Clinton River in Michigan

Trip Overview

We put in at Avon and Livernois. There is a small parking lot on Livernois just south of Avon. You can walk the kayaks to the river and launch right there.

The water was insanely fast. We had gone back on the 22nd and it was weak (we had to portage a bunch of times due to low levels). That was not the case today. We had just gotten a bunch of rain and the river was up about 5/6 feet. We immediately realized it was a bad idea. We ended up flipping over about 15 times between the 4 of us. We lost 2 paddles and had to call it quits after 1.5 miles and hike back.

We are going to wait until it is lower and a more calm ride. Our plan is to go from there to Yates Park. Yates park is a free park about 5 miles down the river (at the corner of Avon and Dequindre). We want to barbeque and hang out there after a nice paddle.

Avoid this river after heavy rains as it was intense. Literally feared for my life a few times and my brother almost lost his kayak.

Accommodations:

No bathrooms that we know of but Yates Park may have one (I don't remember seeing one). Yates park has places to grill, play catch, whatever.

Fees:

None

Directions:

Launch at Avon and Livernois and then take a car to Avon and Dequindre.