Tahquamenon Falls, the Root Beer Falls

North of Newberry, the Tahquamenon River tumbles over one of the most famous sights in the Upper Peninsula: Tahquamenon Falls. The Upper Falls is the showstopper — a wall of water nearly two hundred feet wide dropping about fifty feet, and one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi. By most counts, only Niagara sends more water over a drop on this side of the country.

What people remember most is the color. The water runs a deep amber, like root beer, stained by tannins that leach out of the cedar and hemlock swamps upstream. The soft, churning water whips up thick foam at the base, which is how the Upper Falls earned its nickname, the Root Beer Falls. About four miles downstream, the gentler Lower Falls spreads into a set of smaller cascades around an island, where in summer you can rent a rowboat or wade in the shallows.

All of it sits inside Tahquamenon Falls State Park, the second-largest state park in Michigan, with miles of trails, campgrounds, and overlooks. Newberry is the southern gateway, about a half hour to the south, and the park fills with color-watchers every fall. You can plan a visit at michigan.gov/dnr.