AuSable River Kayaking and Camping October 2012

[Backcountry Kayaking]

Myself and three buddies did a 3 day 2 night trip on the AuSable River the first weekend in October. We put in at the M-33 Bridge and spotted a vehicle at 4001 Bridge Road Park. We parked at the Hinchman Acres Canoe Rental for $5.


Day One: We fished mostly and did very little paddling, water levels were descent considering the summer we had, we put up camp at Cathedral Pines very nice camp ground plenty of wood. This is a hike in or paddle in campground. This campground also had an outhouse and we weren’t expecting it but we will take it…


Day Two: We woke up to some rain, but a little rain only makes the trip more memorable! We did more paddling today and not as much fishing but we still got in our share of cast's. As the day went on the weather got better, clouds moved out and sun moved in. We made camp at Bear Island this is a huge camping area with lots of room. Only down side was the hike up the hill. We had a great dinner and as we sat around the fire with clear skies we knew the temps are going to fall big time tonight!



Day Three: We woke up to HEAVY frost on everything had a good breakfast and packed up camp and padded the little bit we had left and made it to 4001 Bridge in about 3 hours. Loaded up and headed home.

In all it was agreat trip with good buddies!

 

[yellowcanoe]

Wow your kayaks had a lot of gear on the deck! But it seems you ate well. I like the pic of frost..

Thanks for sharing. How long a trip was this and where is the AuSable River in Michigan. I only know of the AuSable in NY state.

 

[Shearwater]

Good pics. It looks like you guys had a fun trip.
Does no photos of fish being fried mean that you fish like I do? Lots of time "fishing" but no time catching anything

 

[Pringles]

Nice. Would you be concerned that during the summer the campgrounds you paddle to might not have an open campsite?

 

[roadends]

Thanks for the TR and pics.

 

[Backcountry Kayaking]

Thanks "yellowcanoe" our kayaks can care lots of gear mostly our clothes are on top of our decks. These bags are lighter and we dont have to worry about tipping, we put all of our so called "heavy gear" in our dry storage areas.. We did eat very well and with four guys each guy takes just a litttle food and temps didnt get much above 50 it was easy to keep things cold. Mid summer would be a different story. Our trip was 3 days 2 nights we started off in a small town called Mio MI. the AuSable runs through the Hiawatha National Forest.

 

[Backcountry Kayaking]

Thanks, Shearwater it was a great trip! Most of the trout we cought didn't meet the regulations on size so this was more of a catch and release trip.

 

[Backcountry Kayaking]

Pringles, As far as I know the paddle in and hike in campgrounds do not have a limit for number of campers/tents on a site. I would double check but no I dont think you would have any trouble getting a site. It is a great paddle mainly through forest.

 

[Pringles]

Thanks for the follow up. It's not terribly far from me. I have a friend who took his family on a day trip down the Au Sable. He might be able to get the family to do a couple of overnights, though his family seems to have a larger than normal (or maybe average?) number of people who WON'T SLEEP ON THE GROUND! (Why yes, those who say that are yelling in this instance.). I live in the UP and would be a little more inclined to do the Two Hearted or the Fox, but it's good to learn about more places. Thanks for sharing.

Pringles

 

[Guest]

Backcounty Kayaking I got on this site after reading your post on this trip. I'm looking some trips ahead and needed ideas for a boy scout troop I help lead. Bear Island sounds like a great place to visit and its located in my backyard. Thank you so much. I would like to add if you had not been told yet all national forest paddle camp sites have a max number of ten people per site.