Wagner Falls Is One Of Michigan's Splendid Sites

Wagner Falls State Scenic Site is a quick stop on the way into Munising and can be easily missed it you aren’t aware of it.

I should know…I drove by it so many times before I saw it on a map and decided to stop while out and about on my last day of vacation.

What is it?

Wagner Falls is located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in Alger County and near Munising.

It is located on the Wagner Creek and is part of the 22 acre state park, the Wagner Falls Scenic Site. It is named after the family that originally owned the property before it was deeded as public property in 1935.

Getting There

To get to the falls is actually pretty easy. The road is paved and the falls are located at the junction of M-28 and M-94.

I drove in from the Newberry area so I was on M-28. After turning onto M-94, you will barely make the curves and the falls parking will be on your left side. Don’t be surprised if the parking lot is full. We saw several people parking along the road because of this.

What Will you Find?

While the parking lot may be full, trust me, people come and quickly from this site.

The walk back to the falls is very short and the path/boardwalk is fairly wide so it can easily accommodate wheelchairs and stollers. The trail is reported to be 0.20 mile with an elevation gain of only 9 feet. I think it took us around five minutes to get to the waterfall itself at a leisurely pace.

There are a few step once you reach the falls so that you can get a little closer – great photo opportunity, by the way – but it is not necessary to climb them to get a good view of the waterfall.

This is a walk through the woods so the entire path is shaded. I won’t lie…on a hot August day it felt great too.

The Science Behind The Falls

The Wagner Falls has a total height of 20 feet and flows through a dolomite strata.

Dolomite is a sedimentary rock and thought to form after deposits of lime mud and limestone are altered with magnesium rich groundwater. It can be found worldwide in sedementary basins.

The water that streams over the Wagner Falls will eventually make it’s way to the Anna River just below the falls before it empties into Lake Superior near Munising.

Wagner Falls is referred to as a “cascading” waterfall.

It’s A State Park, What Do You Need?

The Wagner Falls Scenic Site is classified as a Michigan State Park with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources but you will not need the usual passport to enter.

This is a roadside stop and walk in area. There is no place to picnic or hangout to enjoy the scenery or relax as you may be used to doing in other state parks here. That is one of the reasons I said not to worry if it looks like there are a lot of cars here and that people come and go quickly.

Most walk in, take advantage of the photo ops and leave.

However, I did see a few people walking in the woods but I don’t remember there being any actual trails. If you are reading this and know that there are trails, please say so in the comments.

While You’re In The Area

If you are a fan of waterfalls and enjoy searching them out as much as you love looking at them and photographing them, take advantage of all the falls around Munising. There are so many here!

On our trip we made a large circle pattern and still didn’t see half of them I think. We started here at the Wagner Falls, followed M-94 south to the Au Train Falls (check out my post about the Au Train Falls if you missed it HERE)

We then stayed on the Autrain Forest Lake Road and made our way back to M-28. Along M-28 you will see pullouts to stop for several small falls. And some are indeed small falls but still interesting, like Scott Falls. It is a trickle over the edge a rock but the cave behind it was worth a quick look.

And besides, how often do you get a chance to say that you walked behind a waterfall?!