Montreal River / Michigan–Wisconsin state line · Town-owned conservation area / cross-border

Interstate Falls

An 18-foot plunge on the Montreal River, which divides Michigan from Wisconsin, protected by a town-owned conservation parcel on the Wisconsin bank.

Published visitor route; current opening and road conditions are unverified. Use the Wisconsin-side conservation trailhead. This waterfall sits on a state boundary and Michigan coordinates do not identify a public Michigan entrance.

Plan the visit Read managing authority All waterfall stops

Before you leave

Land manager: Town of Kimball, Iron County, Wisconsin · conserved through Northwoods Land Trust
Public visitor access: The documented public route begins in the Town of Kimball, Iron County, Wisconsin. The river itself forms the Michigan–Wisconsin state line; the map point is NOT a legal Michigan-side trail or an entrance.
Parking and arrival: In Wisconsin, head north from Hurley on Highway 51, turn west onto US-2, continue approximately 0.6 mile, then turn onto Center Drive and drive about 0.2 mile to the signed Interstate Falls trailhead. Do not use the waterfall coordinate as parking.
Walking trail or viewpoint: The landowner's published route is a 0.7-mile out-and-back woodland walk to the Montreal River lookout. It is a natural-surface trail, not a barrier-free platform or a drive-up waterfall.
Plan on: 30–70 min; editorial visit allowance, not a measured travel time
Seasonal viewing: Spring runoff and autumn hardwoods; winter requires checking trail and road surface.

Why this Michigan waterfall has a Wisconsin trailhead

The Montreal River forms the state boundary here. Michigan geographic records correctly locate the waterfall on that river, but they say nothing about which bank the public can reach. The documented visitor approach is a conservation property in Iron County, Wisconsin. Northwoods Land Trust acquired that land in 2015 and conveyed it to the Town of Kimball in 2016. The town now manages the parcel as a public scenic conservation area.

For a Michigan visitor arriving from Ironwood, the right decision is not to drive toward the GIS pin or try an improvised riverbank trail. Instead follow the land trust's Wisconsin route: north of Hurley on Highway 51, west on US-2 for roughly 0.6 mile, then right onto Center Drive for about 0.2 mile to the trailhead. From there the walk is a signed 0.7-mile round trip through woodland to the falls viewpoint.

What to expect at the overlook

The land trust describes an approximately 18-foot river drop in a corridor of mixed forest and trout-stream habitat. The outing is more of a short conservation-land hike than a developed roadside viewpoint. Look for the river's narrow rock channel and the steep banks on either side. The view is shaped by rainfall and river stage; no live flow is measured by this page.

The town-owned visitor area permits leashed dogs subject to Town of Kimball rules. Hiking, winter snowshoeing and wildlife observation are also listed for the conservation property. Those activities are not a promise of snow-cleared parking, groomed winter tread or safe river ice.

Choose the right visit

Best for a short border-country woodland walk and a river-gorge view; plan the arrival from the Wisconsin side, not Ironwood's Michigan roads.

Do not follow a Michigan riverside two-track or an improvised route to the mapped waterfall. The Wisconsin conservation-area entrance is the documented public approach.

Expect a nature-area visit, not a fixed water display. Different precipitation, drought, autumn leaves and ice can change the appearance significantly. Even an officially described trail may be temporarily inaccessible following washouts, winter closure or maintenance. Respect signs and barriers and avoid steep wet rock near flowing water.

A U.P. waterfall on the state boundary is not necessarily accessed from Michigan. This visitor route is a Wisconsin-side walk, with dogs leashed under Town of Kimball rules.

Five checks before publication

Source review completed October 27, 2026. Public access, managing authority, parking, trail, and waterfall coordinates were checked separately. Current opening and road conditions are unverified.

land Manager: Northwoods Land Trust records the land purchase and 2016 conveyance to the Town of Kimball, Wisconsin
public Access: Town-owned conservation area explicitly open for public waterfall viewing
parking: Published Wisconsin arrival instructions via US-2 and Center Drive to the trailhead
trail: Landowner describes 0.7-mile out-and-back trail to Interstate Falls
location: Michigan GIS Waterfalls layer feature 35, a waterfall point on the Montreal River boundary

Scientific context: USGS Falls and Rapids / NHD V2, used for hydrographic geography, not live streamflow or public-access rights. Michigan waterfall GIS positions the falls separately from the visitor arrival.