Eagle River Falls is a 35-foot steep cascade on the Eagle River in Keweenaw County, Michigan, dropping through the village of Eagle River beside the M-26 bridge. A steel footbridge next to the road gives a top-down view of the falls and the remains of the dam that once powered a fuse factory here.
The falls
Lidar data puts the drop at about 35 feet in a single steep cascade. Other sources give 60 feet, and the old dam pushes the total to well over 60 feet. The remnants of that small wooden dam sit at the top of the falls and span most of the 60-foot-wide river, turning the water out over higher rock on either side of the natural channel. If the dam ever gives way, the river will return to its own channel and the falls will likely lose 5 to 15 feet of height.
Getting there
The falls are in the village of Eagle River on M-26. Parking is to the right of the bridge as you enter the village, about 20 yards from the pedestrian bridge that serves as the viewpoint. Keweenaw County lists the spot as Eagle River Bridge Park, a roadside site beside the township hall on Michigan Department of Transportation land, and rates it as partly accessible. The road itself crosses the river on the M-26 timber bridge, built in 1991 and designed to carry the same traffic loads as the state's concrete and steel highway bridges.
When to go
Spring melt turns the cascades into a torrent, a gentler flow runs through summer, and ice forms in winter. Keweenaw Waterfall Week, held each May, is timed for the spring cascades.
On site
The main view is from the steel pedestrian bridge, looking down on the falls and the dam remains; an accessible walkway is noted. Access to the base isn't documented. Eagle River Beach, the Eagle River Museum and Fitzgerald's restaurant are within walking distance.
History and name
This site is also called Lower Eagle River Falls. It is the site of the original Lake Superior Fuse Company, whose water-powered fuse factory is associated with Mary Blight, from the years when Eagle River was a copper-mining and trade hub.
Nearby
Fenner Falls is about half a mile away on the same river. Ten Foot falls, also called Upper Eagle River Falls, is about 1.2 miles away at an unsigned gravel pull-off. Silver Creek falls is about 1.9 miles away, and Jacob's Falls, about 3 miles on, can be seen from the car along M-26.
Distances are straight-line.