Au Train,

M94/Dam to below power house (0.6 mile)

River Description

Quick Facts:

Location: 10 miles SW of Munising, or 30 miles SE of Marquette.
Shuttle Length: 0.8 mile. (See details in "Directions" Tab.)
Character: Possibly runnable dam, boogie water, and two wide, shallow steep slides.
Drainage area at put-in: approximately 80 square miles.

Put-in is approximately 751' elevation (or 777' above the dam).
Take-out is approximately 650' elevation.
Thus total elevation change is approximately 100' (or 127' including the dam).
This makes the 'effective gradient' 166 FPM (100'/0.6 mi), or 212 FPM including the dam.

An astounding pair of wide, steep slides, separated by some boogie water and a few wild waves and holes. This one is 'constructed backwards' -- the river is fairly narrow though most of the reach, and spreads wide as it comes into the two big falls. As a result, with enough water to make the big drops anything more than grungy, it is likely that the lead-in stretches will be wild and fast!

Addendum: As of spring, 2009, UPPCO is looking into the possibility of selling or abandoning this project (removing the dam). See details at the UPPCO Website.

For more info and photos, see Midwest River Inventory.