Friday, July 17 – We are a bit behind in our posting. We have been in Belleville, right outside Dearborn, since Saturday, to do some more sightseeing. We leave here on tomorrow, Tuesday, and head for Ohio.
After collecting the Petoskey stones, we headed to Tahquamenon Falls. There are two falls in this state park and yes, Michigan was sure to collect a $9 entry fee to walk out and see the falls. They even wanted an additional $19 if you wanted to ride the shuttle bus the 4 miles between the falls – we drove our truck!
You can get a very good view of the two smaller lower falls by doing a short walk. After parking you can choose to walk a mile nature trail (the option we chose) to the viewing trail or stay on the paved sidewalk to the falls.
Nature trail.
Paved sidewalk.
More than a half million people visit the Tahquamenon Falls every summer, making it the number one state park in the Upper Peninsula. We were amazed at the number of people visiting the Falls on the misty, rainy day. We wondered what the crowds would be like on a sunny day.
Due to the rainy conditions, we didn’t get a clear look at the lower falls.
The Upper Falls is the one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi River next to the Niagara Falls.
It drops approximately 50 feet and are about 200 feet across, with a flow of more than 50,000 gallons per second.
Visitors can enjoy the Falls from several different overlooks. Points along the paved viewing trail descend several different sets of stairs. One is 94 steps and the other 119 steps.
I have to go where?
1, 2, 3, 4…
This path is what visitors would have taken before the stairs.
From these viewing spots, you get a close-up look of the water as it plunges over the edge of the cliff. These are great areas to take that perfect picture too!
The water before it hits the waterfalls.
After the waterfalls.
Do not wear flip flops. The path is wet and the stairs are metal grates for better gripping. We had no problem with the stairs.
Take this as a warning.....bring mosquito spray! The mosquitoes were swarming and would have eaten us alive if it wasn't for Deep Woods Off. Even at the Kritter's NorthCountry CG, where we are staying, we were warned that no refunds would be given because of weather or mosquitoes......LOL We now know why the mosquito is Michigan’s state bird.
Even though it was an “Oregon type day” we didn't let the misting rain interfere with our day. We both agreed it was a fantastic day. We are very happy with our mid-summer venture to the Michigan U.P. And are sure glad we decided to visit this area. We've both added several attractions to our “highlights” for the year.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!
