Hungarian River

Middle Hungarian Falls #3, Michigan

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Middle Hungarian Falls #3 is the least exciting of all of the waterfalls on or near the Hungarian River.  Even when the other falls are at their highest flows, this one is still pretty insignificant, as the picture from May 2009 shows below.  This small little fall is not on the main river/creek, but a very small offshoot.  You may not even notice this as you’re waking along.  It was a while ago, but I do remember it being visible from a wooden plank that crosses the Hungarian River.

Directions:

  1. You’ll be driving along M-26 toward Hubell, MI.
  2. In the outskirts of Hubell (if there can be outskirts in such a small town), turn onto Sixth Street.
  3. Sixth Street will dead end, but to the left is a dirt road named Golf Course Road. Take the road to the left.
  4. You will go up a hill, and the road will flatten out a little bit.
  5. Here’s the confusing part…As you’re driving on Golf Course Road, you will pass a number of dirt roads on the left. I got confused by the directions I was following and ended up turning onto the first road ON THE LEFT after a pile of rubble and a gate. The connection to the road was not even, so go slowly!
  6. From there, I headed down that road to the end, where there is a turn-around. Park here.
  7. From here, you will connect onto the trail to your right. Where I parked, if I walked straight instead of to the right, I hit what looked like the remains of an old bridge.
  8. From this trail, you will end up passing the Lower Falls first. Then you will come to the first Middle Hungarian Falls. All of the falls can be viewed from this trail, some better than others.

Accessibility: 6/10 (moderate)
Height: 5′
Length of Hike: 0.9 miles round-trip

One of the Hungarian Falls in May 2009

Where in the World is Middle Hungarian Falls #3?

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Even Lower Hungarian Falls, Michigan

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Below Lower Hungarian Falls, there are a number of smaller drops on the river that are interesting to view. These can only be viewed by making the very crazy choice to head down in to the gorge itself. It was definitely not the easiest hike I have ever done. After jumping from the riverbank onto logs, and then rock-hopping for a ways, you will reach these falls. The return journey is no simpler.

This specific waterfall is about 10′ tall, and comes in two separate drops. I think there are a few others. You might be able to tell there’s a third drop almost hidden by a log.

Directions:

  1. You’ll be driving along M-26 toward Hubell, MI.
  2. In the outskirts of Hubell (if there can be outskirts in such a small town), turn onto Sixth Street.
  3. Sixth Street will dead end, but to the left is a dirt road named Golf Course Road. Take the road to the left.
  4. You will go up a hill, and the road will flatten out a little bit.
  5. Here’s the confusing part…As you’re driving on Golf Course Road, you will pass a number of dirt roads on the left. I got confused by the directions I was following and ended up turning onto the first road ON THE LEFT after a pile of rubble and a gate. The connection to the road was not even, so go slowly!
  6. From there, I headed down that road to the end, where there is a turn-around. Park here.
  7. From here, you will connect onto the trail to your right. Where I parked, if I walked straight instead of to the right, I hit what looked like the remains of an old bridge.
  8. From this trail, pay close attention. If you want to enter the gorge itself, you may notice a narrow dirt trail that leads downhill. This will lead you to the rock-hopping adventure I experienced.

Accessibility: 2/10 (strenuous)
Height: 10′
Length of Hike: 0.7 miles round-trip

A lower drop on the Hungarian River in May 2008

Where in the World is Even Lower Hungarian Falls?

Middle Hungarian Falls #2, Michigan

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I’m not sure how much I have to say about the 2nd “middle” Hungarian Falls. The lower, upper, and 1st middle falls are considerably more interesting in terms of size and/or shape. The second middle falls is not that tall, maybe 7 feet. It’s still a very pretty waterfall, and if you’re hiking from the lower to upper falls, you’ll end up seeing it anyway.

Directions:

  1. You’ll be driving along M-26 toward Hubell, MI.
  2. In the outskirts of Hubell (if there can be outskirts in such a small town), turn onto Sixth Street.
  3. Sixth Street will dead end, but to the left is a dirt road named Golf Course Road. Take the road to the left.
  4. You will go up a hill, and the road will flatten out a little bit.
  5. Here’s the confusing part…As you’re driving on Golf Course Road, you will pass a number of dirt roads on the left. I got confused by the directions I was following and ended up turning onto the first road ON THE LEFT after a pile of rubble and a gate. The connection to the road was not even, so go slowly!
  6. From there, I headed down that road to the end, where there is a turn-around. Park here.
  7. From here, you will connect onto the trail to your right. Where I parked, if I walked straight instead of to the right, I hit what looked like the remains of an old bridge…
  8. From this trail, you will end up passing the Lower Falls first. Then you will come to the first Middle Hungarian Falls. All of the falls can be viewed from this trail, some better than others.

Accessibility: 6/10 (moderate)
Height: 7′
Length of Hike: 0.8 miles round-trip

The Second Middle Hungarian Falls in May 2009

Where in the World is Middle Hungarian Falls #2?

Upper Hungarian Falls, Michigan

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So first off, this waterfall is actually bigger than what it appears in the picture, though it’s still not that tall. It’s the Hungarian River at one of it’s wider points, as the width of the river changes at each of the different falls.

Upper Hungarian Falls is one of the more interesting falls on the river. There are a total of five or six falls in that immediate area, and Upper Hungarian Falls, the furthest falls upstream, does not disappoint. The actual hike to the falls is very beautiful, though the terrain is a little uneven. Once you get to Upper Hungarian Falls, you do have to do some careful “sliding” to get to the base, as the slope is moderately steep.

Directions:

  1. You’ll be driving along M-26 toward Hubell, MI.
  2. In the outskirts of Hubell (if there can be outskirts in such a small town), turn onto Sixth Street.
  3. Sixth Street will dead end, but to the left is a dirt road named Golf Course Road. Take the road to the left.
  4. You will go up a hill, and the road will flatten out a little bit.
  5. Here’s the confusing part…As you’re driving on Golf Course Road, you will pass a number of dirt roads on the left. I got confused by the directions I was following and ended up turning onto the first road ON THE LEFT after a pile of rubble and a gate. The connection to the road was not even, so go slowly!
  6. From there, I headed down that road to the end, where there is a turn-around. Park here.
  7. From here, you will connect onto the trail to your right. Where I parked, if I walked straight instead of to the right, I hit what looked like the remains of an old bridge…
  8. From the trail, Upper Hungarian Falls is the furthest of the falls from that parking area. You will pass numerous other waterfalls and even a manmade falls.

*There are also other parking areas that will lead to Upper Hungarian Falls more quickly, though parking there then makes Lower Hungarian Falls further away. You choose.

Accessibility: 7/10 (easy/moderate)
Height: 20′
Length of Hike: 1.2 miles round-trip

Upper Hungarian Falls in May 2009

Where in the World is Upper Hungarian Falls?

Lower Hungarian Falls, Michigan

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The waterfalls on the Hungarian River are absolutely spectacular. There are at least five waterfalls on the river, and Lower Hungarian Falls is the furthest waterfall downstream. The waterfall is larger than I think most people realize or even report. Maybe it’s just very deceiving.

In a previous post, I talked about getting a better view of Hungarian Gorge Falls on a tributary of the Hungarian River. Lower Hungarian Falls is right nearby. I mention this because there are different ways to view the falls. One way is to view the falls from above, though this is the least exciting view. The second option is to apparently find a trail near the crest of the falls that leads to a better view. That option seemed rather dangerous, as the area around the falls is EXTREMELY steep. The third option, the one that I tried, was not terribly dangerous, just rather inconvenient. I found another trail that lead down to the Hungarian River, and then followed the river upstream. This option allowed me to view the tributary waterfall and then Lower Hungarian Falls. That is where I took the picture that is posted below…

Directions:

  1. You’ll be driving along M-26 toward Hubell, MI.
  2. In the outskirts of Hubell (if there can be outskirts in such a small town), turn onto Sixth Street.
  3. Sixth Street will dead end, but to the left is a dirt road named Golf Course Road. Take the road to the left.
  4. You will go up a hill, and the road will flatten out a little bit.
  5. Here’s the confusing part…As you’re driving on Golf Course Road, you will pass a number of dirt roads on the left. I got confused by the directions I was following and ended up turning onto the first road ON THE LEFT after a pile of rubble and a gate. The connection to the road was not even, so go slowly!
  6. From there, I headed down that road to the end, where there is a turn-around. Park here.
  7. From here, you will connect onto the trail to your right. Where I parked, if I walked straight instead of to the right, I hit what looked like the remains of an old bridge…
  8. From this trail, pay close attention. If you want to enter the gorge itself, you may notice a narrow dirt trail that leads downhill. This will lead you to the rock-hopping adventure I experienced.

Accessibility: 2/10 (strenuous)
Height: 50′
Length of Hike: 0.7 miles round-trip

Lower Hungarian Falls in May 2009

Where in the World is Lower Hungarian Falls?

Hungarian Gorge Falls, Michigan

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Hungarian Gorge Falls

Usually when I find a “new” waterfall, I can go and find reference to it somewhere in a book or on the internet. This is an unusual case. This waterfall is located to the left of Lower Hungarian Falls in Michigan, and after searching around, I have found no mention of this waterfall on any site or in any book. Now maybe I haven’t looked hard enough, but usually the internet reveals a lot of information. (Phill Stagg’s set of books about Waterfalls of Michigan refers to this as Hungarian Gorge Falls, so I will refer to it as this.)

As I said, this falls is to the left of the Lower Hungarian Falls. It may be seasonal, explaining why I cannot find out more about it. I also ended up getting confused about where to access the trail for the falls, and ended up getting different views than others might get. I just happened to notice that there was another falls nearby the much larger falls.

To make matters even more complicated, the waterfall is not particularly easy to reach. I was having difficulties viewing both this falls and the Lower Falls, so I actually walked down into the gorge on a trail that I found. I then proceeded to rock-hop for at least 1/4 of a mile. Surprisingly, I didn’t get very wet, but I did get some great pictures of the falls.

Directions:

  1. You’ll be driving along M-26 toward Hubell, MI.
  2. In the outskirts of Hubell (if there can be outskirts in such a small town), turn onto Sixth Street.
  3. Sixth Street will dead end, but to the left is a dirt road named Golf Course Road. Take the road to the left.
  4. You will go up a hill, and the road will flatten out a little bit.
  5. Here’s the confusing part…As you’re driving on Golf Course Road, you will pass a number of dirt roads on the left. I got confused by the directions I was following and ended up turning onto the first road ON THE LEFT after a pile of rubble and a gate. The connection to the road was not even, so go slowly!
  6. From there, I headed down that road to the end, where there is a turn-around. Park here.
  7. From here, you will connect onto the trail to your right. Where I parked, if I walked straight instead of to the right, I hit what looked like the remains of an old bridge…
  8. From this trail, pay close attention. If you want to enter the gorge itself, you may notice a narrow dirt trail that leads downhill. This will lead you to the rock-hopping adventure I experienced. If you continue on the much more obvious trail, you may get a glimpse of this falls, but maybe not. If you reach the crest of Lower Hungarian Falls, you will not be able to view this falls from that angle.

Accessibility: 2/10 (strenuous)

Height: 60′

Length of Hike: 0.5 miles round-trip

Where in the World is Hungarian Gorge Falls?

 

Middle Hungarian Falls #1, Michigan

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The Hungarian River holds many treasures. As the river takes numerous precipitous drops from the heights of the Keweenaw Peninsula down to Portage Lake, a considerable number of very beautiful waterfalls are created. When I visited in May 2009, I counted at least six waterfalls, maybe even more.

The two most prominent waterfalls on the river are known as Upper and Lower Hungarian Falls. In between, there are three other drops. The drop that is closest to Lower Hungarian Falls is the waterfall profiled here. It is the most scenic of the middle three. Of the waterfalls on the river, this is the one that offers the most viewpoints: at eye level, and at least two different views from above.

Directions:

  1. You’ll be driving along M-26 toward Hubell, MI.
  2. In the outskirts of Hubell (if there can be outskirts in such a small town), turn onto Sixth Street.
  3. Sixth Street will dead end, but to the left is a dirt road named Golf Course Road. Take the road to the left.
  4. You will go up a hill, and the road will flatten out a little bit.
  5. Here’s the confusing part…As you’re driving on Golf Course Road, you will pass a number of dirt roads on the left. I got confused by the directions I was following and ended up turning onto the first road ON THE LEFT after a pile of rubble and a gate. The connection to the road was not even, so go slowly!
  6. From there, I headed down that road to the end, where there is a turn-around. Park here.
  7. From here, you will connect onto the trail to your right. Where I parked, if I walked straight instead of to the right, I hit what looked like the remains of an old bridge…
  8. From this trail, you will end up passing the Lower Falls first. Then you will come to the first Middle Hungarian Falls. All of the falls can be viewed from this trail, some better than others.

Accessibility: 6/10 (moderate)
Height: 20′
Length of Hike: 0.8 miles round-trip

Middle Hungarian Falls #1 in May 2009

Where in the World is Middle Hungarian Falls #1?