Craft & Seasonality
✓
Motorboat ✓
Kayak / Canoe ✓
Jet Ski / PWC ✗
Large Boat ✗
Winter Access Site Details
Conditions change rapidly due to water levels, prop wash, and weather. Always visually inspect before backing down.
RampUnimproved, lanes
Dock1 boating pier · ADA
Trailer Parking spots · gravel
FeeNo fee
HoursSeasonal; daily launch passes sold at the ramp
PierYes
AccessibilityAccessible pier
Not Available Fish cleaning · Fishing pier
Scout's Notes
Ramp Quirks & Etiquette
The Setup
Built in 1962 on the north side of Harbor Island — just west of US-31, south of the drawbridge, in off Coho Drive — with direct access to the Grand River's main channel. Improvements through 2002 enlarged the lot, added a public restroom, and dredged the basin for deeper-draft boats, which matters here: this is a big-water launch serving Lake Michigan traffic.
Fees
A launch pass is required — daily passes sold at the ramp, seasonal passes at the City Treasurer's Office (519 Washington Ave, 616-842-3210). This is a city facility, so the state Recreation Passport does not cover it.
Three Waters, One Ramp
The launch's quiet superpower: from Harbor Island you can run west past the pierheads into Lake Michigan, work the Grand River's channel and bayous upstream, or slip into Spring Lake — three very different days from one piece of pavement. The pierhead salmon and steelhead fishery in season is among the lake's most storied.
About This Lake
Grand River →