Au Gres River Mouth Boat Launch

Midweek you'll practically have the place to yourself — eight lanes and 150 trailer spots feel downright luxurious. Come Saturday morning though, especially during the walleye bite in May and June, expect lines at the ramp by 6 AM. Plan to launch early or wait it out.

The docks are noticeably short for the size of boats people run out to Saginaw Bay. If you're solo-launching anything over 20 feet, you'll want to be quick tying off because there's not much dock to work with, and weekend traffic means someone's waiting behind you.

Once you're in, it's a short, easy idle down the Au Gres River mouth to open water on Lake Huron. No tricky sandbars or sharp turns — just keep it at no-wake speed through the channel. You can also head upriver to the west if you want calmer water or some smallmouth action.

The main paved lot holds 80 trailers, but the 70-spot grass overflow area along the north edge of the loop is what saves you on busy weekends. That grass lot gets soft after heavy rain, so if it's been a wet week, stick to the paved section or you might be pulling ruts on the way out.

The ramp itself is solid, but the grounds have gotten shaggier in recent years — overgrown weeds along the edges, bugs thick in the vegetation, and the outhouses aren't cleaned as often as they should be. It's still a top-tier Saginaw Bay launch, but it's showing its age since the original infrastructure grant is decades past its lifespan. No fish cleaning station either, so bring your own setup.