Huron Creek Falls
Huron Creek Falls is right in the middle of Houghton. No, seriously, like right in the middle of the city. Located between Copper County Mental Health Services and a small medical office, this is one of the most oddly positioned waterfalls I’ve ever seen.
The Huron Creek has humble beginnings near Atlantic Mine, a census-designated place named after a copper mine in that part of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The creek runs near Dodgeville and approaches the City of Houghton from the south, first passing through two small lakes and a swampy area near Walmart. The river has undoubtedly been pushed around over the years thanks to the overdevelopment of this part of Houghton. The creek likely sees more runoff during rain due to the sea of parking lots of M-26.
The Huron Creek then runs next to the Copper Country Mental Health Services building and under Razorback Drive, the non-through traffic road running around the complex. From there, the creek continues, takes a harsh turn, and falls over a series of drops over rugged basalt cliffs and pools under the parking lot for Upper Peninsula Audiology, or whatever doctor’s office occupies that space when you’re reading this.
In addition to Huron Creek Falls pooling here, a large culvert that runs under M-26 deposits here and looks more like a waterfall than a drain when it rains.
Without the traffic and city noise, this is quite a lovely waterfall. The best view of the falls is from the doctor’s office at 801 Memorial Road (M-26), but you can better experience the falls from a trail that runs parallel to the falls. To access that, park in the back lot of Copper County Mental Health Services (901 West Memorial Drive). Alternatively, this trail can be accessed from Jefferson Street on the other side of the doctor’s office.
The walk to the falls is a short one, and when I visited for the first time, there was a ton of litter. It’s evident this is a popular hangout place for local kids, and there was a ton of garbage from the nearby stores, like Walmart, Taco Bell, and Dairy Queen. Regardless of the rubbish, the view of Huron Creek from here is quite nice, and you have a better view of the drainage falls across the river.
Someone placed a wooden cross at the bottom of the falls, which is picturesque and proves you can get down there with a little effort. I didn’t have time on this trip, but I plan to get down there at some point for better photos. Hopefully, there’ll be less rain and litter when I return!
