Bass River Recreation Area Boat Launch

This is a gravel launch, not paved, so it gets soft and rutted — especially in spring when the Grand floods. It handles small to mid-size fishing boats fine, but I wouldn't try dragging anything heavy through here without checking conditions first. Two lanes in theory, but it functions more like one usable lane most of the time.

The access road is unpaved and gets absolutely wallowed out in late winter and early spring. If you're coming in March or April, bring 4WD and decent clearance or you might not make it to the ramp. Even in summer it's bumpy enough to rattle your trailer.

The Grand pushes a lot of water through here in April and early May. I've seen the ramp area completely submerged to the point you can't tell where it ends. You can still muscle a small boat in, but the current is no joke and the ramp edges disappear underwater.

Weekend afternoons from June through August, this stretch of the Grand turns into a jet ski highway. No wake zone enforcement is basically nonexistent. If you're fishing, expect PWCs buzzing through your lines. Weekday mornings are a completely different — and much better — experience.

Twenty trailer spots sounds adequate, but the lot is gravel and not well-defined, so people park however they feel like it. On a nice summer Saturday you might find it full by mid-morning. No real overflow option — you're just out of luck. State park sticker is technically required, though enforcement seems sporadic.