Tahquamenon Falls State Park - Michigan's Upper Peninsula

<html> <head> <title>Tahquamenon Falls State Park - Michigan's Upper Peninsula</title> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1"> <META Pragma: No-Cache> <META name="Pragma" No-Cache> <META Cache-control: No-Cache> <META HTTP-EQUIV="expires" CONTENT="Wed, 26 Feb 1997 08:21:57 GMT"> <META name="description" content="Profile of Tahquamenon Falls State Park, with candid descriptions of attractions, recommended restaurants, lodgings, campgrounds."> <base href="http://hunts-upguide.com/"> <link href="/style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <center> <table width="100%" bgcolor="#F5F5D5" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 border=0> <tr> <td width="18%" colspan=2 height=82 bgcolor="#306799" valign="top"> <table width="100%" cellpadding=22 cellspacing=0 border=0> <tr> <td align="left"> <b><font size="-2" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"> <font color="#FEE384">We welcome<br> your comments<br> experiences &<br> corrections.<br></font> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=10 height=8 alt="---"><br> <a class="whitelinkunderlined" target="_top" href="http://hunts-upguide.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/dehunt/feedback.pl">E-mail us</a> </font> </b> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td width="63%" height=82 bgcolor="#306799" align="center" valign="top"> <table cellpadding=22 cellspacing=0 border=0> <tr> <td align="center"> <img src="/images/online_words.gif" width=386 height=13 alt="The online version of the popular regional travel book""><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=500 height=2 alt="---"><br> <nobr><font color="#FFFFFF" size="+2" face="Georgia,Times New Roman,Times"><b>Hunts' Guide to Michigan's UPPER PENINSULA</b></font></nobr><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=500 height=7 alt="---"><br> <img src="/images/candid_words.gif" width=391 height=13 alt="A candid guide to enjoying and understanding the U.P."> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td valign=top width="1%" bgcolor="#F5F5D5" rowspan=3>  <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=9 height=25 alt="|"></td> <td width="18%" rowspan=3 valign="top"> <a target="_top" href="/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/dehunt/click.pl?nextfile=http://hunts-upguide.com/up_travel_map.html"><img src="/ads/Small_map_ad_ver_6.gif" border=0 ALT="UP Travel Map ad" width=160 height=418></a> <p>  <center> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </center> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=5 width="100%" height=9> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=790 height=9 alt="---"></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="17%">  <table width="100%" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0> <tr> <td width="100%" valign="top">  <table width="100%" cellpadding=10 cellspacing=0 border=0 bgcolor="#306799"> <tr> <td valign="top" bgcolor="#306799"> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b> <a class="sidebar" href="/" target="_top">Home</a><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="85" height="5"><br> <a class="sidebar" href="tahquamenon___seney__grand_marais___whitefish_point.html" target="_top">Back to Tahquamenon & Seney, Grand Marais & Whitefish Point</a> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="85" height="20"><br> </b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100%"> <table width="100%" border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=10 bgcolor="#FFE09B"> <tr> <td align="left"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=100 height=10 alt="-"><br> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-1"> <center><font color="#C82F2C"><b>TAHQUAMENON FALLS STATE PARK<br>POINTS<BR>OF INTEREST</b></font><br> </center> <font color="#263692" size="-2"> <p> <a name="e429"><b>Upper Falls.</b></a> A dramatic observation platform lets you stand at the falls' brink and look down at the 50-foot rush of falling water, 200 feet wide. Look out a bit and you can gaze on the tranquil river before its plummet. Come early to avoid crowds ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/tahquamenon_falls_state_park_upper_falls.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e430"><b>Lower Falls.</b></a> Four miles below the more spectacular <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/tahquamenon_falls_state_park_upper_falls.html" target="_top">Upper Falls</a>, the smaller Lower Falls, with its series of cascades, can be enjoyed from an island if you rent a rowboat. It's a more contemplative experience ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/tahquamenon_falls_state_park_lower_falls.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e1391"><b>Wilderness trails north of M-123.</b></a> 17 miles of trail get hikers away from crowds and into wildlife-rich wilderness habitat: lakes, conifer forests, sandy ridges, and bogs. The North Country Trail connects from the Two-Hearted River to the Falls. ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/tahquamenon_falls_state_park_wilderness_trails_north_of_m_123.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <a name="e432"><b>North Star Bakery.</b></a> A surprising treat in this remote area off the electrical grid: a bakery with a wood-fired brick oven turning out crusty loaves of European-style sourdough breads - 17 kinds, several cheese combinations, multigrains, French, raisin-walnut ... <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/tahquamenon_falls_state_park_north_star_bakery.html"><font color="#C82F2C">more</font></a> <p> <p>   </font> </td> </tr> </table>  </td> </tr> <tr> <td>   </td> </tr>  <tr> <td align="center"> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </td> </tr> </table>  </td> <td valign=top width="1%" bgcolor="#F5F5D5">  <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="9" height=500 alt="|"> </td> <td valign=top width="63%">  <table width="100%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 border=0> <tr> <td valign=top align=center bgcolor="#018650" colspan=2> <center> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="30" height=8 alt="-"><br> <b><font color="#FFFFFF" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-1"><a class="whitelink" href="tahquamenon___seney__grand_marais___whitefish_point.html" target="_top">Region: Tahquamenon & Seney, Grand Marais & Whitefish Point</a></font></b><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="100%" height=3 alt="-"><br> <h1>TAHQUAMENON FALLS STATE PARK</h1> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="30" height=8 alt="-"></center></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="63%">  <table width="100%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=8 border=0> <tr> <td align="left">  <font face="Georgia"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=6 alt="-"><br> <table align="right" cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=250> <tr> <td> <a href="tahquamenon_state_park_map.html" target="_top"><img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/152.gif" width=250 height=158 alt="Tahquamenon State Park minimap" border=0></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <a href="tahquamenon_state_park_map.html" target="_top"><b>Click to enlarge</b></a> </font> </td> </tr> </table> Most Michigan waterfalls are attractive but puny affairs when compared with the mighty waterfalls of the world. Michigan's one really substantial waterfall is the <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/tahquamenon_falls_state_park_upper_falls.html" target="_top">Upper Falls</a> of the Tahquamenon River. The falls are <B>nearly 200 feet across</B>. As much as 50,000 gallons of water a second plunge 48 feet into a canyon below. The <B>sandstone shelf</B> of the falls is compressed beach sand from when this was a seashore in late Cambrian times, 500 million years ago. The sand was the eroded particles of ancient mountains deposited by streams and sifted by wave action. <br><br>Tahquamenon Falls has been an important landmark and attraction at least since before the time of the Ojibwa. In Longfellow's poem based on Ojibwa legends, Hiawatha builds his canoe "by the rushing Tahquamenew." <br><br><center> <table cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=424> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/216.gif" width=424 height=284 alt="Tahquamenon Falls" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>Upper Tahquamenon Falls, one of the largest east of the Mississippi, is a top U.P. attraction. The river's distinctive amber color is from the tanin of the cedar trees along its banks. </B><I>Photograph courtesy <a target="_top" href="http://philip.greenspun.com/">Philip Greenspun</I></B></a></b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center><p> Park visitors are concentrated so intensely at the <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/tahquamenon_falls_state_park_upper_falls.html" target="_top">Upper Falls</a> and the <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/tahquamenon_falls_state_park_lower_falls.html" target="_top">Lower Falls</a> four miles downstream that it's easy to forget that this park, now around 47,000 acres, is Michigan's second-biggest state park, laced with <B>42 miles of hiking trails</B>. The park stretches 13 miles west from Whitefish Bay at the Tahquamenon River's mouth. Most of it is a <B>wild area </B>where you won't see a power line or hear a car. Moose have been seen from time to time, and many other kinds of wildlife: bear, beaver, otters, and spruce and sharp tail grouse. Some 20,000 acres of the park form a proposed natural area. <br><br>In 2004 the park gained 6,500 acres, mostly on the northeast side adjacent to the Farm Truck Trail. (Land swaps between parks and state forests are part of the DNR's ongoing effort to consolidate and better manage state land holdings.) <B>Maps – and consultation</B> – are available at the fee stations at the Upper and <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/tahquamenon_falls_state_park_lower_falls.html" target="_top">Lower Falls</a> or at park headquarters on M-123 between them.<br><br>The <B>interesting <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/paradise_rivermouth_picnic_area_and_beach.html" target="_top">Rivermouth picnic area and beach</a></B> (see Point of Interest) is not reached by a road within the park, but by taking M-123 to Paradise and going south. <br><br><center> <table cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=500> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-1"><b>...continued below...</b></font> <br clear="all"> <hr> <center> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </center> <hr> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/654.gif" width=500 height=343 alt="TQSP eagle watching" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>Free guided nature walks and other programs put visitors to the sprawling state park in touch with the area's history and wildlife. Here then-park naturalist Bob Wild (fourth from left) takes a group to visit an active eagle's nest near the Tahquamenon River mouth on Whitefish Bay south of Paradise. Well behaved dogs on leashes are welcome. One can be seen at the far right.</b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center><p> This much-visited state park is fortunate to have a permanent, <B>year-round naturalist/interpreter</B>. A field trip to see an eagle's nest or a campground talk can be a highlight of a park visit. For <B>schedule of year-round nature presentations</B>, call the park at (906) 492-3415 or pick up a free copy of the <I>Tahquamenon Falls Visitor</I> at the contact station. A good <B>birding map</B> <B>of the park</B> with extensive annotations can be found at <A target="_top" href="http://newberrytourism.com</A> <br><br><B>Spectacular fall color</B> peaks here well into October, later than in much of the U.P. A mix of maple, birch, and conifer makes for rich yellows and reds contrasted with dark green. An easy, flat trail into the forest is the four-mile <b>Giant Pine Loop</b> that begins at the brink of the <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/tahquamenon_falls_state_park_upper_falls.html" target="_top">Upper Falls</a> and passes by some very old white pines. This trail cuts through the fourth-largest old-growth forest in Michigan, a never-harvested community of American beech, sugar maple, yellow birch, and Eastern hemlock, interspersed with some white pine. This forest is undergoing a transition. Sadly, <B>beech bark disease</B> has infected most of the Americna beech trees in our northern hardwood forests. Many of these trees have become hazardous and have been removed. Signs of tree-cutting are evident. <p align="right"><a href="tahquamenon___seney__grand_marais___whitefish_point.html" target="_top">Back to Tahquamenon & Seney, Grand Marais & Whitefish Point</a></p> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td width="37%" valign="top"> <table width="100%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=8 border=0> <tr> <td height="4" width="37%">  <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=1 alt="-"></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center" bgcolor="#C7302D" width="37%">  <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" color="#FFFFFF"> <b> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=8 alt="-"><br> <font size="-1"> TAHQUAMENON FALLS STATE PARK<br> RESTAURANTS,<br> LODGINGS<br> & CAMPGROUNDS </font> <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=6 alt="-"><br> <font size="-2">These are our choices, not ads.</font><br> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=8 alt="-"><br> </b> </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign=top bgcolor="#FFE09B" width="37%">  <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=9 alt="-"><br> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"> <center><font size="-1" color="#C82F2C"><b>TAHQUAMENON FALLS STATE PARK<br>RESTAURANTS</b></font></center> <br> <font size="-2"> See also: Newberry, Paradise, Eckerman, Bay Mills. <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=8 alt="-"><br> <a name="e433"><b>TAHQUAMENON FALLS BREWERY & PUB</b></a><br> (906) 492-3341; superiorsights.com/tahqfallsbrew/pub <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> This enjoys the deserved reputation of serving the area's best food in a beautiful, big timberframe building. In winter there's a fire in its big stone fireplace. The brewpub and full-service restaurant, owned and operated by Lark Ludlow, is right by the parking area to the Upper Falls. (The DNR didn't want alcohol served at the park, but as grandfathered inholders, the Ludlow family is legally entitled to do so. And handcrafted beer at $3.50 a glass, including tax, doesn't encourage guests to drinkers to load up.) Sandwich and dinner menus are offered all day. Whitefish dinners ($12 and $16) are menu favorites, almost always fresh not frozen, served like most dinners with soup or salad, fresh bread, rice pilaf or potato, and vegetable. The dinner entrees ($10-$22) also includes steaks, shrimp scampi in garlic butter sauce, charbroiled yellowfin tuna (also as a sandwich), and pastas (several vegetarian). The pub's beer-battered fries are excellent. For lighter appetites, there are burgers, sandwiches ($6-$8, whitefish is the favorite), meal-size salads with charbroiled chicken or smoked fish, and pasties made on the premises ($6 and $8). Wild rice soup ($3/bowl) and brew pub cheese soup with aged cheddar and smoked ham ($3.60) are hearty and distinctive. <br><br>Guests may take their food out on a deck (wheelchair-accessible) in good weather. Smoking permitted in one half. High ceiling, good smokesuckers reduce problems.<br><br>A takeout window opens on to an outdoor eating area (wheelchair-accessible) with fireplace and forest view. It serves pasties, cooked-to-order hamburgers, and similar fare. <i> March, 2008</i> <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> <i>At the Upper Falls parking lot off M-123.. Opens the last weekend of April through the third week of October. Reopens mid-Dec through snow season. Closes April 1 in any case. In seaso,n open daily, 11 to 8:30, to 9 on Saturday. Handicap-accessible. Family friendly. Full bar.</i> <p> </font> </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#CDCCAD" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=9 alt="-"><br> <center><font size="-1" color="#C82F2C"><b>TAHQUAMENON FALLS STATE PARK<br>LODGINGS</b></font></center> <br> <font size="-2"> </font> </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#B6DBA4" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=9 alt="-"><br> <center><font size="-1" color="#C82F2C"><b>TAHQUAMENON FALLS STATE PARK<br>CAMPGROUNDS</b></font></center> <br> <font size="-2"> See also Paradise (for Rivermouth and Pines campgrounds), Newberry, Strongs, and Bay Mills. <br>People who prefer more space between campsites should consider the state park's rustic campground at the river mouth and the state forest campgrounds north of Paradise. <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=8 alt="-"><br> <a name="e434"><b>LOWER FALLS CAMPGROUND/ TAHQUAMENON FALLS STATE PARK</b></a><br> (906) 492-3415. Fax: (906) 492-3590. Reserv: (800) 44-PARKS. <br><img src="images/1x1.gif" width=15 height=5 alt="-"><br> This shady, very popular 188-site modern campground (electricity, showers) is closest to the <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/tahquamenon_falls_state_park_lower_falls.html" target="_top">Lower Falls</a>, just before the day-use parking lot. Stairs permit river access. There's easy access to the <B>hiking trail between the falls</B>. Reservations taken six months ahead; early reservations advised for peak summer times. 50 amp electric sites are $21/night, others $19. Completely ADA handicap accessible. <p> </font> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table>  </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=5 align="center">  <br> <center> <font size="+1" color="#454545" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica">Copyright © 1997-2007 Midwestern Guides</font> </center> </td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>