With a drop of 110 feet, Douglass Houghton Falls is the tallest waterfall in Michigan. Getting to the waterfall requires a 5-minute walk and a precarious downhill climb.
Walking along Hammell Creek, you’d never guess that the most impressive waterfall in the Keweenaw — Douglass Houghton Falls — is just a few minutes downstream. Even during the spring snowmelt, the narrow creek looks gentle and unassuming.
As you get closer to the top of the falls, you’ll start to hear a soft roar. The water picks up speed as it drops over a series of small rock ledges near the edge, eventually tumbling over a sheer rock cliff and into the ravine below.
How To Get to Douglass Houghton Falls
Douglass Houghton Falls is located in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan, about 15-20 minutes from Houghton. The trailhead is right off M-26 on the hill between Calumet and Lake Linden; there’s a small gravel parking area next to the highway. You can find it on Google Maps or use GPS coordinates 47.206986, -88.431720.
Directions to Douglass Houghton Falls:
- From Houghton and Hancock, take M-26 west to Lake Linden. The highway takes a left turn at the edge of town (at the flashing light); the trailhead is located on the right side about 1.5 miles up the hill.
- From Calumet, head toward Lake Linden on M-26 (also called Boundry Street and Lake Linden Avenue). Drive 2.5 miles from the intersection of M-26 and US-41, and keep an eye out for the trailhead on your left.
The parking area is essentially a large, sloped dirt pull-off. It can be hard to spot when you’re driving down the hill. If you see yellow letters spelling “DH Falls” on the highway mile marker (54600), you’re in the right place.
October 2024 update: The trailhead is currently under construction. If you park on the shoulder and walk up the highway, there’s a road to the right. Just before the bridge over the river (don’t cross it; it’s private property), you can turn into the trees and follow the river for a couple of minutes until you connect back to the main trail system.
Hiking to Douglass Houghton Falls
Before you hike to Douglass Houghton Falls, make sure you understand the potential safety risks.
From the parking area, follow the mostly flat trail until you reach the river, and turn right to head downstream. The top of the waterfall is about 5 minutes from the trailhead. You’ll see a few small cascades, but the full waterfall is only visible from the bottom of the ravine.
For the best view, make your way down the steep, rocky hillside that runs parallel with the river. When the trail levels out, look to your left — another steep slope leads to the river below. (If you see No Trespassing/Private Property signs, you’ve gone too far.)
From here, it’s possible to scramble down the hill for an excellent view of the falls. The ground is relatively soft, and tends to be slippery after it rains or snows. In one particularly harrowing section, someone has rigged up a rope to help with the descent.
Is It Safe To Hike to the Falls?
The cliffs around Douglass Houghton Falls are extremely dangerous. In 2011, a Michigan Tech student fell to his death at the falls; there have been other deaths and serious accidents in the area. Use extreme caution — the ground is uneven and covered with loose rocks and other trip hazards. There’s nothing to break your fall, and the drop is more than 100 feet. We’d advise against bringing children, people with limited mobility, or anyone who struggles with balance.
If you’re hiking close to the bottom of the waterfall, watch out for falling rocks.
Is Douglass Houghton Falls Open to the Public?
As of May 2023, Douglass Houghton Falls is technically open to the public. However, officials do not encourage people to visit because of the safety risks involved.
The property around the falls was privately owned for decades; the owner cut off access sometime after 2011 for safety and liability reasons. In 2018, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) purchased the land in to use as a veterans memorial park.
The DNR plans to improve access to the falls in the future, but there’s no specific timeline.
Best Time to Visit
As with most waterfalls near Houghton, the best time to visit Douglass Houghton Falls is in the late spring, when the snow has melted but the water is still running high. Summer is also a good time to hike in the area — the waterfalls aren’t as dramatic, but the ground is dry and easier to navigate. When the creek is lower, you can cross the stream and explore the base of the waterfall.
Fall is the best time to photograph the falls. In early October, the trees on the cliffs turn to brilliant shades of yellow and orange.
History of Douglass Houghton Falls
Douglass Houghton Falls is named after Michigan’s first state geologist, Douglass Houghton. His reports on the Keweenaw Peninsula’s native copper district — the largest in the world1 — instigated the copper-mining boom of 1843. On October 13, 1845, Houghton was en route to Eagle River when his boat was swamped by waves; he drowned in Lake Superior, just 200 yards from the shore.2
There’s some confusion on the actual name of the waterfall; you may also see it called Houghton-Douglass Falls . This original name seems to be a shared tribute to Houghton and his cousin, Columbus C. Douglass.3 He participated in Houghton’s geological surveys of the Upper Peninsula and worked in the mining industry in the Keweenaw.
At the bottom of the Douglass Houghton Falls, a small opening in the rock face leads to a horizontal shaft that travels 60-90 feet into the hillside. It appears to be an exploratory mining shaft, but there are conflicting reports about whether it was created by a mining company or Native Americans. Given the scale and the fact that local Native Americans favored pit mining4, the latter seems unlikely.
Sources
1. Bornhorst, Theodore J., and Lawrence J. Molloy. “Douglass Houghton – Pioneer of Lake Superior Geology.” A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum Web Publication 4, 9p, 2017.
2. “Legislator Details.” Michigan Legislative Biography, Library of Michigan. Accessed 9 May 2023.
3. “Douglass Houghton, State Geologist.” Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Geological and Land Management Division. 1994.
4. “Timeline of Michigan Copper Mining Prehistory to 1850.” Keweenaw National Historic Park, National Park Service. Accessed 9 May 2023.