Tahquamenon
Upper Falls to Lower Falls (4.1 miles)
| Difficulty | IV-V |
| Length | 4.2 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 20 fpm |
| Gauge | Tahquamenon River Near Paradise, Mi |
| Flow Rate as of 24 minutes | 1890 cfshigh runnable |
| Reach Info Last Updated | March 29, 2026 |
River Description
Billed as ' the second largest falls east of the Mississippi' (behind Niagara, of course), and ' third most voluminous vertical waterfall east of the Mississippi River, after Niagara Falls and Cohoes Falls, both in New York State', Tahquamenon Falls State Park hosts two areas of falls in what is otherwise a flatwater river. This seldom gets run because it lies 'in the middle of nowhere' (a long way from most of the great U.P. whitewater).
Upper Falls is a wide, sheer-vertical drop (in the neighborhood of 50 feet tall and 200 feet wide) which has been run by a few 'big cajones' boaters. (Most mere-mortal boaters will be content to enjoy the view of this impressive falls, and will boat only the lower falls.) Click for a video (queued to 0:25 to skip some of the float in) of Marcelo Galizio running the falls on 2018.12.30: Marcelo Galizio runs the falls
Lower Falls occurs 3.6 flatwater miles downstream. You can put-in below the Upper Falls and paddle down to the Lower or just park-and-play at the Lower. An island splits the river at the Lower, so routes are possible on both sides. From the Lower parking lot picnic area, carry your boat the short distance to the steps down to the water and paddle over to the island. As of May, 2022, there is a handicapped accessible pedestrian bridge to the island, but this would be a long hike to carry your boat. After paddling to the island, hike your boat up to hit either channel.
Just upstream of the island there is a river wide, shallow ledge that does have a few small play waves on river left. This is also the deepest water to run the ledge. You could paddle to shore and portage 50' to get above the ledge, then paddle down.
River-right around the island are two ledge drops of about 6 to 8 feet which land hard on bedrock, one right after the other. Flows wil
...River Features
Upper Falls
Fifty foot falls. If you dare, run river right on the toungue at the point.
Minor ledge/wave/shoals
(Via GoogleMaps aerial view) There appears to be a minor ledge/wave/shoals here, which may (at some flows) create minor entertainment (play).
River Wide Ledge
This is a river-wide shallow ledge, just upstream from the main island of the lower falls. It can probably be run anywhere, if you don't mind sliding over the rocks. River left, near shore, provides the best chute.
River Wide Ledge Playspot
Just above the island on the lower falls is a river wide ledge. On river left, there is a playspot just below the ledge. Not much, but it's something.
Tom's Challenge
River left of big island, the first drop is a 6' to 8' ledge. This can be run in more than one location. The photo and video shows probably the best route over a point that is right of center. In the video, the second paddler (Tom) tried it a little too far right and got caught in the backwash. It wasn't too difficult to get him to the island to bail out. It's fairly shallow and not a strong current before the next drop.
Viewing Platform
River left of big island, the second drop is another 6' to 8' ledge. A small island that splits the river again, and you can run on either side of the island, but the river-right side is a bit bony. The photo and video show the river-left side. There is really only one route which is on the right side, maybe 10' out from the island. Too far left and you'll run into the rock outcrop that the viewing platform is built on. The river really narrows here and there is kind of a tongue on the river right (you can see the smooth water in the photo). No boof is needed here as the water just washes you right through.
Run Out Rapid
Below the viewing platform are a few small ledges and some rock garden.
Double Drop
River right of big island is a double drop consisting of two 6' ledges. (This isn't really at 4.2 miles, but after you run river left, you can take-out at the end of the island, portage back to the other end, and run river right.) Flow needs to be over 1,000 cfs to run this -- at flows lower than that, it is just too shallow (you'll 'grunge out' on the approach, and land hard -- boat/body abuse).
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportThe park has moved and improved the access point below the falls. The did this for folks that put-in here to go down the river, but it work well for those of us going up the river to run the lower falls.
Curious what makes it a 5.3? Looks like a clean approach with landmarks into a rolling lip into a large pool.
Doug: Not sure where Matt Jackson got the 5.3 rating. I haven't run the falls, but his description is correct, though at lower flows it is shallow above the drop. I think there would be a chance of turning if you weren't in the deepest water.
Very good level. River left of the big island, everything was runnable and not boney. The first drop could be run on the left center or right center. the drop by the platform was powerful, but fun. you could also run to the right of the small island instead of the platform drop. At lower levels, it is too rocky.
River right of the big island might have been possible, but we didn't try it. River left has a double drop and below the first drop is a flat shelf. Maybe it was a foot deep. Even though there was a lot of water, this would have been a hard landing. On the far right, the double drop is broken up a bit and maybe you could slide over the rocks, but there wasn't a lot of room for error. Probably nothing too serious if you didn't make it, but...
Ran the lower falls left of the island. Right of the island would have been too shallow. The play spot wave above the island was fine. Tom's Challenge was a bit too shallow. Each time I got caught on the lip and had to 'scoot' myself over. The third time I got stood up as the bow hit the flat limestone in about a foot of water. Not the best level. But, the Viewing Platform falls was fine. Plenty of water going over with no problems. The Run Out Rapid was also too shallow. Not a deep enough channel anywhere and had to do some hand pushing.
Marcelo Galizio runs the Upper Falls.
From an online description: Have you ever wondered what it would be like to kayak over Tahquamenon Falls? It’s only a 51-foot drop, no big deal, right? Marcelo Galizio came to the U.P. from Brazil with his eyes set on Tahquamenon. He’s made numerous first descents over waterfalls 50 feet and higher. He’s also spent five years as a an experienced guide and spent some time guiding in the Upper Peninsula this summer.
Left of the island was sweet. Still a little shallow just about the first drop. You tend to scrape just before you go over, which takes your momentum. Right of the island still seems to be too shallow for a smooth landing. Maybe it needs to be closer to 1,500?
Upstream of the island is a river wide ledge. You can get to this by hiking up the main trail. It is fairly shallow as the river widens above the island. The deepest route is on river left, though you can probably slide over in a number of places. There is a small playspot on river left below the ledge.
Going on the left side of the island, there is a ledge drolp. On the right side of the ledge there is a slight 'point' that provides you the best opportunity to land out from the hole at the bottom.
Video of Doug Tom running Tom's Challenge
Doug running the viewing platform ledge, 2nd drop, river left of the main island.
Tom going over last stretch of white water at the lower falls. This is the run out below Viewing Platform Rapids. After the Viewing Platform rapid, there is a short stretch of a few small ledges and some rock garden. At lower levels, it is a bit shallow.
If you take the right side of the island, there are consecutive 6' ledges.
Pictures from near the put-in for the Lower Falls. Looking upstream at Double Drop, which is river right of the island. On the far right of the picture, you can just see the boardwalk for landing the row boats. This is also where you take-out to walk to the far end of the island to put-in. A photo of park interpretive sign show an areal photo of the lower falls. A photo of the viewing platform and Viewing Platform rapid.
The upper falls are spectacular in autumn.
The Upper Falls (Picture 1). The ledges of the river-right side of the island at Lower Tahquamenon Falls (Picture 2).