Muskegon River

The Muskegon River is a river in Michigan's Lower Peninsula, 216 miles long. It starts at Houghton Lake in Roscommon County and flows generally southwest to Muskegon Lake at the city of Muskegon, and from there to Lake Michigan. Along the way it passes Evart, Big Rapids, Croton and Newaygo. Its watershed drains about 2,350 square miles, and its tributaries include the Little Muskegon, Hersey and Clam rivers. Grand Valley State University's Annis Water Resources Institute gives larger figures: about 219 miles of river and more than 2,700 square miles of watershed, second in Michigan only to the Grand River. Three dams owned by Consumers Energy create reservoirs on the river. They are Rogers Dam south of Big Rapids, and Hardy Dam and Croton Dam in Newaygo County. Croton Dam was built in 1907 and holds back a 1,209-acre pond. Hardy Dam was completed in 1931 and forms a 4,000-acre reservoir.

The Michigan DNR runs most of the public ramps on the river, including Crawford Park near Evart, River Bend Bluffs near Big Rapids, 131 Bridge near Stanwood, High Rollway and Pine Street near Croton, and New Bridge and Anderson Flats near Newaygo. Newaygo County runs Henning Park. Bridgeton Township Park and Maple Island are municipal ramps. On the lower river, DNR Wildlife ramps are at Sheridan Road and Walleye Pond. The river flows slowly, and it is popular for kayaking and canoeing.

The river is fished for steelhead, brown trout, planted Chinook salmon and longnose gar. It was a major logging river in the 1880s and 1890s.