of fun! One of the best things about going to Tahquamenon Falls is the fact that you have to drive over the mighty Mackinaw Bridge, which to me will never ever get old to see!

Once you make it over the bridge and into the U.P. there are a couple of Family friendly spots all within minutes away from the bridge that are worth mentioning. The first one, which can be seen as soon as you cross the bridge is Castle Rock, it only cost 25 cents to climb to the top and the gift shop is pretty cool too. The next stop is the world famous Mystery Spot, yes much like the one located in California, so east coast people, you don't have to travel all the way to California to visit the Mystery Spot, you can come right up to Michigan and view it! With that out of the way, it takes about another hour from the bridge to make it to Tahquamenon Falls.

Once you arrive you have to pay a state park fee, which if you are a resident its only six dollars and non-residents eight dollars, but this fee will get you into any state park all day long and is also your pass for both the upper and lower falls. I would highly recommend once you arrive into the Tahquamenon Falls area, you visit the lower falls first. Although this is not as magnificent as the great Upper Falls it is still worth seeing.

Here is a little interesting fact about the Tahquamenon Falls: The Tahquamenon Falls is the third largest falls East of the Mississippi River, after the Niagara Falls and Cohoes Falls, which are both incidentally located in New York. Also the Tahquamenon Falls are also known as the Cooper Falls due to the color of the water. This copper tint is from the tannins that are leached from the cedar swamps which the river drains.

Once you are through visiting the lower falls, make your way back up the Upper Falls and one of the first things you are greeted with is a wonderful Restaurant and Brewery located just adjacent to the parking lot of the Upper Falls. This is the first spot and last spot that I visit before and after seeing the falls. The brewery is designed after an old rustic cabin set in the woods and they not only make great beer, but also serve some very delicious food. I would suggest having the Buffalo Burger with bacon and cheese and do not under any circumstance substitute the french fries for anything, their fries are out of this world!

Once you have filled up at the brewery with food and beer, its time to go and get some exercise and visit the falls. There is a paved trail that you follow and breaks off into two different directions. The shortest walk is to the gorge of the waterfall, which also has the least amount of steps to climb back up! Only a mere 97 steps, but the site you see amazing! Once you are through visiting the gorge you can turn around, climb the 97 steps back to the top and then head down to the base of the waterfall, where the view is much more spectacular.


The base of the falls will lead you through a winding set of stairs that takes you all the way down to the bottom of the falls, however you will have to visit the falls yourself to find out how many steps it will take you to get back up to the top. I do not want to ruin the surprise of the exciting climb, but the view that you get is amazing and well worth the walk.

There are options for you to consider when visiting the falls for accommodations, but for a michigander it is possible to make a daycation out of it and travel back home which is what we did. Whether you stay near the falls or drive back home you will get to cross the bridge again and I suggest making a stop at Mackinaw where you can purchase their world famous salt water taffy and incredible fudge. You also get the ability to see some better views of the bridge that are breath taking. So make your plans, book your accommodations and head to Michigan for your next family vacation and visit the Upper Peninsula and see all of what Michigan has to offer!