Marquette County is home to more than 60 waterfalls, including Dead River Falls, Alder Falls, Yellow Dog Falls, and Morgan Falls. While those waterfalls have well-marked trails that are relatively easy to follow, some of the waterfalls here take a little more work to find. Ely Falls is a smaller drop on Ely Creek that can be reached after a short hike through the woods south of Ishpeming. You won’t find any signs on the side of the road or a big parking area for this waterfall, but it is a scenic stop worth visiting and today we will tell you how to visit.

There is a faint trail that leads into the woods from where we parked. We had a pretty good idea which way to head to get to the creek, and from there figured we might be able to hear the falls. In some spots the trail was wide, when it forked we at first went right but realized that was incorrect. While this did provide us views of a cool mushroom, it added a bit to the hike as we had to double back and take the left fork instead.

This path comes out of the woods near the top of a large granite outcropping. You need to get to the bottom for a good view of Ely Falls, which was a bit difficult during our last visit since it had rained recently. You will be able to hear and see the falls from here, and once you get to the creek a narrow trail runs along the side.

The upper drop is only a few feet but is the more scenic of the two drops as the creek gets squeezed between jagged rocks.

The lower drop is wider, and has a few small drops over rocks in the creek. This is a pretty peaceful spot, and you are unlikely to encounter anyone else when visiting.

I had been here once before in 2009, and we attempted to return in April of 2021 but were stopped by deep snow. To get back here in June we followed the directions in Phil Stagg’s book. From Business M-28 in Ishpeming, head south on Washington St. and follow south for a little more than four miles (it becomes CR-476 along the way). Look for parking on the east side of the road just south of CR-PG and find the trail that leads into the woods. You should be heading east towards the creek, and in less than a quarter mile be able to hear the falls.