Newcomers to the Great Lakes Bay, with European origins, followed the long-paddled example of Native Americans to travel the region’s extensive and intricate network of waterways. Furs, timber, fish & game and merchandise — and cultures, besides — all moved through lakes and, especially, up and down rivers.
Those same waters remain vibrant highways, even if they largely host recreational traffic on rivers large and small, flowing along through woodlands, farms, wetlands and cities. You can even paddle Saginaw Bay itself.
Rental companies will help launch your adventure, in single- or two-person kayaks, stand-up paddleboards and canoes, and they’ll add the local expertise that sweetens any outing. You’re welcome, too, to bring your own kayak, whether paddled or, increasingly popular, pedaled; or your canoe. The companies will help you launch and spot your car — or you can do it all yourself.
Your kayak or canoe or theirs, hauled on your vehicle or spotted for you, there’s real satisfaction in providing your own power amid a rich soundscape of paddle splashes, gurgling waters, laughter and birdsong, and sights just as novel and appealing. You seem to float out of your own world and worries and into a wider, maybe even wiser, one. That's paddling when you Go Great Lakes Bay in Michigan.
Particularly paddle-popular is the Chippewa River, a friendly stream that runs eastward through forests (including the Chippewa Nature Center, interpreter-guided kayak trips among its offerings) en route to Midland, where it joins the Tittabawassee River at the base of Midland’s distinctive Tridge, a three-armed pedestrian walkway.
A universal access kayak launch at Midland invites you to explore upstream or down, the “Chip” or the Tittabawassee, and soon there’ll be another riverfront park just downstream in Midland. Another barrier-free launch is upstream on the Chippewa within the Chippewa Nature Center, and further upstream at Meridian Road.
Tip: Pack fishing gear and binoculars. I’ve caught scrappy smallmouth bass and even walleyes on both rivers, watched sleek otters swim beneath my kayak, and shared the rivers with black-crowned night herons and other graceful birds.
Midland’s Golfside Boat Launch near downtown also provides kayak, canoe and boat access to the Tittabawassee. Or, one can paddle the Tittabawassee in either direction from Midland’s Caldwell Boat Ramp downstream of Dow. I’ve made my way upstream to the ‘Dow Dam’, to drift and fish my way back down and collect the makings of a walleye dinner. A portage path leads both ways around the dam.
Downstream, Freeland’s Festival Park features a kayak launch, and there’s a DNR boat access site on the river at Center Rd., near Saginaw and its namesake river.
The Saginaw River, formed by the confluence of seven rivers and streams within the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, in its short run from Saginaw to Bay City flows through settings pastoral and urban, with sites and sights natural and historical.
Boats, including kayaks and canoes, are allowed on navigable rivers within the federal refuge, but not its interior lands and waters.
On the Saginaw we’ve sent deer scampering, watched muskrats transport fresh-cut greenery, eyed eagles aloft 20 yards above us, caught a few fish and watched others catch more — all in or within a few miles of bustling cities.
The Great Lakes Bay boasts several stretches of the Michigan Water Trails network. These locally supported routes, designed for kayaks, canoes, rowboats and small sailboats, boast developed access and launch points (shown on its website), plus historical, natural, environmental or cultural points of interest. Services such as restaurants, hotels and campgrounds are nearby.
The Saginaw Bay Blueways within the Michigan Water Trails network are along the southern and western shores of the Saginaw Bay and include trails on the AuGres, Rifle, Kawkawlin and Saginaw rivers. Campground areas along the shore are available for longer excursions or as a base for day use.
The 37.5-mile Cass River Water Trail, notably, comprises a series of 13 canoe/kayak access sites from above Vassar down to Wickes Park in Saginaw, where the Cass joins the city’s namesake river. Three universally accessible launch facilities along the Cass allow paddlers of all abilities to enter and exit the water safely and relatively easily. They’re at Frankenmuth’s Heritage Park, Hoffman Community Park in Bridgeport Township, and Davis Park near Bridgeport.
The Flint River Water Trail runs from the North and South branches of the Flint River to the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge.
The Shiawassee River Water Trail offers a diverse range of paddling experiences for canoeists and kayakers of all abilities. It is considered a warm-water river ecosystem, with fairly slow-moving current, very suitable for families in a canoe or groups of novice kayak paddlers.
Saginaw Bay itself offers novel kayaking opportunities, albeit its waves and fast-changing weather requiring some extra attention on the part of the paddler. This is big water; good judgment is required. But in return, in your paddlecraft or one you rent and transport, you can explore expansive marshes and other wetlands, admire cottages and beaches, or strike off across open water.
Thinking of fishing? This Bay is world-famous for its walleyes, and bass and perch are also regular catches, and a big and feisty northern pike or sheepshead (freshwater drum) just might provide a lifetime thrill.
At Bay City, prowl the Saginaw River and consider the majestic “tall ship” Appledore from water level. Listen to a riverside park concert. Spend time with the marsh’s abundant wildlife — ducks, egrets, herons, songbirds, gulls, terns, muskrats and more, in a peaceful setting that mixes urban and pastoral.
For a taste of the Bay, launch at Bay County Pinconning Park, where shorebirds and cattails will frame a memorable outing. (A daily or annual pass is required.)
Want a smaller-water experience? Haithco Recreation Area at Saginaw offers a 40-acre, man-made lake, with canoe, kayak and paddleboard rentals available.
Friends of mine regularly visit the Kawkawlin River Wildlife Area, an impoundment of the river of the same name in northern Midland County. The vast marshy area can be a challenge to navigate, but it rewards that effort with solitude and abundant nature.
This entire region, in fact, is washed by rivers, dotted with ponds. In a rental craft or your own, paddling options abound.
Nor'East Outdoors has launched (pun intended) a physical storefront in Downtown Midland for their popular kayak & paddleboard rentals (bike rentals, too).
Nor'East currently (another pun) offers four standard paddling trips on the Chippewa River upstream of Midland, including gentle evening outings at the Tridge. It also operates as a mobile outfitter, delivering kayaks on a weekly-rental basis to your campground or cabin, across the region.
These folks know how to have fun! They plan an annual Kayak Poker Run, in which paddlers in their own or rented boats leave from and return to the Tridge in Downtown Midland, paddling to five locations to collect playing cards; on return the five-card poker hand could net a prize.
Want mellower moments? Register for a session of about an hour each of yoga and kayaking with Nor'East, meeting at the Tridge for the paired activities one Friday evening each in July, August, September. It’s the perfect way, the company says, “To get your body moving and enjoy our beautiful Michigan landscape and summer sunshine!”
Frankenmuth Kayak Adventures sets you adrift on the gentle Cass River, another Saginaw River tributary, as it winds its way to and through the charming town of Frankenmuth, renowned for its German heritage and hospitality.
Rent kayaks (single sit-in or sit-on, or tandem sit-in) by the hour, or for the two- to three-hour trip from Tuscola to Frankenmuth, land transportation provided. Bring your own kayak, canoe or paddleboard – and paddle and life jacket – and for a small fee you can arrange a lift to Tuscola to paddle downstream to your vehicle.
Either way, you just might find this adventure meshes perfectly with a world-famous chicken dinner, a shopping spree within Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland or another of Frankenmuth’s dozens of shops & attractions, from its renowned waterparks to cozy watering holes.
Mountain Man Paddle Co. offers mobile kayak rentals, tube rentals and shuttle services across Midland, Cadillac and Northern Michigan — including among others the Chippewa, Pine and Tittabawassee rivers.
No storefront, just book online and Mountain Man delivers gear to the water and picks it up at trip’s end – whether it’s a river float, lake day or stay, or other adventure. They even offer cooler-float rentals!
Bringing your own kayak or tube? Mountain Man’s shuttle service will drive you upriver so you can float or paddle back to your car at your own pace.
Seasoned kayakers are often asked by newcomers, “What kind of kayak do I want?” You want the one that feels best after you’ve tried several! An ideal strategy is to rent different styles and sizes of kayaks a few times, with veteran paddlers putting you into the boat and rigging it just for you.
Retail outlets can help, too, and the area’s rich with them, notably Frank’s Great Outdoors in Linwood, Northwoods Wholesale Outlet in Pinconning, Cabela’s Outpost and Dick’s Sporting Goods in Saginaw, and Dunham’s Sports in several locations.
Refreshing & cool, salt-free & scenic — the Great Lakes Bay is hands-down & all-in the place to be for an affordable waterfront vacation in Michigan!
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Will you sail off into the sunset, or drift dreamily under starry skies? Paddle a kayak, or sip wine & savor decadent chocolates aboard an electric craft? Read on to meet the fleet of boats and find adventures you can enjoy on the water when you Go Great Lakes Bay in Michigan!
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Steve Griffin, a Midland-based, full-time freelance outdoors writer, has been covering that beat for newspapers and magazines for longer than he likes to admit. He began with a manual typewriter and a film camera — and says that in every way outdoors, these are the "good old days"!
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