NORTHEASTERN WISCONSIN - Wisconsin - page 449

MM Iron County's Waterfalls
IronCounty boasts more than 50waterfalls, from the wilderness-accessible to the roadside.
It's got six of the state's 10 tallest and boasts the highest concentration in the Midwest.
Show up during spring snowmelt and these bad boys simply roar.
Land changes hands and suddenly access roads are no longer, well, accessible. Contact
the Hurley chamber of commerce (316 Silver St., 715/561-4334, www.hurleywi.com ) to
check on road access. It's also got precise directions, right down to GPS coordinates.
The highest are personal favorites Potato River Falls and the hard-to-find Superior
Falls, botharespectable90feet.ToreachthePotatoRiverFalls,headwest;southofU.S.2
in Gurney is a sign to Potato River Falls along a gravel road. Magnificent upper and lower
falls don't see many folks, so the trails are great for exploring. There's also rustic camp-
ing. Continuing down WIS 169 will bring you to Wren Falls, with great trout fishing and
more primitive camping, though a meager 15-foot drop for the falls. Superior Falls is west
of Hurley 12 miles and then north on WIS 122 for 4.2 miles. Cross the Michigan border,
go half a mile, and turn left on a gravel road (it's easy to miss—keep your eyes peeled).
There's a parking area and signs to the great, chuffing 90-foot cascade raining into Lake
Superior.
The east branch of the Montreal River has Peterson Falls (35 feet) and Spring Camp
Falls (20 feet). The west branch has Kimball Park Falls, with a series of riffles, and
15-foot Gile Falls (check out the large waste rock tailing piles, residual of iron ore mining,
across the way).
The Turtle River in the Mercer area also has three oft-visited falls, including the ever-
popular Lake of the Falls, with rustic camping. The Upson area has two cascades, Rouse
Falls and Little Balsam Falls, which are accessible only with some orienteering. Easier
andequallylovelyfallscanbefoundalongtheBlackRiverParkwaynorthofIronwoodand
Bessemer, Michigan, north of Hurley in the Upper Peninsula.
Entertainment and Events
Bars and taverns worth mentioning line the historic five blocks of the downtown Silver
Street area, yet be careful: There is a red-light district in the nether reaches.
Dawn's Never Inn (29SilverSt.,715/561-2090,11am-closedaily)wasonceagangster
hideout and brothel (opened five years after Prohibition started) and still has shooting slits
and other reminders of the gangster heyday (Al Capone purportedly stayed here). The back
bar is fascinating.