Cut River is a small, short river in the Upper Peninsula

Upper Peninsula of Michigan

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan. It is commonly referred to as the Upper Peninsula, the U.P., or Upper Michigan. It is also known as the land "above the Bridge" linking the two peninsulas. The peninsula is bounded...

 of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. The 4-mile (6.5 km) river runs along the boundary between Hendricks Township

Hendricks Township, Michigan

Hendricks Township is a civil township of Mackinac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 183 at the 2000 census.- Communities :...

 and Moran Township

Moran Township, Michigan

Moran Township is a civil township of Mackinac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,080 at the 2000 census.-Communities:...

, with the mouth on Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...

 about two miles east of Epoufette and about four miles west of Brevort.

It drains part of the Little Brevoort wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

 through a steep-sided limestone gorge into northern Lake Michigan. The river's drainage is largely located within the Lake Superior State Forest

Lake Superior State Forest

Lake Superior State Forest is a state forest in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The North Country Trail utilizes this state forest for 43 miles of its route....

 and is administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor and accepted by the Natural Resources Commission...

.

Cut River is notable for two features:

• The Cut River Bridge
  Cut River Bridge
  Cut River Bridge is a cantilevered steel deck bridge over the Cut River in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located along U.S. Highway 2 in Hendricks Township, Mackinac County, between Epoufette and Brevort, about northwest of St...
  
  , carrying U.S. Highway 2
  U.S. Route 2 in Michigan
  US Highway 2 is a component of the United States Numbered Highway System that connects Everett, Washington, to the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan, with a separate segment that runs from Rouses Point, New York, to Houlton, Maine...
  
   over the Cut River close to its mouth, is one of the longest truss arch bridge
  Truss arch bridge
  A truss arch bridge combines the elements of the truss bridge and the arch bridge. The actual resolution of forces will depend upon the design. If no horizontal thrusting forces are generated this becomes an arch-shaped truss, essentially a bent beam — see moon bridge for an example...
  
  s in the United States, and is the eighth longest bridge in Michigan. Completed in 1947, the bridge is 641 feet (195 m) long, and rises 140 feet (43 m) above the base of the gorge. Parking is available at both ends of the bridge, and there is a pedestrian footpath on the north side of the bridge, offering a good view of the gorge. Locals call the bridge "the million dollar bridge over a two-bit creek."

• The Cut River gorge is well adapted to growth of mature sugar maple
  Sugar Maple
  Acer saccharum is a species of maple native to the hardwood forests of northeastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario, and south to Georgia and Texas...
  
  specimens. The bridge and footpath, which rise just above treetop level, offer good views of the gorge during the autumn color season. Hiking trails descend from both ends of the bridge down into the river valley, with a spur to the Lake Michigan shoreline.