A scenic site awaits visitors at Agate Falls

TROUT CREEK – Considered one of Michigan’s most picturesque waterfalls, Agate Falls is located along the Middle Branch of the Ontonagon River. A half-mile trail provides access to an observation platform with views of the top of the falls. The trail passes through a tunnel under M-28 and you can also view overhead railroad trestles.

The falls are created as the river finds its way over an extended shelf of terraced Jacobsville Sandstone. The resulting waterfall is a broad band of interlacing cascades and the stunning main falls that are nearly 40 feet high and 80 feet wide. The Jacobsville Sandstone Formation at Agate Falls was deposited 990 million years ago, when North America was part of the supercontinent Rodina (before Pangea) and has been studied by universities for ancient latitudes and magnetic directions.

Depending on weather conditions, the site is typically open for vehicle access mid-May through mid-October. Trail access is open year-round; however, trails and boardwalks are not monitored or groomed for snow and ice.
Parking, vault toilets, a paved trail and a picnic area are available at the adjacent Michigan Department of Transportation roadside park which is generally open early May through late October.

UC Berkeley has studied the Jacobsville Sandstone Formation at Agate Falls on several occasions to help advance the knowledge of the geological history of the Upper Peninsula and while Jacobsville Sandstone is common across several locations in the U.P. the Jacobsville Formation at Agate Falls contains red siltstone. For research purposes, this can help determine the Earth’s magnetic field at the time it was deposited. 

This is a trip worth taking, and a waterfall worth visiting!