Bonanza Falls (Greenwood Falls)

The Big Iron River spreads over layered sandstone at Greenwoods, where dozens of shallow, noisy channels replace the big single drop many people expect. It is a lovely short stop on the edge of the Porcupine Mountains, and its public approach is easier to understand once you separate the township park from the downstream waterfall map point.

Township park and short upper-falls walk are documented; current opening and road conditions are unverified. Carp Lake Township itself lists Greenwoods (Bonanza Falls) as a park with falls. Its 2025 board minutes describe seasonal closures and parking work. These historical records do not establish whether the entrance is open today, especially in late October or winter. Use on-site signs and turn back at a closure.

Plan the visit Township-listed Google Maps destination Township park source Compare waterfalls

Before leaving the car

Land manager: Carp Lake Township lists Greenwoods (Bonanza Falls) among its parks and facilities. The township also maintains the visitor signage and discusses parking in its public meeting minutes. This does not mean the township owns every nearby section of the Big Iron River.
Where to arrive: From the Silver City junction of M-107 and M-64, follow M-64 south about one mile and look for the signed Greenwoods / Bonanza Falls entrance on the west side. The regional waterfall guide describes a short gravel drive to a small parking area. Use the signed township visitor lot, not the waterfall GIS point.
Township map destination: The township's own Parks & Facilities page provides a Google Maps directions link. Its destination is an area reference within the township parcel, not a surveyed parking-lot waypoint. Open the township-listed destination in Google Maps. Follow posted driveway and parking signs for the final turn.
Walking route: From the signed lot follow the short established path directly toward the upper falls at the river, as documented by Waterfalls of the Keweenaw. A regional map places a visitor reference near the river within the township-attributed parcel. This is a short natural-surface walk, not an accessible boardwalk; exact distance and trail boundaries are not surveyed in our sources.
Plan on: About 20–45 minutes for the signed upper-falls park stop, depending on photography and footing. That is an editorial allowance, not a live measurement.
Season: Better during the township's visitor season, with water volume often stronger after snowmelt or rain. In October 2025 the township discussed weather-dependent late-fall closure, and in December 2025 it recorded winter closure. Do not assume those dates are this year's operating schedule.

This is a short signed township-park visit, not a route to every riverbank cascade or an invitation to cross private land.

What you see from the public side

These are broad, stepped falls rather than a single vertical cliff. Water works across flat rock shelves, gathering in little chutes and shallow pools. The place feels intimate because the paved highway is close yet soon disappears behind the trees. Your first objective is the upper falls reached from the township's signed park.

Photography accounts describe a series of drops that continues farther downstream, and paddlers identify separate upper and lower drops. That is useful natural-history context, but not a recommendation to walk the riverbank past the signed park or cross the stream. Wet rock is slick, and the water can become swift when levels rise.

Why the route and the waterfall dot differ

We compared three separate geographic references rather than treating them as one destination. Carp Lake Township's official park directions link leads to a point on a roughly 6.6-acre parcel attributed to the township in the Ontonagon County parcel dataset. A regional waterfall brochure's riverside reference also falls in that same parcel. Along the approach between those points, sampled parcel-query locations returned the township parcel.

Michigan's separate waterfall inventory point, feature #124 at 46.818863, -89.571458, falls about 168 meters from the regional brochure reference and intersects a parcel attributed to a private LLC. That does not mean the official township park is private. It means the river complex and the geographic catalog point are not the same as the authorized township visitor destination.

Parcel datasets are approximate administrative references, not a legal survey or evidence of any easement. Our map deliberately does not draw a cross-property walking line, make the private GIS point a parking waypoint, or identify a lower-falls walk as approved.

The right visit, and the wrong extension

For the straightforward visit, follow the park's posted entrance, park where designated, walk the established short approach to the upper river viewing area, and return the same way. The local guide describes this direct walk as the usual approach. The exact public-access path has not been published as a surveyed trail polygon, so use signs on the ground rather than any geocoded straight line on a phone.

Do not extend the route along the river merely because other guides describe downstream drops. Some mapped riverfront land has different ownership records, and neither township minutes nor tourism guides establish unrestricted pedestrian access there. Avoid climbing steep rock to the water or trying to ford between ledges.

Season, surfaces and arrival decisions

The site has a signed, short gravel-road approach from M-64 and a modest parking area. Township meeting records describe signage, facility care and work on parking circulation. No reliable 2026 opening notice, plowing commitment, gate schedule or accessible-route certification was established in this source review.

That matters at the end of October: a clear-weather afternoon does not establish that a seasonal park remains open. Check Carp Lake Township's information and the actual posted entrance before driving in. Never go around a barrier or park on private property to continue a closed outing.

Five independently checked parts of this visit

Reviewed October 28, 2026. Public designation applies to the **township's signed visitor area and established upper-falls approach only**, not to unrestricted access around geographic feature #124.

Land manager: Carp Lake Township lists Greenwoods (Bonanza Falls) as one of its parks.
Public access: Official Parks & Facilities listing describes a park with falls and provides directions.
Parking: Township 2025 meeting minutes document the entrance sign, visitor parking and seasonal operations. The exact lot point is not independently georeferenced.
Walking approach: Waterfalls of the Keweenaw describes a signed lot and a direct path to the upper falls. It is not a land-rights determination for downstream walking.
Geography: Michigan state GIS #124 records the river cascade. Western U.P. tourism maps the visitor reference. County parcel records warn against treating GIS as a legal title survey.

Return to every U.P. waterfall.