Upper Dead River Falls
The Dead River is surrounded by soaring rock cliffs downstream of McClure Basin. Below one of these cliffs, on a sharp twist of the river above a deep pool, the water drops over a wide, jagged set of drops that is set between jagged banks. Upper Dead River Falls is an impressive waterfall that is hard to reach and even harder to see, and is one of the taller drops on the river.
Directions
Take County Road 502 from US-41, a right turn about 2.5 miles west of Marquette, up to County Road 510. Stay on 510 for 2.5 miles before turning right on Neejee Road. Neejee Road is a winding dirt road on the north side of McClure Basin with a lot of sidetracks leading off to various housing areas. Stick to the main road for 1.2 miles before turning right on McClure Storage Basin Road which will take you to the dam after .9 miles.
The easiest route is to just head down the hill to the bottom of the dam (the top is fenced off, so don’t head that way). Follow the Dead River downstream past McClure Dam Falls to Upper Dead River Falls, about a fifteen minute walk. The waterfall is difficult to view, across a steeply walled pool, unless you can find a way to cross downstream.
Photographs
Visits
Seen in April and November.
There was no way across the river and no good views from the southern bank. I was forced to zoom in close to capture what I could and let the rising mist show what lay behind the curve of rock. One of these days I'll have to come here in the summer and wade across to get a better view.
This waterfall was located at an inconvenient bend in the river that hid most of the drop from the banks. Looking over to the waterfall was humbling, as it was a truly jagged set of cascades that looked more than a little frightful. The test site below it was hemmed up by a wall of crumbling rock that was very difficult to walk across; we managed to get past it and I tried to get some decent photos from across the downstream pool.
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