Michigan /

Manistee River

River in Michigan · near Baxter, Brethren, Fife Lake, Fife Lake Township

The Manistee River is a 190-mile river in Michigan's Lower Peninsula. It rises in the sand hills of southeastern Antrim County, on the Otsego County line about 6 miles southeast of Alba, and flows generally southwest to Lake Michigan at the city of Manistee. Along the way it drops from about 1,250 to 579 feet, an average gradient of about 2.9 feet per mile. Deep glacial sands give it a steady flow of cold water. The basin covers 1,780 square miles, and the Little Manistee and Pine rivers are among its tributaries. Two hydroelectric dams break the river. The lower one, Tippy Dam, was built in 1918, is operated by Consumers Energy, and stands about 20 miles upstream of the river mouth.

The upper river was designated a state Natural River in 2003. Under its management plan, motor vehicles are barred within 400 feet of the water except on designated roads and trails. A 2006 Michigan DNR access plan covered the river from Smithville to the headwaters, with a float sequence that includes M-72, Hole in the Wall, Yellow Trees, CCC Bridge, 4 Mile Bend, 3 Mile Bend, West Sharon Road, Sand Banks and the Smithville ramp. The 26 miles from the DNR ramp below Tippy Dam to the M-55 bridge are a National Recreational River. The Forest Service maintains access sites there at High Bridge, Bear Creek, Rainbow Bend and Blacksmith Bayou, and these sites require a vehicle parking pass. Commercial navigation is possible below Tippy Dam.

The water below Tippy Dam is fished heavily for runs of steelhead and of chinook and coho salmon. The river once held an Arctic grayling fishery, but logging between 1880 and 1910 degraded the habitat, and grayling have been extirpated from Michigan since 1936.

Boating rules

Rules change; check with the agency or town before you go.

Launches

Community

Where people who fish, boat and paddle Manistee River talk about it. Lake associations, clubs and local groups will be added as we find them.

Sources

  1. Manistee River - Wikipedia
  2. Tippy Dam - Wikipedia
  3. Manistee River | Rivers.gov
  4. Manistee National Recreation River - Huron-Manistee National Forests
  5. The Upper Manistee River Access Action Plan (2006) - Michigan DNR

Researched October 13, 2026 from the sources above. Written content CC BY 4.0. Something wrong? Corrections are welcome.

Wikidata: Q6749927