BirdTrout
Cadillac State Forest Area, Michigan
229,599 acres of public ground in Missaukee, Lake, Wexford, Osceola counties, managed by Michigan DNR. 53 named streams run through it, of which 50 are designated trout water — 1076.7 miles of it. It is in the state's huntable-land layer.
Open in BirdTrout50°F and colder is cold, through cold-transitional and cool, to warm above 70°F — the same four bands the app paints. The colour is MDNR's classification of the valley segment, not a measurement, except at the gauge dots, which read live. Grey is water MDNR has not typed.
The unit in numbers
Assembled from MDNR and OSM and PADUS ownership records, dissolved into one block: the section lines a state forest is surveyed in are not a fact about access, so they are not drawn and not counted twice.
Getting on it
Open to the public on foot without a permit, as the ownership file records it.
This unit is 211 separate blocks of ground rather than one, which is normal for public land held in surveyed sections: the blocks are not contiguous. The map above draws every one of them, and the ground between two of them belongs to somebody else. Boundaries, closures and anything posted on the ground are Michigan Department of Natural Resources's to say, and 517-284-6057 is where to ask.
Trout streams on this ground
Every named stream whose reaches touch this unit, longest first. 47 of them have a page of their own and are linked; the rest are in the app. Thermal class is MDNR's classification of the valley segment, over the reaches it has typed. "Now" is the live USGS reading where a gauge stands in that stream.
| Stream | Miles | Class | Now | Designation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muskegon River | 231.0 | Cool | 61.3°F | Type 1, Type 2, Type 4 |
| Manistee River Blue Ribbon | 190.1 | Cold-transitional | 54.9°F | Type 1, Type 2, Type 3, Type 4 |
| Little Manistee River Blue Ribbon | 68.6 | Cold | 57.0°F | Type 1, Type 2, Type 3, Type 4 |
| Pere Marquette River Blue Ribbon | 63.9 | Cool | — | Type 1, Type 2, Type 3, Type 4 |
| Pine River Blue Ribbon | 53.5 | Cold | 53.6°F | Type 1, Type 2, Type 3, Type 4 |
| Clam River Blue Ribbon | 51.1 | Cool | — | Type 2, Type 3 |
| Middle Branch River Blue Ribbon | 36.7 | Cool | — | Type 2, Type 3 |
| Middle Branch Pere Marquette River | 25.3 | Cold | — | Type 2, Type 3 |
| West Branch Muskegon River | 23.8 | Cool | — | Type 2 |
| Sanborn Creek | 21.7 | Cold | — | Type 2, Type 3 |
| Dead Stream | 18.9 | Cool | — | Type 2 |
| Bear Creek Blue Ribbon | 18.4 | Cool | — | Type 2 |
| Silver Creek | 17.9 | Cold | — | Type 2, Type 3, Type 4 |
| Hopkins Creek | 15.2 | Cold | — | Type 2, Type 4 |
| Big Cannon Creek | 15.1 | Cold | — | Type 2, Type 3 |
| Baldwin River | 14.3 | Cold | — | Type 2, Type 3 |
| Manton Creek | 14.0 | Cold | — | Type 2 |
| Coe Creek | 13.8 | Cold | — | Type 2, Type 3 |
| Haymarsh Creek | 13.5 | Cool | — | Type 2 |
| North Branch Pine River | 12.9 | Cold | — | Type 2, Type 3 |
| Fletcher Creek | 12.1 | untyped | — | Type 2 |
| Ham Creek | 10.2 | Cold | — | Type 2 |
| Morrisy Creek | 9.7 | Cold | — | Type 2 |
| Twin Creek | 9.1 | Cold | — | Type 2 |
| Adams Creek | 9.0 | Cold | — | Type 2 |
| Fife Lake Outlet | 8.4 | untyped | — | Type 2 |
| Norway Creek | 6.9 | Cool | — | — |
| Cole Creek | 6.8 | Cold | — | Type 2 |
| Wheeler Creek | 6.6 | untyped | — | Type 2 |
| Filer Creek | 6.4 | Cold | — | Type 1, Type 2, Type 4 |
| Cole Creek | 6.2 | Cool | — | Type 2 |
| Buttermilk Creek | 6.1 | Cold | — | Type 2 |
| Cranberry Creek | 6.1 | Cool | — | Type 2 |
| South Branch Twin Creek | 5.8 | Cold | — | Type 2 |
| Soper Creek | 5.3 | Cold | — | Type 2, Type 4 |
| North Branch Anderson Creek | 4.8 | Cold | — | Type 2, Type 4 |
| North Branch Twin Creek | 4.6 | untyped | — | Type 2 |
| Addis Creek | 4.4 | Cool | — | Type 2 |
| Syers Creek | 4.2 | Cold | — | Type 2, Type 3 |
| Chase Creek | 3.9 | Cold | — | Type 2, Type 4 |
| Golden Creek | 3.3 | untyped | — | Type 2 |
| Sprague Creek | 3.2 | Cold | — | Type 2, Type 3 |
| East Branch Wheeler Creek | 2.8 | Cold | — | Type 2 |
| Apple Creek | 2.7 | untyped | — | Type 2 |
| Blind Creek | 2.7 | Cold | — | Type 2 |
| Walton Outlet | 2.6 | Cold | — | Type 1, Type 2 |
| Willow Run | 2.6 | untyped | — | Type 2 |
| South Branch Cole Creek | 2.4 | untyped | — | Type 2 |
| North Branch Cole Creek | 2.2 | Cold | — | Type 2 |
| Gunnerson Creek | 2.0 | untyped | — | — |
| Twin Creek | 1.7 | untyped | — | Type 2, Type 3 |
| Bray Creek | 1.1 | Cold | — | Type 2, Type 3 |
| Mud Creek | 0.8 | Cold | — | — |
The miles are the whole stream's, not the miles inside this boundary: a river does not stop at a property line and neither does its page.
Hunting
This ground is in Michigan's huntable public-land layer as national forest — 99% of the unit is covered by it. The seasons below are the 2025–2026 small-game seasons as the state's own digest publishes them; they are statewide except where a species is zoned, and the bars run 1 September to 31 August.
Daily bag 3, possession 9. Federally set — woodcock is a migratory bird, so the season is a US Fish and Wildlife framework Michigan selects within, not a state season. The stamp is free but it is not optional, and it registers you with HIP.
Daily bag 5, possession 10. Split season — it closes for the two weeks of firearm deer and opens again December 1.
Daily bag 5, possession 10. The Department of Natural Resources opens quail in 27 counties — Branch, Calhoun, Clinton, Eaton, Genesee, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Huron, Ingham, Ionia, Jackson, Kent, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Montcalm, Oakland, Saginaw, St. Clair, St. Joseph, Sanilac, Shiawassee, Tuscola, Washtenaw and Wayne — and states that quail may be taken in those counties only. Wildlife Conservation Order 3.504(2), read August 2026. Section 3.504(3) lets the Department's director close any or all of those counties by interim order on the June breeding quail survey. An interim order is not carried in this app — check the digest for the county you are hunting. Effectively gone from Michigan outside a few southern counties — 1,769 recorded observations statewide against the grouse's 36,948.
Daily bag 2, possession 4. Zoned — this ground is in Zone 2 — northern Lower Peninsula. Male (rooster) only.
Daily bag 2, possession 4. The Department of Natural Resources opens sharp-tailed grouse only inside the zone 1 sharp-tailed grouse management unit, in the eastern Upper Peninsula, and states that the remaining portion of the state is closed. Wildlife Conservation Order 3.503(1) with the unit of 12.751, read August 2026. The unit lies within Chippewa and Mackinac counties but is not the whole of either. Its boundary is described as a chain of roads, rivers and section corners and is not drawn in this app — being in one of those two counties is not the same as being in the unit. Read 12.751 or the digest's map before you hunt. Beyond the daily and possession limits there is a season limit of 6 sharp-tailed grouse — Wildlife Conservation Order 3.503(2). It is the only season limit in this app. The free sharp-tailed grouse stamp is issued on request and becomes part of the licence. It is free and it is not optional. Do not confuse it with the spruce grouse, which shares the same Upper Peninsula country, is protected in Michigan and has no season at all.
The Department of Natural Resources opens the fall season in its fall turkey management units, not statewide: unit M is the Upper Peninsula and unit I is the Lower Peninsula except Monroe county. Wildlife Conservation Order 3.303 with 12.654 and 12.675, read August 2026. Fall turkey is also quota-limited and licensed by unit. Being inside a unit is not the same as holding a tag for it — this app draws where the season is, not what you are licensed for. Exempt from the hunter-orange requirement.
Hunter orange: Small game hunters must wear a hunter-orange cap, hat, vest, jacket or rain gear as the outermost garment, visible from all sides. Camouflage counts if it is at least 50% orange. It applies August 15 – April 30, except when hunting waterfowl, crow, wild turkey and falconry.
No statewide Sunday closure for small game. A few counties restrict firearm hunting on private land under PA 319 of 1994 — not mapped here.
Access sites and amenities
| Site | Kind | Water | On it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Leverentz Lake State Forest Campground camping | Boat launch | Big Leverentz Lake | parking (6 spaces), restroom, 1 trailer ramp, accessible features · fee |
| Goose Lake State Forest Campground camping | Boat launch | Goose Lake | parking (6 spaces), restroom, 1 trailer ramp, accessible features · fee |
| Long Lake State Forest Campground camping | Boat launch | Long Lake | parking (5 spaces), 1 trailer ramp · fee |
| Long Lake State Forest Campground camping | Boat launch | Long Lake | parking (3 spaces), 1 trailer ramp · fee |
| Reedsburg Dam State Forest Campground camping | Boat launch | Dead Stream Flooding | parking (5 spaces), restroom, 2 trailer ramps, accessible features · fee |
| Sunrise Lake State Forest Campground camping | Boat launch | Sunrise Lake | parking (15 spaces), restroom, 1 trailer ramp, accessible features · fee |
| Lincoln Bridge State Forest Campground camping | Canoe and kayak launch | Pine River | parking (10 spaces), restroom, carry-down launch, accessible features · fee |
| Silver Creek State Forest Campground camping | Canoe and kayak launch | Pine River | parking (4 spaces), restroom, carry-down launch, accessible features · fee |
| Baxter Bridge | Boat launch | Manistee River | parking (8 spaces), restroom, 1 trailer ramp, accessible features · fee |
| Harvey Bridge | Boat launch | Manistee River | parking (4 spaces), restroom, 1 trailer ramp · fee |
| Kenwood Park | Boat launch | Lake Cadillac | parking (55 spaces), restroom, 2 trailer ramps, accessible features · free |
| Lucas Road | Boat launch | Manistee River | parking (8 spaces), restroom, 1 trailer ramp, accessible features · fee |
| US-131 Roadside Park | Boat launch | Manistee River | parking (10 spaces), 1 trailer ramp · fee |
| Marion Ponds | Canoe and kayak launch | Middle Branch River | parking (5 spaces), carry-down launch · fee |
| Middle Branch | Canoe and kayak launch | Middle Branch River | parking (4 spaces), carry-down launch · fee |
| Old US-131 SFCG | Canoe and kayak launch | Manistee River | parking (2 spaces), restroom, carry-down launch, accessible features · fee |
When to come
The hatch calendar for northern lower Michigan, which is the region this unit's centre falls in — the same regions the app's hatch panel uses. It is a regional record, not a survey of this ground: nobody has counted insects unit by unit. Year-round records (midges, scuds, sculpins) are left out. The seasons above are the other half of this calendar: the water is best before the ground is.
January
April
May
- Blue-Winged Olive
- Blackfly
- Blue Quill
- Cranefly
- +15 more
June
July
- Caterpillar
- Crayfish
- Green Sedge
- Light Cahill
- +20 more
August
September
October
November
December
What makes this unit distinctive
The Cadillac State Forest Area is 229,599 acres in Missaukee, Lake, Wexford and Osceola counties, in 211 blocks, and its water is out of proportion to its size: fifty-three named streams, fifty of them designated trout water, and 1,076.7 miles of designated water — more than units twice its acreage carry. Seven of those streams are Blue Ribbon: Bear Creek, the Clam, the Little Manistee, the Manistee, the Middle Branch, the Pere Marquette and the Pine. The Muskegon at 231 miles and the Manistee at 190.1 are the two long rivers crossing it; the Little Manistee and the Pine are the ones MDNR types cold. Ninety-nine per cent of the unit is in the state's huntable-land layer. Sixteen public access sites stand on it, eleven of them boat launches and eight carrying campground in their name.
Regulations
Nothing on this page is a regulation. The fishing rules that apply to the water on this ground — the types, the seasons, the size limits and the gear restrictions — are on the Michigan fishing regulations page, built from the agency's own columns. The hunting seasons above come from the state's hunting digest, read against the 2025 licence year.
Watersheds it lies in
The subbasins this ground drains into. Each one has the whole basin's water on it.
Public land nearby
The nearest other blocks of public ground, centre to centre. Public land does not tile a state the way watersheds do, so this is nearness rather than adjacency.
- White Pine Trail State Park 6.0 mi
- Osceola Missaukee Grasslands State Game Area 7.8 mi
- Manistee National Forest - Cadillac Ranger District 16.1 mi
- Winterfield Conservation Club 17.7 mi
- Headquarters Lake Impoundment State Wildlife Management Area 18.3 mi
Plan a weekend around it
The trip pages whose range reaches this ground — the water in the same drive, what is hatching, and a three-day plan built from it.