Root Beer Falls, Michigan

Last month, we flew into Rochester, visited some waterfalls in Minnesota, one in Wisconsin, and then stopped at a few in our home state, Michigan. As with Morgan Falls, I had not visited this waterfall, Root Beer Falls. I found this one in Phil Stagg’s Waterfalls of Michigan (Book 4 – West), which you can purchase at https://www.mifalls.com/. I hadn’t really noticed this one before, and saw it right as we were passing through Wakefield in the Upper Peninsula.

Let’s start by saying: Google Maps has 2 “Root Beer Falls” in Wakefield. I had the directions but just trusted the one that pops up first is the correct location. It is not, at least on my searches. It’s on the same creek, Planter Creek, but is off by just over a mile. The Root Beer Falls “landmark” on Google maps directly off of M28 is the correct location. I’ve included the correct location in the directions and map below.

Root Beer Falls is not tall, only about 6′ tall. But it’s really cool and also easy to get to. The name of the falls comes from the color of the creek water. In the Upper Peninsula, many waterfalls like Tahquamenon Falls take on this color and it’s because of tannins, the chemical compounds that are also found in wine (especially red wine), tea, and coffee. Tannins give those and other things a bitter/astringent flavor or mouth-feel and different colors. (I’m a chemist, and I just think tannins are cool, so I felt like including it here!) The tannins here give the water a “root beer” color, hence the name.

With the colors of the water in the creek and the general beauty of the sunshine, almost summer day, Root Beer Falls popped even though it’s not tall. And if you’re at the correct location, the falls are rather easy to get to. I was deciding whether to rate this as 9/10 or 10/10 for accessibility. I rated it as 10/10 since it’s very easy to visit, but it’s not something you could take a wheelchair down. Maybe with the help of others…To get to the creek and creek bed, there is a hill about 6′ tall that you have to traverse…It’s a dirt path, but it’s easy to walk down. The falls are close enough that you can see them from here, so it’s just 50-100 feet after that. While small, it’s an easy stop that I believe is worth taking.

Directions:

1. In Wakefield, there is an intersection of US-2 and M28. M28 heads northeast, but for a short distance, you’re travelling north.
2. About 1 mile after heading north from the US-2/M28 intersection, you’ll come to Wertanen Road. You’ll turn left onto Wertanen Road.
3. About 300 feet after turning left, the waterfall would be on your left. We came from the opposite direction and were on the right of the road, and I believe it might be easier to see where the “stop” is on the side of the road for the falls. If you’ve driven for more than 1/4 of a mile, turn around and head back toward M28.
4. The falls are a very short distance from the road.

Accessibility: 10/10 (easy)
Height: 6′
Length of Hike: 0.1 miles round-trip

Where in the World is Root Beer Falls?