The Black River Waterfalls
The Black River near Bessemer gives you five waterfalls in a row — Great Conglomerate, Potawatomi, Gorge, Sandstone, and Rainbow — strung along one of the great waterfall walks in the Midwest.
Some places make you choose one waterfall. The Black River, in the far western UP near Bessemer, gives you five in a row.
The Black River National Scenic Byway is County Road 513, one of only two National Forest Scenic Byways in the Upper Peninsula. It runs about fourteen miles north from Bessemer, through old hemlock forest, to Lake Superior. In the last couple of miles before the lake, the river drops over five distinct falls. Each has its own short trail and viewing platform. Great Conglomerate splits around a knob of rock. Potawatomi is the widest, and barrier-free. Gorge is squeezed into a narrow slot. Sandstone is the smallest. Rainbow Falls comes last, just before the river reaches the lake, and it’s the tallest at about forty-five feet.
The byway ends at Black River Harbor, one of only two harbors in the entire national forest system. There, a graceful suspension bridge from 1939 carries the North Country Trail across the river. On the far side: a Lake Superior beach. It’s one of the great waterfall walks in the Midwest.
Where to see it
Take County Road 513 (Black River Road / Powderhorn Road) north from Bessemer; each falls has its own marked parking area, and the road ends at Black River Harbor.