Waterfalls

The Munising [1] area is thick with waterfalls, and many are easy to reach. The Munising Visitors Bureau (422 E. Munising Ave., 906/387-2138, www.munising.org [2]) prints a waterfall map that will direct you to most of them. Nearby Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore [3] also has several notable falls.

The Tannery Creek spills over Memorial Falls and Olson Falls just on the northeast edge of town. Follow H-58 (Washington Street) northeast out of town, and watch for a small wooden staircase on the right side of the road, across from the road to Sand Point and the National Park Service headquarters. (If you’ve come by car, note that you can’t park alongside the road here.) Climb the stairs and follow the trail through a small canyon to Tannery Falls. To reach Memorial Falls, it’s easiest to return to H-58, turn right on Nestor Street, and follow the signs.

Right on the outskirts of town, M-28 leads east to Horseshoe Falls (turn east on Prospect Street) and Alger Falls, which spills down along the highway. The impressive Wagner Falls is right in the same area, just off M-94 near the junction of M-94 and M-28. It’s a well-marked spot, operated by the state park system as a scenic site. Though it feels secluded, 20-foot Wagner Falls is just a few minutes’ walk from the parking area.

Continue up the streamside trail past the main falls to a second cascade. About 20 miles west of Munising [1], wonderful Laughing Whitefish Falls has also been protected as a state park scenic site. Here, water plunges 30 feet over hard dolomite rock ledges, then continues rolling and frothing at least twice that far to the bottom of a gorge. To reach Laughing Whitefish Falls, follow M-94 west from Munising to Sundell, then go north on Dorsey Road for 2.5 miles.