Canyon Falls, the 'Grand Canyon of the U.P.'

One of the easiest great waterfall stops in the Upper Peninsula sits right off US-41 in southern Baraga County. Pull into the Canyon Falls roadside park, walk a gentle trail a little under a mile through the woods — with a stretch of boardwalk over the damp spots — and you arrive at Canyon Falls, where the Sturgeon River pours about fifteen feet over a ledge and then funnels into a narrow, dark gorge of sheer rock walls. The water has cut a slot through the stone deep enough and dramatic enough that people have long called it the “Grand Canyon of the Upper Peninsula.”

It’s a wonderful family stop precisely because it asks so little of you. There’s a parking lot, restrooms, and a picnic area at the trailhead, the walk is flat and short, and you can be back on the road in under an hour. The falls themselves are best in spring when the river runs high, but the gorge is striking in any season — framed in green in summer, blazing in fall color, and hung with ice in winter.

A word of caution worth taking seriously: the rocks along the gorge are slick, the walls drop straight down, and the river is powerful. There are no railings in much of it. Stay back from the edges, keep a close eye on children, and resist the urge to scramble down for a better photo — people have been badly hurt here. Enjoyed with a little common sense, though, Canyon Falls is one of the loveliest and most accessible natural spots in the county.