Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway Hike Route Map

A series of early snowstorms had left us with a snowpack of nearly 2-feet! With many of the streams still not frozen at this early date I decided to go explore the trails near the Lower Peninsula's only named waterfall. Ocqueoc Falls is located just east of Onaway in Presque Isle County. There are 6 or so miles of trails running downstream from the falls. I had forgotten, however, how taxing breaking trail through two feet of snow can be and made a 4-mile loop instead...

Trailhead GPS Coordinates: 45.395963, -84.055313

Route Type: Lollipop + spur

Difficulty: MODERATE (Petzoldt Rating: 4.50 )

Mileage Hiked: 4.0 miles

Trailhead Temp: 28'F

Min. Elevation: 640'

Max Elevation: 725'

Total Elevation Gain: 250'

Trails Used (blaze color): Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway (blue)

12-11-2008

Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway (4.0 miles; d=4.50)

Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway Hike Route Map
A very rough approximation of the track my hike along the Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway followed, as depicted a la Google Earth...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway Hike Route Map
A very rough approximation of the track my hike along the Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway followed...
Ocqueoc Falls Scenic Site Entrance
Two feet of snow on the ground in early December...this is going to be awesome!
Ocqueoc Falls Trailhead
Thankfully someone plowed out the parking area...
Ocqueoc Falls Trailhead
The trailhead...
Ocqueoc Falls Trailhead
My intention was to do all three loops but the effort of breaking trail would limit me to the bottom two...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
Starting out...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
A heavy blanket of snow straining a White Pine...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
My first glimpse of the Ocqueoc River...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
Another glimpse of the Ocqueoc through the trees...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
For the first bit the trail followed the river quite closely...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
The not-quite-frozen river made me hopeful for some decent waterfall shots later...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
Another pretty overlook of the Ocqueoc...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
Mountain Ash berrise clinging to life...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
A snow covered bench with a view...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
This would be the view...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
Continuing on, the trail made a brief foray away from the river and into the woods...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
A young pine having a rough time with the heavy snow...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
The trail as it passes through what appears to be an old orchard...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
Balsam Fir...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
The thick canopy of the Balsam Fir offers quite a good amount of shelter...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
The snow-covered forest was stunning...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
Only a tad over a mile in and breaking trail was already wearing on me...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
More Balsam branches...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
A small rise gives a nice view behind me...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
Marker 5 means I'm 1.5 miles in...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
The snow-covered pines literally walled me in at times...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
...and the snow continued to be quite deep...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
It turned out the gate was just keeping out anyone not on two legs...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
More amazing trail side snow sculptures...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
I couldn't even tell what kind of tree this was! Amazing...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
Slow down...bridge ahead!
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
Couldn't go off trail if I wanted to...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
The rather modern-looking bridge over the Little Ocqueoc River...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
This spot along the Little Ocqueoc was serene...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
The trail ahead simply looked tiring, so I decided to save the far loop for another day...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
This spot along the Little Ocqueoc was so inviting I decided it would be a good spot for a break...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
This is my Balsam cave...get your own!
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
This nice bit of shelter under a small Balsam allowed me to to perform a bit of quick maintenance on my equipment...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
OK, back on the trail...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
Heading bak the loop climbed a small ridge into a Red Pine plantation...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
The views from atop the ridge were nice but a bit limited...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
Seriously, does there look like there's a trail in this direction?
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
The unending rows of Red Pine plantations can cause you to loose the trail quite easily...
Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway
Snow grenades, just waiting to drop on some unsuspecting hiker...