Hi there!
The hike to Laughing Whitefish Falls is around a 1 mile long round trip.
And, it’s through a forest so it’s like a nice relatively short nature walk to get to see waterfalls!
There are stairs for one of the Laughing Whitefish Falls overlooks, though!
If you’re chasing waterfalls in the UP, the Laughing Whitefish Falls might be worth putting on your Michigan waterfalls list!
It requires a pretty short hike through a forest to get to the first waterfalls overlook.
And then there’s a set of stairs you can take to get a lower view of the waterfalls.
Compared to some other popular waterfalls that are in the Upper Peninsula, Laughing Whitefish Falls seems to get far fewer visitors.
If your Lake Superior tour takes you around Marquette and Pictured Rocks, a visit to Laughing Whitefish Falls isn’t that far out of the way. (More on this below.)
Why is it called the Laughing Whitefish Falls?
According to Michigan State Parks:
The Laughing Whitefish River flows into Lake Superior at Laughing Whitefish Point.
The point is so named because the rocks at the tip of the point resemble a laughing fish when viewed from the water.
When to go to Laughing Whitefish Falls during your U.P. road trip
I was doing a sort of “circle the UP” type of road trip. I went to Laughing Whitefish Falls on the drive from Pictured Rocks to Marquette.
So if you’re driving west (in the direction of Wisconsin), you can add this waterfall stop to your drive on the day you are driving to Marquette.
You might be coming from places like Tahquamenon Falls, Grand Marais, Pictured Rocks, Munising, or Au Train. (That is listed in order from east to west.)
Likewise, if you’re driving east (the direction you’d drive to head towards lower Michigan), you can add this waterfall stop to your drive on the day you leave Marquette when you’re heading east.
Your next destination after Marquette might be places like Au Train, Munising, Pictured Rocks, Grand Marais, or Tahquamenon Falls. (That is listed in order from west to east.)
If you’re doing a day trip from Marquette to Kitch-iti-kipi (1.5 hour drive one way), it’s reasonable add a stop at Laughing Whitefish Falls too.
Making the waterfall stop will add about 30 minutes of drive time, compared to just driving straight to Kitch-iti-kipi.
Backpacking the North Country Trail
The North Country Trail is a national scenic trail that extends for 4,600 miles across many states from the midwest to the east coast.
It also goes near the Laughing Whitefish Falls, so you can see the waterfalls with a detour off the North Country Trail.
Now…
More PHOTOS of Laughing Whitefish Falls
…and the road to getting there
The spot is officially called the Laughing Whitefish Falls Scenic Site, and it’s a part of Michigan State Parks. Once you get near, you’ll see a sign.
Once turning off the main road, it was a couple of minutes on a paved road, which then turned into a couple of minutes on a dirt road, and then you’re at the Laughing Whitefish Falls parking lot!
There is a bathroom at the trailhead.
Cost of visiting Laughing Whitefish Falls
This is a scenic site that’s a part of Michigan State Parks that requires the Michigan recreation passport.
If you’re a Michigan resident, hopefully you already have the annual recreation passport, in which case it basically makes this a FREE waterfall spot!
If you don’t have the recreation passport, or you’re from out of state, there’s an honor system going on to pay the park fee.
In 2020, for Michigan residents the annual pass is around $17 when purchased at a state park. For out-of-state residents, the annual pass is around $34 while the daily pass is around $9. See current fees here.
There wasn’t anyone monitoring this site when I was there in July 2020.
The trail to the waterfalls
Anytime you see one of these shoe brush things at the start of a trail, use it! Because well, why not!
So then you’ll start the trail, and it’ll be about a 10 minute walk until you see the first overlook for the waterfalls.
It’s a hike through the forest!
Your first glimpse of the waterfalls!
Then, after you’ve taken in the waterfall views from this first overlook, you can take the stairs down for a different view of the waterfalls.
And then you can continue to take the stairs down for one more official waterfall viewing spot.
And that’s a bit of what you’ll see with a visit to the Laughing Whitefish Falls!
See the Michigan waterfalls road trip route!
More of the U.P.
- Driving from Munising to Marquette (stops to make)
- Best of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
- The bubbling Big Spring
- Quick stops to make in the Keweenaw Peninsula
HAPPY HIKING TO THE LAUGHING WHITEFISH WATERFALLS!
Top places to visit in Michigan:
- Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
- Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
- Upper Peninsula Michigan
- Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park
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