Victoria Dam Falls

towering overflow channel from an impressive dam

This section of West Branch Ontonagon River was once the home of the famous Ontonagon Boulder (a copper boulder now housed in the Smithsonian weighing almost two tons) and a tall, impressive waterfall. A dam and basin now covers both landmarks and only an overflow channel, one that is rarely flowing, remains. Viewing the drop is easy as it flows down from the opposite bank facing an access point.

Directions

Head west out of Rockland down Elm/Victoria Dam Road, following it down and over the Ontonagon River (main branch) for 4 miles. Continue straight here near the sign for the dam for an additional .4 miles and park on the small lot down to the left, below the reservoir. Head over to the river downstream of the dam, past the old trestle display, to view the falls.

Photographs

Visits

Seen in April, August and October.

April 6, 2009 in full overflow, an angry wall of brown and white
From the lot I could hear the thunderous roar already. Something awesome was happening down at the dam. I hurried over and peered over to see the angry wall of brown and white. Now this, this was a waterfall, even if it was a manmade diversion for the dam. Getting down to the base was a good fifty feet down over icy flows and crumbling dirt, desperate grasping from trunk to brush to rock, before I found myself in the riverbed itself.
October 5, 2008 dry slabs, the wall only trickling
The tall dam and basin were nothing new for me, as I had made several stops by the dry slabs of sandstone hoping to see the water overflowing. Before we left I decided to get a little crazy and head down to the base of the dam. Maybe, just maybe, the dry sandstone wall looked more like a waterfall from the bottom. The climb down was tough and I got my answer: no, the trickling walls did not look like waterfall from the bottom.
August 30, 2008 a few tiny trails of water creeping down the rock
The setup was pretty neat, with a distinctive Cold-War-big-cement-blocky feel to the dam and a large, heavily wooded reservoir above. An overflow channel reached over on the far bank and emptied over giant sandstone slabs, perpendicular to the natural riverbed and giving us a perfect view of the falls. But the waterfall wasn't there. Instead of water cascading down into the steep sandstone gorge a few tiny trails of water crept down the rock. It was really disappointing.