Laughing Whitefish Falls is in the Laughing Whitefish Scenic Site. This is one of the most impressive of Michigan's waterfalls. I believe it is the highest waterfall in Michigan that is readily visitable.

The falls can be found off of M-94, about 30 miles from Munising or Marquette, and just outside of Chatham. You will see lots of Finnish place names as you head towards the falls. From 94, turn north onto Sundell and drive for about 2.8 miles. The paved road ends and you have to drive on a rather bumpy dirt road for a quarter mile before seeing the sign for the falls. Turn right at the sign. There are bathrooms and a picnic area at the parking area. A well groomed mile long trail leads you to the top of the falls. A large staircase takes you to the bottom, with a nice observation deck along the way.

The waterfall is a long slide. It looks bigger in person than in the pictures. That may be a result of having to walk down all those stairs to get to the bottom. I was first there on a rainy day in May when there was a lot of water flowing. I have seen pictures of the falls with even more water flowing. In drier weather the water may spread so thinly across the rocks to be hardly visible. On my second visit it was sunny. The brightness of the falls makes it hard to photograph.

The waterfall is named for the river. The river is so named because the mouth of the river resembled a laughing fish when viewed by the Ojibwe from Lake Superior.

Rock River Falls can also be found off of MI-94. Munising Falls, Wagner Falls and the many other waterfalls in the Munising area are 30 miles to the east.

Photo Gallery

May 13, 2004	May 13, 2004
Halfway down the stairs	Looking down from the top

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Last Modified: Saturday, 26-Nov-2011 13:31:27 MST.