Manistique River in Michigan

Trip Overview

Took my Venture Crew up to the UP for our annual 3 day canoe trip and it ended up being much more than anticipated. We canoed from Germfask to Manistique (63 miles). Used Northland Outfitters as our spotter for our canoes in Germfask.

Beautiful weather. The river is slow so we had to paddle a lot. A few shallow spots. Made it down to Mead Creek camp ground the 1st night. Nice camping site. Boat ramp is across a foot bridge so you have to haul your gear over to the camp site.

Friday had sunshine to start then thunderstorms. Saw 4 eagles and many deer on our trip. Planned to find the next campsite but it was getting late, so we found a sandy spot on the side and camped. Paddled the next day all the way to Manistique.

Overall it was a nice trip. Only ran into 3 other boats on the river, so lots of wilderness and peaceful. Very few houses along the way. Had several shallow spots but if you pay attention to the contour of the river it is no problem. Thank goodness we had our GPS with us because it was difficult to tell for sure where we were along the river. Highly recommend you bring one with you.

Camping along the river is limited. We would think we found a good spot and when we got out on the "sand" it was really muck and ended up knee deep in it. Not good for hauling gear up to shore. No markers along the way to indicate where you are either. The map that Northland gives you is very good. My GPS followed it beautifully.

Outfitting:

We had 3 aluminum canoes and our tents.

Fees:

$10 to camp at Mead Creek

Directions:

I-75 N across Mackinac Bridge, West on US-2 to M-77 North to Germfask.

Resources:

Just my GPS and yes, if you have one, bring it and make sure your tracks are on.