Little Miners Falls


May 26, 2006

State: Michigan

Location: Michigan U.P., Alger County, in the Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore.

Height: 40+?

Crest: 5

Water Source: Little Miners River

Waypoint: 46.4807N 86.5313W

Summary: No trails lead to this idyllic waterfall, but if you are willing to bushwack a mile your reward will be one of the prettiest waterfalls in Michigan.

Little Miners Falls is located in Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore, but it does not appear on any of the park maps. Nor does it appear in the list of Michigan waterfalls at Brainy Geography, or in Penroses' A Guide to 199 Michigan Waterfalls. It does show up on topographical maps, but it is unnamed. I have decided to call it "Little Miners Falls", because it is on the Little Miners River, but the falls itself is not little. It is as high or higher than Miners Falls, and has at least as much water as Munising Falls.

In addition to the main falls, there are a couple of other interesting things to see here. First is the large recess cave over which the falls plunges. The cave is around 80 feet deep, 120 wide and 50 feet high and big enough to hold a hundred people. The insides are colored and striped like the cliffs on the shore. Second there is an upper falls. Above the main plunge, the river runs through a narrow little gorge, at the head of which is a 15' high cascading waterfall.

Reaching this waterfall is not easy. There is no trail. The falls is located on the east side of Miners River, just south of Miners Lake. The falls is about a mile south of where the road to Miners Beach crosses the Miners River.

This waterfall is marked, but unnamed, on the maps from topozone.com.

Other Websites

I learned about this waterfall from The Rucksack.

[Lake Superior] [Alger County] [5 Mile Map] Nearby Falls

Miners Falls is less than a mile to the south as the crow flies, but there is no trail. Chapel Falls, Spray Falls and Sable Falls are also in Pictured Rocks. Wagner Falls, Munising Falls, and others are in nearby Munising. Pictured Rocks has many interesting things worth seeing, particularly the boat cruise.

Photo Gallery





Upper Cascade

The Cave Walls

Hiking to the Falls

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Last Modified: Tuesday, 29-Dec-2009 15:33:08 MST.

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