Lower Tahquamenon Falls

Paradise / Newberry, Michigan, USA

About Lower Tahquamenon Falls


Hiking Distance: 1-1.2 miles round trip
Suggested Time: 1 hour

Date first visited: 2015-10-01
Date last visited: 2015-10-01

Waterfall Latitude: 46.60366
Waterfall Longitude: -85.20708

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Lower Tahquamenon Falls was the other of two major waterfalls featured along the Tahquamenon River in Tahquamenon Falls State Park.

While the Upper Tahquamenon Falls dazzled us with its size and classical block appearance, the Lower Falls was really a series of five disjoint cascades.

Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_110_10012015 - Lower Tahquamenon Falls
Lower Tahquamenon Falls

Each of the cascades were roughly no more than 10ft while being split by an island.

Therefore, the overall drop was said to be roughly 20ft give or take.

Some of these tiers might have felt more like rapids than waterfalls, but I guess when you combine the width with the combination of all of these drops together, I could see why there was infrastructure centered around these falls.

Experiencing the Lower Tahquamenon Falls – The Distant Lookouts

From the well-signed and developed parking area for the Lower Tahquamenon Falls (see directions below), we followed the trail and boardwalk which went by a concession area before continuing on.

The trail took us by some lookouts with distant views of the pair of segments belonging to the Lower Tahquamenon Falls to the left side of the island (see picture at the top of this page).

Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_004_10012015 - Julie and Tahia starting on the walk to experience the Lower Tahquamenon Falls
Julie and Tahia starting on the walk to experience the Lower Tahquamenon Falls

These views were about 0.2 miles from the nearest parking lot.

We saw that there were partial views hinting at the remaining waterfalls on the opposite side of the island to the right, but we had to walk further on the boardwalk to improve the experience.

As we continued walking along the boardwalk, we reached a fork where the steps to the left led down to a dock containing a bunch of row boats.

Apparently, we could have rented these boats to get across the Tahquamenon River and wind up at the island splitting the Lower Tahquamenon Falls.

Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_025_10012015 - View across a wide and calm part of the Tahquamenon River towards the left side of the Lower Tahquamenon Falls while there was still morning fog in front of it
View across a wide and calm part of the Tahquamenon River towards the left side of the Lower Tahquamenon Falls while there was still morning fog in front of it

It would be from the island that we would’ve been able to get close to all five of the waterfalls comprising the Lower Falls.

However, during our visit, the row boat rentals were closed for the season so it must have been a Summer only activity.

Shortly beyond this row boat dock, the trail continued skirting a wide part of the Tahquamenon River.

It then reached another lookout with interpretive signs providing a more frontal view of the distant pair of waterfalls to the left of the island.

Experiencing the Lower Tahquamenon Falls – The River Trail

Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_044_10012015 - Following the boardwalk of the River Trail to get closer to the Lower Tahquamenon Falls
Following the boardwalk of the River Trail to get closer to the Lower Tahquamenon Falls

At this point, the trail continued along the river on a boardwalk (called the “River Trail”), and it did this for the next 0.3 miles (roughly 0.5 miles from the trailhead).

The walkway was flanked by trees as well as a few interpretive signs waxing poetic about this place as well as some information regarding various aspects of the Nature here.

Once we got to the first of the River Trail Viewing Platforms, we managed to get a real up-close and frontal view of the upper two drops of the Lower Tahquamenon Falls to the right side of the island.

The viewing platform was also wide enough to walk over to its end where we also got to peer over the top of the bottommost drop.

Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_077_10012015 - Looking upstream at some of the uppermost tiers of the Lower Tahquamenon Falls from one of the viewpoints by the River Trail
Looking upstream at some of the uppermost tiers of the Lower Tahquamenon Falls from one of the viewpoints by the River Trail

From this vantage point, we also got a nice view of the calm part of the river just below the last of the Lower Falls.

Continuing along the River Trail boardwalk for the next 0.1 miles, we then made it to the last of the viewing decks besides the Lower Falls.

This time, it was of the uppermost drop, which was probably on the order of 5ft.

What stood out about this drop was its width, but I could easily see under higher flow that this drop might be hidden as rapids.

In any case, this was our turnaround point.

Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_066_10012015 - Looking downstream from the Lower Tahquamenon Falls at one of the lookouts very close to its tiers and right across from its 'island'
Looking downstream from the Lower Tahquamenon Falls at one of the lookouts very close to its tiers and right across from its ‘island’

That said, the River Trail boardwalk would ultimately continue as a primitive trail hugging the Tahquamenon River for the next 4 miles or so before reaching the familiar trails at the Upper Tahquamenon Falls.

Apparently, the park would run shuttle services to make it possible to do this entire hike from the one waterfall to the next and then shuttle back to the original trailhead.

This service was also closed for the season upon our visit as it would only run during the Summer months.

So overall, our visit to take in as much as we could without being able to hike on the island was roughly an hour.

More Infrastructure at the Lower Tahquamenon Falls

Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_010_10012015 - It seemed to us that the Lower Tahquamenon Falls had a bit more infrastructure and development than the more impressive Upper Tahquamenon Falls did, and we're not sure why other than perhaps it was more convenient to camp or RV at the Lower Falls
It seemed to us that the Lower Tahquamenon Falls had a bit more infrastructure and development than the more impressive Upper Tahquamenon Falls did, and we’re not sure why other than perhaps it was more convenient to camp or RV at the Lower Falls

Julie and I noticed that there was a lot of infrastructure at the Lower Tahquamenon Falls in the form of multiple parking lots, large picnic areas and shelters, concession buildings, and several campgrounds.

Even the kiosk at the turnoff leaving the M-128 road for the Lower Falls was manned ($10 for non-resident vehicles for the day as of early October 2015) while the Upper Falls was not.

We were kind of scratching our heads as to why the more impressive Upper Tahquamenon Falls lacked the same kind of infrastructure as the Lower Falls.

So we concluded that it must be for popularity of having cheap accommodations in the form of campgrounds and RV sites that must’ve been the main reason for all the developments here.

Authorities

The Lower Tahquamenon Falls resides in the Tahquamenon Falls State Park near Paradise in Luce County, Michigan. It is administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_022_10012015 - The trail skirted along wooden railings providing some opportunities to get distant views across the wide Tahquamenon River towards parts of the Lower Tahquamenon Falls
Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_026_10012015 - More zoomed in look through the annoying morning fog obscuring the Lower Tahquamenon Falls as seen from one of the more distant lookouts early on in the walk
Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_029_10012015 - Full contextual look at the Lower Tahquamenon Falls with a dock on the other side of the calm part of the river, which was the 'island' that you can explore if you can boat or kayak your way across
Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_037_10012015 - Even more contextual broad view across a calm and wide part of the Tahquamenon River reflecting trees as well as providing a distant view of the left side of the Lower Tahquamenon Falls. We still had some morning fog around the waterfall to contend with though
Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_041_10012015 - More direct look at the far segment of the Lower Tahquamenon Falls from one of the early lookouts before reaching the River Trail boardwalk
Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_054_10012015 - Approaching the entrance for the main lookout closest to the three waterfalls making up the Lower Tahquamenon Falls to the right side of the island
Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_063_10012015 - Looking upstream towards the upper two drops of the right side of the Lower Tahquamenon Falls
Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_070_10012015 - Looking directly up towards the upper two tiers of the right side of the Lower Tahquamenon Falls
Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_055_10012015 - This was the boardwalk continuing the River Trail towards the brink of the uppermost drop of the Lower Tahquamenon Falls
Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_084_10012015 - Looking along the uppermost tier of the Lower Tahquamenon Falls that I could access from the main lookout area on the River Trail
Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_087_10012015 - Another look across the uppermost drop of the Lower Tahquamenon Falls
Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_092_10012015 - Julie and Tahia on the River Trail boardwalk heading back towards the trailhead for the Lower Tahquamenon Falls
Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_096_10012015 - When we returned to the lookouts for the left side of the Lower Tahquamenon Falls, we noticed that it was late enough in the morning for the fog to disappear
Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_097_10012015 - Back to zoomed in look at the Lower Tahquamenon Falls on the left side of the 'island' now that the morning fog had finally dissipated


The Lower Tahquamenon Falls was accessed from its very built-up and dedicated parking lot in the state park.

From Paradise, Michigan, we drove about 10.5 miles west on the M-123 to the well-signed turnoff on the left for “Lower Falls”.

This was about 3.5 miles east of the turnoff for the “Upper Falls”.

Overall, this drive took us less than 20 minutes. At the car park, there was an entrance kiosk that was manned so we had to pay $10 non-resident fee for the Michigan Recreation Passport for the day of our visit.

Lower_Tahquamenon_Falls_118_10012015 - Looking back at the parking lot closest to the trail leading closer to the Lower Tahquamenon Falls
Looking back at the parking lot closest to the trail leading closer to the Lower Tahquamenon Falls

The pass was also good for the Upper Falls on the same day.

For directions on getting here from Munising or Newberry instead of Paradise, see the directions to the Upper Falls page.

For additional reference, Newberry, Michigan was 69 miles (90 minutes drive) northwest of Mackinaw City, 428 miles (7 hours drive) north of Chicago, Illinois (via Green Bay, Wisconsin), 479 miles (8 hours drive) east of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and 357 miles (5.5 hours drive) northwest of Detroit, Michigan.

Find A Place To Stay

Showing the lower falls from perhaps the entrance of the lookout before walking towards the end of the lookout showing the downstream scenery from above the last tier of the closest series of falls


Movie showing the profile of part of the main section of the lower falls before walking further upstream on the boardwalk towards the brink of the uppermost drop


Movie showing the other side of the lower falls from a couple of different angles at the same lookout before zooming out to show the context of the calm river and falls together

Related Top 10 Lists

No Posts Found

Tagged with: paradise, michigan, newberry, waterfall, luce county, upper peninsula, up, lake superior, great lakes, tahquamenon river, passport



Visitor Comments:

Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...

No users have replied to the content on this page


Share your thoughts about what you've read on this page

You must be logged in to submit content. Refresh this page after you have logged in.

Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:

If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...

No users have submitted a write-up/review of this waterfall


Have you been to a waterfall? Submit a write-up/review and share your experiences or impressions

Review A Waterfall

Nearest Waterfalls

The Waterfaller Newsletter

The Waterfaller Newsletter is where we curate the wealth of information on the World of Waterfalls website and deliver it to you in bite-sized chunks in your email inbox. You'll also get exclusive content like...

  • Waterfall Wednesdays
  • Insider Tips
  • User-submitted Waterfall Write-up of the Month
  • and the latest news and updates both within the website as well as around the wonderful world of waterfalls


How To Build A Profitable Travel Blog In 4 Steps

Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
Read More About Johnny | A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls.