Rogue River in Michigan

Trip Overview

On my 65th birthday my brother-in-law, Rev. Curtis Foreman from Des Moines, IA, and I took the 4 hour trip from 11 mile road to Rockford Dam. It was just 3 hours of leisurely paddling in my cedar fiberglassed canoe I restored over the past 25 years with the help of my good friend Brett D'Agostino, a fellow wood worker (He from the view of a wheelchair!)

We saw a great heron, a duck with a new hatch of ducklings and two holes with about 30 trout in each hole, all keeper size. And I left my fly rod home. Woe is me! But the beauty of such schools of trout was worth the 65 year wait! We also saw a black-bluish bird about the size of a woodpecker with a large white streak on its cheek and a red marking at the end of the streak. Anyone know what it is? There were many throughout the trip always flying a few yards ahead of us.

A fine day with no other sign of paddlers until we got near the dam. A very blessed birth day and July afternoon in Michigan.

Accommodations:

Much available - wonderful restaurant at the dam called "Reds on the River" with a patio along the river and great food.

Outfitting:

Canoe livery in Rockford if needed.

Fees:

No

Directions:

Interstate 131 ten miles north of Grand Rapids, MI.