Pine Street Boat Launch

There's a stretch of rapids right at the put-in that'll catch kayakers and canoers off guard. Novice paddlers can tip easily before they even get going. If you're floating downstream, just be ready to paddle through some fast water immediately.

The Muskegon can drop a foot or more below normal during dry spells, and when it does this launch gets tough — shallow gravel bars make it hard to navigate even a jet boat out. Check USGS flow data for the Muskegon before you hitch up the trailer. After good rain it's a completely different ramp.

The single lane ices up fast when temps drop below freezing, and nobody plows it. There's no sand barrel at the top either. If you're launching during steelhead season in January or February, bring four-wheel drive and your own bucket of sand or you're not getting back up that ramp.

During the fall salmon and winter steelhead runs, this place gets packed. Anglers line up right at the launch and don't always move for boats trying to get in or out. The bathroom also gets pretty rough during peak run season — don't expect much. Weekday mornings are your best bet to avoid the circus.

Dirt road in, but the lot holds about 30 trailers and rarely overflows outside of salmon season. The ramp itself is one of the easiest to use on the Muskegon — wide enough that kayakers and trailer boats can coexist. Great gravel bottom fishing right from the launch area, and it puts you on some of the best trout water in the state.