Rifle River

The Rifle River is a 60.3-mile river in northeastern Lower Michigan. It rises in northeastern Ogemaw County and flows through Arenac County to Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron. Its basin covers 385 square miles, and the river passes Selkirk and Omer. During Michigan's forestry boom around the turn of the 20th century it was used as a logging river. Today it is used mainly for recreation and is a state-designated natural river. The river has no dams or portages. Its average depth is 18 inches, reaching about 5 feet in downtown Omer.

The Michigan DNR manages the public access sites listed on the river. They include Headwaters, The Ranch and Sage Lake Road near Rose City; Moffatt Bridge and Kenneth Road near Skidway Lake; the Rifle River SFCG site near West Branch; and Stoddard's Landing and Omer near Omer. In its upper reaches the river runs through the DNR's Rifle River Recreation Area near Lupton. Paddling there is popular on both the river and the park's no-wake lakes. The park has carry-in launches along the river, and the DNR states that boat motors are prohibited on the park's waters. In Omer, the public access on South Michigan Avenue reaches the bank by a wooden staircase, and the current there is swift. The site is part of the Saginaw Bay Blueways' Rifle River Trail. Private liveries rent canoes and run shuttles for river trips.

The river has one of the best spring white sucker runs in Michigan, and the run draws anglers to Omer every year. Trout are found in the river within the recreation area.