Paint River Bridge Boat Launch

There's no paved or concrete ramp here — zero lanes. You're basically doing a carry-in or muscling a small jon boat down the bank. Anything over 14 feet is going to be a headache. Canoes and kayaks are ideal.

Four trailer spots is all you get, and that fills fast on summer weekends when the cabin resort crowd is out tubing and kayaking. If you're trailering in, get there early morning or expect to get creative with parking along the road.

This launch shares the area with Paint River Landing resort, so you'll be competing with cabin guests renting pontoons, canoes, and tubes — especially Saturday afternoons. Weekday mornings are a completely different experience, practically deserted.

The Paint River holds musky, and people chase them hard here, but don't expect easy hookups. Follows and strikes happen, but landing one takes serious persistence. Tubing and canoeing are honestly the more reliable ways to enjoy this stretch of river.

Water levels on the Paint can drop noticeably by late summer, exposing rocks and making navigation tricky in spots. Keep your motor tilted and watch for submerged logs — this is classic Upper Peninsula river water, dark and hard to read.