BirdTroutOpen the map How to get to the Betsie River, Michigan
MDNR's access file puts 9 public sites on the Betsie River — 9 launches, spread over Benzie and Manistee. 16 blocks of public land touch the river, which is where you can stand without asking — 76,398 acres between them, counting each unit whole rather than the part beside the water. The nearest town we map is Traverse City, 23.7 miles from the river's midpoint in a straight line, with the water south-west of the town.
Nearest towns
| Town | Distance | Direction to the river |
|---|---|---|
| Traverse City | 23.7 mi | south-west |
| Cadillac | 36.9 mi | north-west |
| Baldwin | 46.4 mi | north |
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 access sites
| Site | Type | River mile | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grass Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | boat launch | 49.3 | — |
| Kurick Road (fee) | canoe launch | 33.5 | — |
| County Line Bridge | canoe launch | 26.4 | — |
| Homestead Dam (fee) | canoe launch | 13.8 | — |
| Us-31 (fee) | canoe launch | 12.5 | — |
| Grace Road | canoe launch | 11.1 | — |
| River Road (fee) | canoe launch | 9.7 | — |
| Lower River Road (fee) | boat launch | 6.3 | — |
| Frankfort Municipal (fee) | boat launch | 0.6 | — |
0 walk-in, 9 launches, from MDNR's own access file. River mile is measured up from the mouth along this river's drawn axis.
Public land on the water
- Traverse City Management Unit — Michigan DNR, 45,503 acres in all
- Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit — Michigan Department of Natural Resources, 23,689 acres in all
- Betsie Valley State Trail — Michigan DNR, 3,033 acres in all
- Interlochen To Kaleva Trail — Michigan DNR, 1,138 acres in all
- Betsie River State Game Area — public, 716 acres in all
- Misty Acres: The Borwell Preserve — Grand Traverse Regional Land Convervancy, 616 acres in all
- Grass Lake Flooding State Wildlife Management Area — State Dept. of Natural Resources, 531 acres in all
- Betsie River — Michigan DNR, 439 acres in all
- Public Water Access Site — Michigan DNR, 382 acres in all
- Railroad Point Natural Area — Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, 213 acres in all
- Crystal Lake Township Park — Crystal Lake Township, 69 acres in all
- State Land — Michigan DNR, 27 acres in all
- Donald E. Hart Plant Preserve — Michigan Nature Assocatiaton, 24 acres in all
- River Road Boating Access Site — Michigan Department of Natural Resources, 10 acres in all
- Betsie River Public Water Access Site — Michigan Department of Natural Resources, 4 acres in all
- Betsie River Day-Use Park And Walking Trail — public, 4 acres 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 Betsie River
Betsie River — live water temperature, regulations and access
- Is the Betsie River good for brown trout?
- Is the Betsie River good for rainbow trout?
- When to fish the Betsie River, Michigan
- Betsie River fishing report
- Betsie River fishing regulations