Chapel Falls

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Chapel Falls as seen from the overlook

Chapel falls is where Section Creek falls over a canyon wall towards Chapel Lake, and is the highest waterfall in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

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Chapel Beach

If you're going to hike in to Chapel Falls, you really, really, really should go all the way to Chapel Beach where you can see Chapel Rock and get a good view of the cliffs along the lakeshore. Round trip is less than 6 miles, and if you can do it in 3 hours if you walk fast and don't take many breaks.

To get to Chapel Beach, just go to Chapel Falls and keep following the trail as it goes beyond the falls. You'll come out on the beach right at Chapel Rock. From there, turn left, and the trail takes you past Lower Chapel Falls, over a footbridge, past a back country camping area, and then to a return trail that will take you back to the parking area by a different route.

The return trail takes you by the west side of the camping area where you will find some pit toilets. If you don't see those very quickly after leaving the beach, then you've made wrong turn somewhere.

Chapel Falls ranks as one of my favorites. The falls feed into Chapel Lake, which is located at the bottom of a deep canyon. As you can see from the photo, the falls only drop vertically for a short distance (maybe 12 feet or so) before they begin to fan out over a sloping rock formation. There is a second, smaller cascade just far enough upstream so that you can't see it in this photo.

The trail to Chapel Falls approaches from the right in relation to the above photo. You get some excellant views of the canyon as you approach. A footbridge takes you across Section Creek almost directly over the upper cascade that you can't see in this photo. The trail then takes you around the rim to the overlook from which this photo was taken.

Be careful approaching these falls! Watch your kids. In places, the trail is very close to the edge of the canyon. There are no fences to keep you from falling over the side, and you would probably die if you fell.

From the bottom of the falls, I think you could climb 2/3 to 3/4 the way up on the sloping rock if you didn't mind getting your feet wet. Getting to the bottom however, is the problem. There's no obvious path down from the top of the falls, nor from the overlook. Well in advance of reaching the falls, a trail veers off to the left, and there is a sign saying that it goes down to the lake. I suspect that this trail represents your best path down to the bottom of the falls, but I havn't had the chance to take it yet.

Accessibility

Chapel Falls are part of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and are managed by the National Park Service. They are open to the public year-round. The falls are a 1.3 mile hike (one-way) from the trailhead where you can park, and they are not wheelchair accessible. I do not believe that the dirt road leading to the falls is plowed during the winter. The nearest plowed road is H-58, and it's about 6 miles from the trailhead.

The trail to the falls is well-marked, easy to hike, and relatively level. I recall some uphill walking, but it was a long, shallow grade. Round-trip from the parking-lot to the falls is 2.6 miles. There are pit toilets at the trailhead.

Directions

Beginning from downtown Munising:

Go east out of Munising on H-58. You'll go past the paper mill, and you'll see signs for the Munising Falls Visitor Center. Stay on H-58 though. Don't actually go to the visitor center.
Approximately 6-8 miles out of Munising, you'll pass Miners Castle road. Keep going on H-58.
Approximately 4 miles later, you will pass the junction of H-58 and H-15. Keep going on H-58. The road curves shortly after this junction.
After a few more miles, you'll drive through a town named Melstrand. Mostly what you'll see here is a store on the north side of the road.
Begin looking for a sign. Only a mile or two past Melstrand you should see a dirt road off to the left marked with a sign that says "Chapel Area". Turn left on that dirt road. If you get to where H-58 becomes graveled, then you've gone too far.
Follow the dirt road to the trailhead. There is one fork in the road—stay to the right. Past the fork, watch for bumps. The road can get rough in places.

Park at the trailhead. You'll see a big sign board. To the right of the sign board is the trail leading to Chapel Falls. To the left of the sign board is the trail leading to Mosquito Falls.