Maple River State Game Area Blair Road East Boat Launch

This is a dirt ramp, not concrete, so it gets rutted and soft after rain. If you're running anything bigger than a small Jon boat or canoe, you're asking for trouble — keep it light. Back in carefully because the surface can be uneven and muddy, especially in spring.

There's literally one trailer parking spot here. If someone's already there, you're out of luck or getting creative with where you leave the trailer. This isn't a place you show up to on a Saturday morning expecting availability — go early or have a backup plan.

Don't expect any current to speak of. The Maple here is more like a wide backwater — sluggish, sometimes stagnant and a bit smelly in the warmer months. Great for a quiet paddle or casting for pike and smallmouth, but it's not a flowing river experience.

People have been trashing this area with campfire debris and litter, and the DNR has noticed. If enough people keep abusing it, this access point could get shut down. Do yourself a favor and pack out everything — this spot's too good to lose over garbage.

You'll see bald eagles, osprey, sandhill cranes, great white egrets, beavers, mink — this stretch of the Maple is loaded. Dawn and dusk are prime. Even if the fishing is slow, you won't be bored watching what's happening around you.