Munising Falls in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore – Michigan

One of the most popular things to do when visiting Michigan’s Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is to ‘chase waterfalls’ and the beautiful Munising Falls waterfall is one of the most accessible to see. This 50-foot waterfall is fed by the Munising River, and drops down a sandstone cliff. This waterfall is located just outside of Munising, Michigan and is only a short hike from your car.

Munising Falls Location

To reach Munising Falls, you will need to park at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Visitor Center. There is plenty of parking here and real bathrooms are available. When I visited, the visitor center was closed for the season, but they did leave the National Park Passport stamp ink pad outside so nerds like me can stamp their passport book.

There is also a Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore entrance sign here too – I love getting photos with these signs!

Starting in 2022, there will be an entrance fee for Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. I visited in 2021 and it was free. If you have an America the Beautiful park pass, it is accepted here.

Hiking to Munising Falls

When you walk up to the visitor center, you’ll see a sign pointing the way to Munising Falls – 800 feet. Simply follow the direction of the sign to begin your short hike.

It’s a short and easy hike on a paved trail that follows along a creek, with a few footbridges to the waterfall. The hike is completely shaded with trees towering above – I visited on a sunny, blue sky day – you might not know it from my pictures though – it looks so dark! Along the trail, there are a few benches along the way to rest if you need to. If you visit during the fall like I did, you’ll be treated to some beautiful fall foliage (I swear, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan has some of the best fall colors I’ve ever seen!)

Dogs are welcome on this hike!

In just a few short minutes, you’ll reach the large viewing platform for the base of the waterfall. If you want to continue hiking to see Munising Falls from a different angle, there are some stairs you can climb to get another view. I didn’t do this on my trip, as I took my dog on the trail and he gets a little sketched out on stairs.

I visited in mid-October and Munising Falls was down to almost a trickle, but it was still beautiful. I imagine this waterfall is much more…robust…in the springtime.

Where to stay when visiting Munising Falls

Munising, Michigan has a good selection of chain hotels, so you should be able to find something. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore has campsites available. On my trip, I stayed in Marquette, Michigan, as I wanted a bit more in terms of nearby amenities, plus I had never been to the area before, so I wanted to check out the town of Marquette too. I also wasn’t planning on heading any further east on this particular trip.

Marquette is about 50 minutes away from Munising Falls, so it’s not a bad drive.

In summary, Munising Falls is a short walk to a beautiful waterfall – definitely add this to your Upper Peninsula road trip itinerary and/or your Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore itinerary!

Have you visited Munising Falls? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!