I know there are several paddling.com members who paddle the Huron River in Southeast Michigan, and I would like some info aimed at paddling down it in a 15’ kayak with camping gear …
Should I use a spray skirt to traverse the rapids in the Delhi area and the Argo Cascades, or otherwise take precautions such as unloading the boat and carrying my stuff around them? (I’ve never seen the Delhi area)
Is there a way to get around the portage at French Landing dam? Perhaps wheel the kayak from French Landing Park on the north side and down the road to an alternative launch site, like the bridge on East Huron River Drive, or some hole in the woods?
Wish i could answer this from my laptop. Admin does not respond.
It is possible to get wet wo a spray skirt at hudson mills and delhi. If water level is too low the rapids below bell rd are a rock garden. Right now its clear but downed trees can be a problem below placeway in island lake ra. Flatrock dam blocked me.
No real camping spots below hudson mills.
fyi - I paddled in Lower Huron MP a few weeks ago and their campground is almost right on the water, and it has a sign on the bank, so that will be a good camping spot for night 4.
I paddled Proud Lake to Island Lake RA (riverbend) last Saturday and it was amazing. The headwind was much more of a factor on the river than I expected; on the lakes the headwind was just as I expected.
Just want to add to the documentation for future paddlers of the Huron River …
I stopped by the French Landing portage Tuesday, 6/3/24 and the water is significantly lower now and slow, and there’s a large patch of gravel exposed below the stairs. The railing is loose and the stairs are leaning mightily, but they are solid. This portage is now ok as far as getting in the boat safely.
During my visit in early May it was about 12" deep and very fast, and there was no way to launch a kayak without standing in the current.
I also looked for portage launch points down the street from French Landing park, but the river was inaccessible all the way to the north fishing site, which would be a 1-1/2 mile long portage.
You can pull out at the commercial kayak launch just before the cascades, wheel it right along the sidewalk past the cascades, then almost straight ahead (a little of a dogleg to the left) there is a steep sandy path down to a gravel launch. The river’s really shallow there, but it worked for me. You can see it on google maps’ satellite view.
I haven’t spent much time in that area this summer, but I got an alert that they’ve closed the Barton portage because they are rebuilding the bank. The official recommendation is to get out at Delhi and catch a 5 mile ride to Argo. That sounds crazy. I’m hoping we can take out somewhere just upstream of the construction zone, get across the railroad tracks onto Huron River Drive, and wheel less than a mile to the park’s launch just below Barton dam. Any intel on that?
I also got an alert that they closed the river at Ricket Road for bridge construction. Anyone know if it’s possible to get by?
(Last year they officially had the river closed at the US23 bridge construction before Ricket Rd, but the worker dudes left a little space to squeeze through.)
As of right now it’s possible to get under Ricket, but because the bridge is closed less people are paddling or maintaining that section so there’s more downed trees and such to deal with after Island Lake/ Placeway. I was able to complete my trip of the Huron before the closed the section near Barton Nature area thank goodness. The French Landing launch needs to be replaced, that was the sketchiest launch I’ve ever done lol
I want to add some documentation for French Landing based on my experiences last year, 2024. Both times, I scouted it out and picked my course before coming through.
The first time through, the portage launch was under 4 ft of very fast water (Ann Arbor gauge was at 14.5’), so I avoided it. Instead, I took out at French Landing park and portaged 3/4 mi along Haggerty to Huron River Rd, went to the southeast side of the bridge, and launched. The river was high enough that the concrete abutment was submerged, and the launch was wonderfully easy (my current profile pic was taken there in front of the colorful graffiti). I’ve checked out that location with water at normal, and the concrete abutment is several feet high and safe launch is NOT possible there.
My second time through, the water level on the river was at a normal level, 12.5’ Ann Arbor gauge (Huron River at Ann Arbor, MI - USGS Water Data for the Nation), and the French Landing portage had a nice big gravel pad at the bottom of the stairs. The portage felt like it was downhill the whole way, and my kayak with 60lbs of gear slid down the wooden steps wonderfully well using my painter. Both times I had no problems and was able to do very safe dry foot launches, but if you pick the wrong one for conditions and have to turn back, it will be very, very arduous to get to the other.
I also want to add that the north west corner under the bridge has dirt and would be easy to launch from at normal water level, but it doesn’t have even a semi-clear path to it from the street. The next viable launch site downriver is North Fishing Site, which is a 1-3/4 mi portage from French Landing. By the way, I portage with a harness I made with a padded shoulder strap from a piece of luggage.
I paddled Days 4 & 5 last week, Ann Arbor to Lake Erie. I haven’t downloaded my pictures yet, but hope to soon.
River status: Gorgeous, easy paddling, low water. No downed trees / no natural portages. Off the water, Peninsular dam stairs are officially closed and genuinely threatening; Walnut Grove camp ground is closed all 2025.
Launched at Dixboro Dam, easy as usual
Superior dam portage - easy, well maintained. Watch out for bees above the algae mat - they swarmed around me like I had disturbed their nest! However, no stings.
Peninsular dam portage - STAIRS CLOSED - the last flight of the wooden stairs has come apart. Still passable but not for long … you can’t see how bad they are until you’re on the water, but the retaining wall is leaning heavily and the earth behind it is washed away. I’m not sure what’s holding up the stairs (probably the handrail), but they have spread apart and won’t be there long. The dirt goat path is probably safer, but can probably only be done by sliding the boat down with a rope.
Ate lunch on a rock on the river in Ypsilanti. Had a very nice conversation with a man fly fishing while an amateur film crew shot hand-to-hand combat scenes nearby. Very relaxing.
Ford Lake - I paddled along the north shore to catch the benefit of wind and waves. Wet, but made great time. The portage is still perfectly fine but still very long. It was nicely free of rotting cyanobacterial algae, unlike my last trips which were during calm weather.
Belleville Lake - fewer boats than I expected on a Sunday, but the waves came from everywhere because practically the whole lower lake is seawalls. Made great time with the tailwind (43 min to Belleville, 48 min to French Landing).
French Landing - portage is still officially closed, but very doable with a rope to lower your boat down the stairs. Water level is low (12’ on the AA scale) and there was plenty of landing. The rocks along the portage path seemed sharper than before, got some nasty scrapes on my kayak. Considering rigging a plastic sheet under the kayak in the future.
Walnut Grove campground - closed for 2025 to put water and electric hookups in the campsites. I only found out a few days before launching, when I tried to make a reservation… In the future there will no doubt be the sound of ac running in all the campsites…
Even with main campground closed and the group campsites empty, they wouldn’t let me use an empty group campsite, so I cooked and ate dinner at the north fishing site and then found a nice secluded sandbar. With the low water, there were plenty to choose from. I’ve wanted to do that for a long time, and it worked out beautifully.
Willow Metropark - still an oasis for stopping to make a cup of coffee.
Flat Rock - Once again, Flat Rock Metals was great about unlocking the gate for me! The landing cannot be done from a kayak dry foot and the portage is long, but otherwise very good.
Below Flat Rock - Easy, fast cruising, and as a bonus I found a fresh, perfect condition Stohlquist Ebb floating on the river. My size! Sweet!
South Rockwood public boat launch was a great oasis once again. I hung around talking to a park worker who had grown up in the area and who was interesting and fun to talk with.
Hulls Trace landing - looked usable to me despite the warnings on the river trail website, but I pushed past to Point Mouillee as usual and had another great landing there.
To finish my sectional passage for this year I just need to do Days 2 & 3, which are book-ended with official closures so that I should be able to do them in one day. I hope to paddle it soon, despite the low water which will get my boat some more scrapes for sure.
Not sure what “Days 2 &3” but thought this info might be useful. Paddled yesterday upstream from Strawberry Lake. Several tight squeezes. Rickett Rd bridge near Brighton is being rebuilt but I had no problem getting past it. Not a good idea if they are actively working on it but weekends s/b OK. Had to saw lumber just short of US 23 and turned back at a downed tree a half mile later. Looked like a straightforward but muddy portage. On the way back downriver a sign on the US 23 bike trail bridge said the river was closed a mile ahead at Rickett. Water temp was fine for wading. Normally Labor Day is packed on the lakes but too cold this year. Eagle and the usual deer, osprey and herons.
The 104 miles of river breaks into 5 days if you use the campgrounds. Day 1 is Proud Lake to ILSRA canoe campsite, Day 2 is ILSRA to Hudson Mills canoe campsite, Day 3 is to Dixboro Dam (aka Geddes Dam), Day 4 is to Lower Huron Metropark’s Walnut Grove campground (which is on the river), Day 5 is there to Lake Erie.
This way Day 1 is something around 17 miles, days 2, 3 and 4 are each around 20 miles, and day 5 is 24 miles. I lost my river guide, which also breaks a typical trip up into these 5 sections, and when my new river guide arrives I will correct the distances.
This year I paddled a hybrid Days 2 & 3. Since ISLRA to Cedar Ridge is officially closed (and I didn’t want to deal with fallen trees since few people are paddling it), and Delhi to Barton dam is officially closed because of the construction on Barton Pond, I paddled from Cedar Ridge to Delhi rapids.
The river was very shallow from Hudson Mills all the way to Delhi, which I knew it would be, so paddling was difficult because my paddle kept scraping the bottom and because of the back pressure.
I avoid doing Days 2, 3 or 4 on weekends because they all have too much boat traffic, but this was the only opportunity I had this summer, so I launched early and beat the boaters across the chain of lakes. However, floater traffic from Hudson Mills to Delhi Rapids was abominable. So many clumps of people on kayaks, tubes, and SUP’s in the way, and the smell of canabis and the inebriation and the awful country music … they seemed to be enjoying it very much. Even the guy who was puking into the river mumbled something in a happy voice after I got past him.
I finished my degree and moved away from Ann Arbor 38 years ago today! Your post reminded me of many happy hours I spent on the Huron. I never realized you could paddle all the way to the Lake Erie. When I lived in Ann Arbor we usually paddled above Ann Arbor because of dams past Geddes; if I remember correctly there were a lot of obstructions after Ypsi and into Wayne County. It looks like there are a lot of parks now.
