Piers Gorge, the U.P.'s wildest water

Most of the Menominee River ambles along minding its own business as the Michigan-Wisconsin line. Then, just south of Norway, it loses its temper. At Piers Gorge the whole river squeezes between rock walls and pours over a series of ledges in a stretch of genuine roaring whitewater. Michigan DNR lists the rapids here as Class II-III, and its management plan describes Piers Gorge as having some of the fastest-moving water in Michigan or Wisconsin.

This is one of the rare places in Michigan where you can go whitewater rafting. Several outfitters run guided trips through the gorge in season. If you’d rather keep your feet dry, a hiking trail follows the Michigan bank through hemlocks and over rock outcrops to overlooks above the water.

The gorge anchors the Piers Gorge unit of the Menominee River State Recreation Area, a mostly wild stretch of protected riverland southeast of Iron Mountain. The water is powerful and the rocks are slick, so keep kids close and swim nowhere near the rapids — this is water to admire, raft with a guide, and respect. Details at michigan.gov/dnr.