Munising Falls Trail to see 3 viewpoints of waterfalls! + more Pictured Rocks waterfalls 🌳 Upper Peninsula Michigan travel blog

Hi there! 

The Munising Falls Trail is not long, and you can see Munising Falls by walking just a few minutes from the parking lot!

But, you may also want to walk around a little more so you can get different views of the waterfalls!

While there is no separate cost to see Munising Falls, there is a Pictured Rocks national park entry fee.

So as the name indicates, Munising Falls Trail will lead you to one of the many waterfalls in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore!

On the trail, there are 3 different viewing areas so you can see Munising Falls from different angles.

To get to the waterfalls, it’s a short walk from the trailhead parking lot. The trail is listed as 800 ft to Munising Falls.

It’s a straight paved path to get to one of the viewpoints, and then there are some stairs to see the waterfalls from a higher viewpoint.

What the National Park Service wants you to know about the trail that goes behind the waterfalls

As per the National Park Service:

Rockfalls have occurred several times in the past few years, prompting closure of the trail behind the falls.

No one can predict when a large piece will break loose from the valley wall.

In short, don’t go beyond the marked area!

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 through Pictured Rocks for around 40 miles, and there are backcountry campsites along the way.

If you’re backpacking the North Country Trail through Pictured Rocks, the NCT doesn’t go directly past Munising Falls so it will be a short detour to see these waterfalls.

From near the Munising Falls trailhead, you can head towards the landmarks of Sand Point beach and Miners Castle overlook, which will be hiking on the North Country Trail.

Cost to see Munising Falls

According to the National Park Service:

To access Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, you must possess and display:

Pictured Rocks 7-Day or Annual Entrance Pass

OR

America the Beautiful Pass (Annual, Military, Fourth Grade, Senior, or Volunteer).

If you already have an America the Beautiful Pass, you do not need to buy a separate Pictured Rocks Entrance Pass!

The Pictured Rocks entry fee will cover all trails and waterfalls in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and that includes the Munising Falls Trail.

The cost to visit Pictured Rocks in 2023 is $20 per car. This will get you a 7-day Pictured Rocks national park pass. (There is no one-day Pictured Rocks pass.)

Confirm current Pictured Rocks fees.

You can buy a Pictured Rocks national park pass at a Pictured Rocks visitor center when you arrive, or you can buy it online at recreation.gov before you go.

If you will also be visiting other national parks that have entry fees, then you may want to look into getting an annual national park pass aka the America the Beautiful pass!

This annual national park pass will also be accepted at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Other popular national parks “near” Michigan include Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina, but these parks do not have a national park entry fee.

If you have several more weeks to spare in the summer or fall, you can make use of the America the Beautiful national park pass by driving out to Yellowstone National Park!

You can go to national parks in Wyoming and national parks in South Dakota, and you could even add on a national park in North Dakota and/or a national park site in Idaho! See how I did the drive from Chicago to Yellowstone.

If you are a senior, there is also an annual national park pass for seniors that will be worth it even if you only visit Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore! It’s $20! See current fees under America the Beautiful passes.

More below about Munising Falls!

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Now…

PHOTOS of the trail to see Munising Falls!

…and getting there

So Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore has the town of Munising on one side to the west and Grand Marais on the other side to the east.

And as you can probably figure out, Munising Falls is on the Munising side!

Your destination for google maps can be Munising Falls or Munising Falls Visitor Center. Note that there is also a Munising Visitor Center (no falls), and that’s not where you want to go.

Once you get close, you’ll see a sign for the Munising Falls Visitor Center and Munising Falls.

You’ll be parking at the visitor center parking lot to go to the waterfalls.

And then you can get started on the trail! You’ll pass by the visitor center and a bathroom.

Off you go on the trail! 

You will walk straight ahead for around 5 minutes and you will start to see the waterfalls!

And then once you’ve gotten your fill of views of Munising Falls from the front, you can make your way up the stairs to get a little bit closer to the sandstone cliff and waterfalls!

And then when you’ve taken in those views, you can then make your way back…

And then take the stairs up to the other viewpoint to see the waterfalls from another angle! (You will have passed these stairs on your way to the other waterfall viewpoints.)

And that’s a bit of what you’ll see with a visit to Munising Falls!

Chasing waterfalls in the UP?!

Here are more waterfalls in Pictured Rocks:

• Miners Falls
• Chapel Falls (waterfalls + sandy beach + smaller waterfalls at the beach too! Also the direction of the famous cliffs)
• Sable Falls (waterfalls + colorful beach to search for agate stones)

Waterfalls near Pictured Rocks:

• Wagner Falls
• Alger Falls (roadside waterfalls)
• Scott Falls (roadside waterfalls)

Also see things to do on your drive from Munising to Marquette, which includes stopping at Laughing Whitefish Falls.

HAPPY SEEING MUNISING FALLS!