Where do I even begin with Rock River Falls? Rock River Falls may go down as one of the waterfalls I’ve most gone out of my way to visit. Visiting the falls involves a 4+ mile trip down a single-lane, dirt forest road. I’m lucky that nobody else was visiting the falls when I was. Otherwise, I don’t know how our vehicles would have passed each other…

Compared to other roads, the unpaved forest road is in pretty good condition. It’s not extremely rocky, you’re not climbing up a steep incline, etc. You’re just in the middle of nowhere! If you get stuck, which could be very possible on a rainy day, you’ve got a 4 mile hike just to the county road you turn off of, and then you’ve got to hike even more to find another person! For those of you who like to go off the beaten path, THIS is the waterfall for you.

Taking my smaller car down the path wasn’t too bad. There are some grasses in the road that brush up against the car. A truck would be ideal, though. I am not really into four-wheelers/ATVs, but I could definitely see using one to get to Rock River Falls.

Note: If you’re headed in toward Rock River Falls, Silver Bell Falls is found by taking the right fork of step 3/4.  I haven’t posted anything about Silver Bell Falls because it was at extremely low flow, and the photographs I have are awful. There may be a gate blocking you partway down this “road”. It wasn’t closed, so I kept going. Beware!  Even though the road looks like it keeps going, it actually ends VERY abruptly. I almost got stuck trying to back my way out. Stop at the large turnaround area just before the road appears to get very uneven.

Directions:

1. You can access the falls from either M-28 or M-94. From one of those paved highways, turn onto H-01. From M-28, you’ll be heading south on H-01.
2. Drive a distance until you have reached Forest Road 2276 (aka Sandstrom Road). If you’re heading south, FR-2276 will be on your right.
3. Head about 3.7 miles on FR-2276. You will reach a fork in the “road”.
4. Take the left fork and head another 0.5 miles or so. (Taking the right fork will lead to Silver Bell Falls.)
5. On your left, you should notice a small sign. It doesn’t say that Rock River Falls is nearby. It just indicates a trail head.
6. From here, follow the trail to the falls. The trail was actually pretty obvious, though there were definitely some muddy parts.

Accessibility: 7/10 (easy/moderate, once you’ve gotten to the trail head)
Height: 18′
Length of Hike: 1.8 miles round-trip

Rock River Falls in July 2008

Where in the World is Rock River Falls?