I googled white water in Mi. and there appears to be some rivers in the UP where you can white water kayak in the spring time. Any reviews of those rivers?
There is also East Raceway in South Bend. Which looked like a lot of fun!
Are there other places to white water kayak within a few hours of Grand Rapids? Or would I drop the money for a boat and just use it once a couple of times per year. How would they work on Lake Michigan? Will I have to move to West Va.? 
Grand Rapids (?)…
– Last Updated: Jul-19-06 2:24 PM EST –
Gee I don't remember but there must be whitewater around someplace named Grand Rapids, the only thing I remember ther is the Nixon Pardon doccument in the Gerald R Ford Musuem and a really bad art museum.
A decent whitewater boat would be fun for surfing on Lake Michigan when you have storm waves. Wikle who posts here once in a while can fill you in.
I lived in Ann Arbor and there were spots along the Huron River that would be fun to run in a whitewater kayak, I'm sure you could find some spots closs to Grand Rapids. A cheap used whitewater boat will cost about $350, paddle and helmet, and PFD and spray skirt about 200 - 250 more. So it's not a huge investment.
The Pine near Baldwin perhaps
I don’t think this is classed as white water necessarily but it is no place for novices.
When I was 17, thin, and with a group of young adults who were capable this river was thrilling.
Now I have memories of my first time in a canoe! Great memories but unless a miracle happens …
paging Dr. Disco…
also ask www.boatertalk
books
Canoeing Michigan Rivers has tons of information about Michigan Rivers. Might have what you are looking for.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1882376951/sr=8-1/qid=1153401588/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-7225451-0385537?ie=UTF8
forgot to mention
I am kinda in the same boat so to speak. I live around Ann Arbor and want to paddle more whitewater, but I can’t convince my wife that its worth buying an OC1 when the nearest whitewater is 8 hours away.
Not here
I paddle a canoe alot in W. Michigan, and there is zero real whitewater in the Lower Peninsula. There is some good whitewater in the west end of the UP, and good whitewater north of th Soo in Canada. In addition, there is whitewater north of Toronto, and then the Yough, and WV rivers. But there is some great paddling in MI if you are interested in small tight twisty beautiful rivers. But if it’s big balls excitement you gotta go somewhere else!!
PK
No rapids in Grand Rapids
– Last Updated: Jul-20-06 9:40 PM EST –
To clarify, there are no boatable rapids in Grand Rapids...unless you take dynamite to the Sixth Street Dam. If you take your kayak over the dam, you will likely be fished out (unconscious) on the other side by the fire department or other rescue personnel. Or some really shocked-looking fishermen.
The town is named for the rapids that were there BEFORE the dam was built to control flooding.
While there are plenty of rivers that get high and fast in the spring floods, I can't say there is much in Michigan that would classify as classic white water (like the mental image you get of the Snake River). That doesn't mean that shooting mild rapids isn't fun, and Michigan has a lot of those.
No kayak need be wasted in Michigan. Minnesota's motto is something about 10,000 lakes. Michigan has 12,000...plus borders four of those big ones...let the thrill seeker see one of the great inland seas in prime condition, and (s)he will need no whitewater. A good pfd and a helicopter rescue, perhaps...
the big lakes require care
The more I learn, the more cautious I am.
Regarding Michigan’s coast line. Even a seemingly quiet off shore paddle along the shore can turn to something quite different in seconds.
Even on a warm and sunny day, a fog bank can appear out of nowhere blocking your view of anything short of three to five feet around you.
One minute you can see for miles, the next minute you are glad to see the shore and paddle quickly toward it. This is real. Lake Huron seems more prone to unexpected fog than Lake Michigan but it might just be that I lived four plus years of my life within a half mile of Lake Huron.