Canyon Falls

We visited Canyon Falls in central Upper Peninsula yesterday. LeeAnn wanted to see some falls, and we chose this one because they call it “The Grand Canyon of Michigan.” We really like seeing the Grand Canyon of X, so that sounded like a winner to me, too. Our goal was also to fit in the highest point in Michigan on the day’s trip, which didn’t look too far away on the map.

Turns out the parking lot for the falls doubles as a Michigan Roadside Park. For those not familiar, Michigan has these roadside parks, which appear to be like rest areas, but with something nice to look at. They have a lot of them, which we think is really cool. The only reason we weren’t thrilled to see this Roadside Park is how many cars, motorcycles, and campers were there. The trail was pretty busy, but not as busy as we feared.

The part of the trail we walked was super easy, with boardwalks smoothing out the harder parts. The cool part about this were the many opportunities to reach the water and enjoy the gentle rapids (if that’s a thing). The less cool part was it didn’t take long for some loud people to come along. Another cool thing is the trail is part of the North Country Trail system, which goes from New York to North Dakota.

If you’re in the area, it’s definitely worth the walk. I hear the lower falls are much better, but we didn’t check them out. My favorite part wasn’t the water fall itself, but the canyon walls at the end of the easy part (at the overlook). They look like something you’d see in a place where there are more mountainous terrain features.

So, to sum it up. It was a great time and an easy walk in first section. It looked like it got harder. LeeAnn didn’t have shoes appropriate for real hiking, so we turned around when the terrain went skyward and rocky. Afterwards we had a late lunch in L’Anse and decided the second part to Mount Arvon would be too time consuming, so we headed back to camp. It was a good day.