First, I’ll mention you can find out more about the waterfalls on the West Branch Sturgeon River in my previous post, West Branch Sturgeon Falls #3. The lower set of Hogger Falls are not mentioned that frequently, most likely because they’re rather small and other larger falls are not too distant. Even so, they’re very pretty.

Let me say, though, that I’m not sure that I would be able to find the “4th” lower falls again. The first three were found by random chance after at least following what looked like a trail. After the first three falls, though, we really started wandering. The terrain around the West Branch of the Sturgeon is not exactly even, and so after climbing up and down hills and around trees, we stumbled upon the 4th falls. I distinctly remember climbing/sliding down a steeper slope to get a better view of this falls, only to find out there was a lot of vegetation near the river, making that a more difficult task than expected. It was an adventure, to say the least.

Directions:

1. We took MI-38 west out of Baraga and headed for a ways on M-38.
2. After traveling west on M-38, you will come to Newberry Road, which will be on your left.
3. Turn left onto Newberry Road and head 3 miles south on the dirt road.
4. After about 3 miles, you’ll come to a “road” on your left. If you go any further, you’ll end up at the West Branch Sturgeon River, where the bridge is out. If you turn around and head north, I guess it’s the first “road” on your right.
5. We had to stop at that road because it was blocked by a gate, and I’m not necessarily sure I would head down that road anyway.
6. From the gate, start hiking east down the road. Keep going until it appear that the road “ends”. It seemed to be blocked by a pile of dirt and trees, though there was a trail that wrapped around to the right.
7. Follow that trail to the right, which heads to the river. Depending on where you end up, you’ll likely see a waterfall. The first waterfall we saw was not easily visible. I then headed back west following the river very closely. This is the fourth fall upstream that was “easily” visible, though this became more difficult to see than the first three.

Accessibility: 4/10 (moderate/strenuous)
Height: 3′
Length of Hike: 2.4 miles round-trip

West Branch Sturgeon Falls #4 in October 2010

Where in the World is West Branch Sturgeon Falls #4?