FALLS RIVER (Baraga Co., MI, in L'Anse)

LENGTH 2 mi., CLASS IV, GRADIENT:

SEASON: A week or two in early spring.

PUT-IN: Dam at the end of Power Dam Rd. in L'Anse.

TAKEOUT: Lake Superior just west of L'Anse.

GAGE: Visual

FUN FACT: Runnable Waterfalls

SHUTTLE: From the put-in drive less than a mile east to Hwy. 41. Take Hwy. 41 north to L'Anse and go through town to the mouth of the river in L'Anse Bay.

DESCRIPTION:

The Falls flows perpendicular to the hard slate strata forming a riverbed of jagged ledges which gives this stream its gradient, its challenge, and its name. The river collects water in the highlands near L’Anse and is mostly placid until it reaches a small dam once used to generate electricity.

Putting in at this dam, the paddler is faced with three miles of 125 feet-per-mile down to Lake Superior. Most of the run is continuous Class III and IV ledges. In these rapids, if one maintains a safe distance from the paddler ahead, often only his head and shoulders will be visible Many of the larger drops require scouting and two are usually portaged.

The river eases up considerably just before entering L’Anse. Near the city limits it finds itself with a lot of elevation to lose before the lake, and a short distance to do it in. Thus it literally drops out of the sky, topping off the run with some incredible steep-gradient paddling.

This is a small river with a fast runoff, so on-the-spot inspection is usually mandatory. The particularly steep section in town is easy to scout, and if it is at least barely runnable, the narrower upper part will have plenty of water. At any level, the Falls demands a good group, capable of teamwork in tight eddy situations. Yet all in all, this is one of the friendlier rivers in the L’Anse-Mount Curwood area, and makes a good warmpup for the Silver and the smaller, more bizarre runs to the east.

from Matt Kuckuk's description originally published as part of a story on South Shore creeks in a 1981 issue of the American Whitewater Journal (vol 26, no 4 & 5).

Check out Dag Grada's description on American Whitewater's site