BirdTroutOpen the map How to get to the Bear River, Michigan
No site in MDNR's access file falls on the Bear River, so the way in is public ground and road crossings rather than a marked landing. 12 blocks of public land touch the river, which is where you can stand without asking — 54,545 acres between them, counting each unit whole rather than the part beside the water. The nearest town we map is Petoskey, 4.1 miles from the river's midpoint in a straight line, with the water south of the town.
Nearest towns
| Town | Distance | Direction to the river |
|---|---|---|
| Petoskey | 4.1 mi | south |
| Gaylord | 23.6 mi | north-west |
| Grayling | 46.5 mi | north |
| Traverse City | 50.8 mi | north-east |
Straight-line distance from the river's midpoint, and the direction you would travel from the town to reach it. The roads are not mapped here, so there is no drive time — a travel time nobody measured is the kind of number that gets somebody lost.
Public land on the water
- Gaylord Management Unit — Michigan DNR, 53,985 acres in all
- Mnrtf Parcel 121 — State Dept. of Natural Resources, 217 acres in all
- Schoof's Creek Natural Area — public, 163 acres in all
- River Road Sports Complex — City of Petoskey, 89 acres in all
- Bayfront Park — public, 39 acres in all
- Bear River Valley Recreation Area — public, 35 acres in all
- Riverbend Park — City, 5 acres in all
- Melrose Township Park — public, 4 acres in all
- River Bend Park — public, 4 acres in all
- Mineral Well Park — public, 2 acres in all
- Memorial Park — City of Petoskey, 1 acre in all
- Bear River Canoe Livery — public, 1 acre in all
Ownership from PAD-US as the state publishes it. Where a block has its own page, the name links to it.
More about Bear River
Bear River — live water temperature, regulations and access
- Is the Bear River good for brook trout?
- Is the Bear River good for brown trout?
- Is the Bear River good for rainbow trout?
- When to fish the Bear River, Michigan
- Bear River fishing report
- Bear River fishing regulations