Ada Boat Launch

The river runs really shallow here, especially late summer and into fall. If you're running anything with a deeper draft, you might scrape bottom backing in. Flat-bottoms and smaller aluminum boats do fine, but I wouldn't bring a big walleye rig here without scouting the depth first.

When they pull the boat dock for winter, they leave it sitting right in the launch path instead of moving it off to the side. It's a single lane, so there's no getting around it easily. If you're doing any cold-weather fishing, be ready to work around that obstruction or call ahead to see if it's been moved.

You need a Michigan Recreation Passport to launch here since it's administered by Ionia State Recreation Area. Easy to forget since it doesn't feel like a state park — just a little roadside launch in Ada. No passport, no launch, and they do check.

Fifteen trailer spots and one lane — that's it. On a nice Saturday morning in summer, the lot can fill up by 8 or 9 AM. There's not much in the way of overflow parking nearby, so plan to arrive early or pick a weekday if you can.

Despite its quirks, this launch gets you onto a solid stretch of the Grand in Kent County. Smallmouth fishing can be excellent through here, and it's a nice put-in point for kayaks and canoes too. Just temper your expectations — it's a no-frills, old-school site that's been around since the 1950s.