Ludington & Manistee
Manistee
A Lake Michigan port city where the river meets the lake, with a historic downtown riverwalk, three city beaches and a pierhead light to climb in season.
About 20 miles away (straight line)
River · Ludington & Manistee
Manistee River
A big steelhead and salmon river below Tippy Dam, with liveries for summer canoe trips, winter steelhead, and 26 miles of National Recreational River.
The Manistee is a fishing river first. In spring and fall, steelhead and salmon runs pack anglers in below Tippy Dam, steelhead keep biting into early winter, and in summer the lower river turns to canoes, walleye and pike.
For a paddle, rent from a livery such as Pine River Paddlesports Center in Wellston, which runs trips from a couple of hours to multi-day camping floats; several liveries launch at Tippy Dam. Boaters coming in from Lake Michigan can tie up at the city marina on the channel in Manistee, which sells fuel and takes transient boats.
It runs across the northwest Lower Peninsula from southeastern Antrim County to Lake Michigan at Manistee, partly within the Manistee National Forest. Its upper reach is protected under the DNR’s Natural Rivers program as the Upper Manistee River. Near its end it passes through Manistee Lake and then the Manistee River Channel, which runs past the city’s historic downtown and riverwalk to the Lake Michigan piers.
Most visitors to this coast know the stretch below Tippy Dam. In 1992 Congress designated 26 miles of the river, from the DNR boat ramp below the dam to the M-55 bridge, as a recreational river in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, managed by the Huron-Manistee National Forests. It is known for its steelhead and salmon fishery and for spawning lake sturgeon, and the federal program calls its corridor the most extensive and least disturbed remnant of true red-shouldered hawk habitat in the state.
Start at Tippy Dam, where the designated reach begins and where the runs draw the most anglers. The coordinates on this page mark the dam. Downriver, the city of Manistee keeps a municipal marina and riverwalk along the channel.
On the water
Motorboats and rules
Slow no-wake on a short stretch in Manistee Township, from just above the highway bridge to just below the railroad bridge, and through the Manistee harbor channel.
Public access
The designated corridor below Tippy Dam has eight developed river access sites. The Forest Service maintains sites at High Bridge, Bear Creek, Rainbow Bend and Blacksmith Bayou, and the state runs an access site at Tippy Dam. You need a vehicle parking pass at Forest Service sites.
Paddling
Canoeing on parts of the Manistee and its tributary, the Pine River, is popular in summer.
Fishing
The lower river supports steelhead and chinook and coho salmon, from both natural reproduction and stocking, along with brown trout, smallmouth bass and walleye. Lake sturgeon and river redhorse spawn in it. Anglers fish below Tippy Dam heavily in spring and fall for the steelhead and salmon runs, and walleye and pike take over in summer. Check current Michigan DNR rules before fishing.
Fish species
Species include steelhead, chinook salmon, coho salmon, brown trout, smallmouth bass, walleye, pike, lake sturgeon, and river redhorse.
Stocking
Brown trout, coho salmon and rainbow trout (steelhead) every year from 2015 to 2026; lake sturgeon most years from 2017 to 2025; chinook salmon in 2015 and 2016; lake trout in 2024 and 2026. Walleye and channel catfish go into the Tippy Dam pond.
In winter
Steelhead fishing carries into early winter below Tippy Dam, when anglers catch steelhead and a few coho on spawn, beads and flies. Tippy Dam's rustic campground is open all year, and the area lists cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
Public boat launches
Tippy Dam Recreation Area (below the dam)
Boat launch on the river below the dam, with an accessible fishing pier and a fish-cleaning station by the lot. A second launch serves the backwaters above the dam. Several local liveries launch canoes and kayaks here. You need a Recreation Passport for vehicle entry.
First Street launch
City of Manistee launch on the river channel with 16 lanes, eight piers, a large trailer lot and a fish-cleaning station.
Bridge Street launch
Manistee Township single-lane hard-surface ramp with a courtesy pier.
Marinas
- Manistee Municipal Marina
City marina on the river channel and Riverwalk beside downtown Manistee. It lists transient slips and broadside space, gas and diesel, a pump-out, showers, laundry and power, booked through the state reservation system.
Boat, kayak and paddleboard rentals
- Pine River Paddlesports Center
Wellston outfitter that lists canoe, kayak, raft and paddleboard rentals and trips on the Manistee and the Pine, from a two-hour float to multi-day camping trips.
Listed because their own sites say they rent on this water. Not an endorsement, and we have no ties to them. Check with them for what is available.
Fishing, launching at a state site or parking at a state park? See licenses and passes for what you need before you go.
Anything not listed here is unverified. Do not assume public access across private riverbanks. Check the Michigan DNR boating access listings and the current fishing regulations.
Through the seasons
Location
Map of Manistee River
2 places on an OpenStreetMap map
The pin marks one well-known point on the river, not its full course.
Places to stay near Manistee River
Riverfront homes and cabins are listed by the local rental managers and booking sites below.
Hotels and inns
Mid-range
Little River Casino ResortListed by Pure Michigan, the state travel bureau
Budget
The Ramsdell Inn
Search all hotels in Manistee: Booking.com · Expedia · Hotels.com · Google Hotels
We don’t take bookings or earn anything from these links. Rates, availability and any booking problems are handled by the booking site.
More places to stay in Manistee
- Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce lodging and travel directory · The chamber's member listings for hotels, motels, resorts, B&Bs, cottages and vacation homes in and around Manistee.
Vacation rentals
- Essential Vacations · miessentialvacations.com
Professionally managed vacation rentals in the Manistee area.
Disclosure: manages a vacation rental owned by a company related to this site's owner.
- Boardwalk Vacation Rentals · manisteevacations.com
A Manistee-based short-term rental manager with beach homes, condos and cottages around Manistee, Onekama, Bear Lake and Arcadia.
- Unsalted Vacations · unsaltedvacations.com
A West Michigan rental company with homes, cottages and cabins in areas including Grand Haven, Spring Lake, Manistee and Traverse City.
- West Shore Vacation Properties · myludingtonvacation.com
A local company managing vacation homes and cottages in Ludington, Manistee, Onekama and the surrounding lakeshore.
Nearby towns
Nearby attractions
Straight-line distances from the map point.
Attraction
Manistee National Forest
More than half a million acres of public forest, run from Cadillac, with backpacking and ski trails, campgrounds and two National Scenic Rivers.
About 3 miles away (straight line)
Trail
North Country National Scenic Trail
The national scenic trail's long run up the west side of northern Michigan: Manistee National Forest, the Jordan River Valley, Petoskey and Mackinaw City.
About 5 miles away (straight line)
Trail
Big M Trail System
Groomed cross-country ski and winter fat-tire bike trails, and summer singletrack, in the Manistee National Forest near Wellston.
About 8 miles away (straight line)
More lakes and rivers nearby
River · Ludington & Manistee
Pine River
A narrow, winding river near Cadillac for canoe, kayak and raft trips from Wellston liveries, blue ribbon trout fishing and year-round access.
- Public launch
- Rentals
Lake · Ludington & Manistee
Chief Lake
A 126-acre inland lake west of Chief in Manistee County, with no local boating limits listed. Official information is limited, so check before you go.
- All-sports
River · Ludington & Manistee
Little Manistee River
A small wild-steelhead and salmon river with canoe access sites and the DNR weir at Stronach, where you can watch the spring steelhead egg take.
- Public launch