Nelson Canyon Falls/Ottawa National Forest
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| Wayne Premo |
A visit to this exceptionally beautiful, secret little waterfall can be attempted by people who are good in the woods; there's no formal trail. Wayne Premo, who has systematically sought out some 375 Upper Peninsula waterfalls over his lifetime, ranks this in his Top Ten - and most of the Top Ten are off limits to the general public. (Four are in the Huron Mountain Club near Marquette.)
The walk takes less than half an hour. The map in the DeLorme Michigan Gazetteer is quite helpful and accurate. Use it (with a magnifying glass perhaps) and follow these directions carefully, or you could easily get lost. Surveyor's tape (readily available at most hardware stores) or similar tree markers would be a good idea for this adventure.
From M-64 between Lake Gogebic and U.S. 2, look for "Old U.S. 2" (also called C Camp Road). It extends east from M-64, making a sharp Y. In a half mile or so, you will cross a culvert. (It's Nelson Creek.) After the culvert, the road and the creek run parallel for almost a mile. Where the creek turns away from the road, park, look for a two-track to the left that goes up a slight rise. You will see a marsh to your left. The creek flows through it, but to avoid getting your feel wet, follow the two-track. Where the two-track turns right and peters out, you bear left, and angle off toward the creek as it emerges from the marsh into the woods.
Walk into the woods to the creek, marking the spot where you turned with sticks or surveyor's tape, and walk downstream to the falls. Go back the way you came! If you don't find your turnoff, you can always get back to the culvert and road by following the creek, but you will have to slog through marsh.
[Get Directions]
Return to Marenisco
POINTS OF INTEREST
Yondota Falls. From U.S. 2 exactly opposite the Marenisco turnoff, turn north onto CR 523. Go 3 miles north, up to and over the bridge across the Presque Isle River. Park on the road's west side just over the bridge. Trail starts here. This is 15 miles east of Wakefield. ... more
Nelson Canyon Falls/Ottawa National Forest. It's not easy to get to, but the reward is the view of an exceptionally beautiful, little-known waterfall ... more
Kakabika Falls. Well worth the drive north of U.S. 2, this is a terrific stretch of river ... more
Pomeroy/Henry Lake Mountain Bike Complex
A hundred miles of loops on gravel roads are shared by occasional motorists and anglers. This is an easy, family mountain bike complex in a beautiful area of small lakes and wetlands on Ottawa National Forest land south and southwest of Marenisco. A map of the trails is included in the big "Pines and Mines" mountain bicycling map produced by tourism people in Gogebic County, Michigan, and neighboring Iron County, Wisconsin. The Ironwood Welcome Center and Ottawa Visitor Center in Watersmeet should stock the map, too. Ask for it.
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