The Eben Ice Caves

Located in the middle of the Upper Peninsula, the Eben Ice Caves are one of Michigan’s hidden gems.  Emphasis on hidden. 

When we arrived at the caves I saw a few people coming in from the opposite direction and asked if there was another starting point than the parking lot we came from. “Nope, we just went past the caves and have been wandering around for 30 minutes,” was the reply. “We finally decided it had to be back this way.” 

I’m not sure if the ‘powers that be’ don’t want people to visit, or if they feel that this wintry wandering adds to the adventure, but either way you’re probably going to need a little more to go on than this sign. 

Or this…

Yes, I’m here...but where are the caves on this map? And now they have a new name?!!

Stay with me, though. It’s worth it!

What am I going to see? 

The Eben Ice Caves - also known as Rock River Canyon Ice Caves - form when water slowly drips over the edge of a cliff and freezes on its descent.  Basically, they are enormous ice curtains that you can walk behind into an “ice palace” (to quote my 9 yr. old). 

I’m guessing that February is probably the sweet spot when there has been enough precipitation to form them, but not enough warmth yet for huge chunks of ice to break off.  We were there at the end of January and were not disappointed. 

How do I get there? 

Your GPS or maps app should get you close to the trailhead if you type in “Eben Ice Caves.”  If it doesn’t, type in “Frey Rd, Deerton, MI 49822.” Look for the handmade yellow “ice caves” signs near the end of the route. 

The road will dead end into a small parking lot with porta-potties. 

**This is actually private property and we all should be incredibly grateful to the farmer who lets people trespass on his land during the winter.  Be sure to drop a donation into the jug to keep the porta-potties there and this entry point open!**

The Trek in:

1. Follow the footpath across the farm field into the woods. 

2. The initial walk through the woods is gorgeous, pretty straight and usually trampled down, so just follow the path that others have made. If you have small children, you could pull them on a sled for quite a ways.

A good portion of the walk is flat and easy.

5. Walk until you see this sign off to the left (notice that the National Forest has a different name for the caves - another diversion to throw you off track! Don’t be deterred, just continue on the path past the sign.

6. Eventually you will get to a fork where there are two foot paths, you can take either one to get closer to the ice caves. The one to the right will eventually take you over a small footbridge and the one to the left will take you directly towards the river.  Both eventually head to the bottom of the cave area.

7. When the river is on your left, the caves will be up the hill on your right.  There is no sign, so if you don’t see it just listen for voices.  When you spot the ice caves through the trees, and you’re facing them, climb up the left side. Straight down the middle is an ice stream (unless deep snow has covered it, and then give that way a try) and the right side gets pretty steep and treacherous. 

‘Ice stream’ I mentioned above. Don’t climb up this way unless it is snow-covered.

You’ve arrived!!!! If you haven’t already, get your ice cleats on and walk behind the ice curtains into the ‘cave’ area. It’s magical!

On the return trip, we went down the center path (super icy one) with a coordinated combo of digging in our ice cleats and sliding on our bottoms. 

A few things to note:

• Your experience could be totally different based on when the last snow fell and how cold it’s been.  You may be trudging through a foot of snow with no ice, or the hill could be all ice. 

• If you go on the weekend, you probably just have to follow the people in front of you all the way to the caves.  If you want a shot at having the caves to yourself, go mid-week, but be aware that you’ll have to do more navigating - especially if fresh snow just fell and there isn’t a packed down trail.  We went on a Tuesday and at one point it was just us and another couple.

What should I bring? 

• Full snow gear, including snow pants (we were sliding on our behinds quite a few times).

• Yaktrax (or another brand of ice cleats) to get a grip in icy areas.  Seriously, you will want these at some point!!! If you don’t want to wear them the whole time, toss them in a backpack until you need them.  These Yaktrax are reasonably priced.

• A screenshot of my directions above, #s 5-7. 

• A backpack with some water and snacks.  You just never know how long your trek may take you...

• A sense of adventure! 

Ice cleats (stock photo). Ours were rubber with metal cleats.

How long does it take?

It’s about 1.4 miles in from the parking lot and you’ll probably want to spend some time exploring and taking photos once you’re there, so I would plan for a 2-3 hour round trip. 

Can my small children or grandma and grandpa do this? 

It may have been extra icy when we were there, or it might be completely normal, but at one point - after attempting to climb up the right side of the path to the ice caves - I was hanging onto a string that someone had tied to a tree to prevent myself sliding down 20 ft. into a valley. Unless Grandpa and Grandma are super nimble on their feet and have ice cleats on, they are probably going to have to stay at the bottom and view the ice curtains from about 100 yards away. 

But, you can always go and see!  The most challenging part is the actual climb up to the ice caves, so if it looks like someone can’t make it they can hang out at the bottom (and they still were able to enjoy a beautiful, wintry walk through the woods).  Parents of young kids can take turns staying with littles at the bottom while their partner explores the caves. 

Parent tip: Have your little ones climb up in front of you, so that you can grab them if they start to slide. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find ice cleats in kid sizes, and the adult smalls we tried came off after a few minutes. On the descent, my husband went down first so that he could catch the kids as they came sliding by on their bottoms.

In summary, despite the moments we asked ourselves “Are we going the right way?” and a couple of scary slides down the ice, this might actually be my favorite family winter adventure. Heading deep into the woods, climbing up a steep hillside while grabbing roots or ropes and then taking that first magical step behind the curtains of ice...well, you might just have a little swagger in your footprints on the hike back.

**Check out the Eben Ice Caves Facebook page here for the latest conditions.