Muskegon River

The Muskegon River (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is a Template:Convert<ref name="NHD">U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed November 21, 2011</ref> river in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. From its source at Houghton Lake in Roscommon County, the river flows in a generally southwesterly direction to its mouth at Lake Michigan at the eponymous city of Muskegon. The river drains an area of Template:Convert,<ref>Template:Citation</ref> and collects a number of tributaries, including the Little Muskegon River, Hersey River, and Clam River.

In September 2002, an article in National Geographic raised concerns about a controversial deal made with Nestlé Waters North America, giving them permission "to bottle up to 210 million gallons (about 800 million liters) a year from an aquifer north of Grand Rapids, Michigan that recharges the Muskegon River".<ref name="Natgeog"> Template:Cite news</ref>

Description of the watershed

The Muskegon River watershed drains 2,350 square miles (6,100 km2) from ten counties in north central Michigan: Muskegon, Newaygo, Mecosta, Clare, Osceola, and Roscommon. The watershed flows through the cities of Muskegon, Newaygo, Big Rapids, Evart, and Houghton Lake. The river follows a southwesterly route through north central Michigan from its headwaters at Houghton Lake to its mouth at Muskegon Lake, which ultimately empties into Lake Michigan.

There are three man-made reservoirs on the Muskegon River, the Rogers Dam Pond, Hardy Dam Pond, and the Croton Dam Pond. All three dams on the river are owned and operated by Consumers Power for power generation purposes. Rogers Dam is located in Mecosta County south of Big Rapids, with Hardy Dam and Croton Dam located in Newaygo County.

History

Like many of its neighboring streams, the Muskegon was one of the favored logging rivers during the boom years of the 1880s-1890s. Remnants of stray logs embedded on the river bottom, left over from the spring logging runs, can still be seen along the river. The river is significant to the Algonquian peoples for fishing and hunting.

Winfield Scott Gerrish established a seven-mile-long logging railroad from Lake George to the Muskegon River.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> However, there were several Michigan logging railroads in operation in the 1850s, including the seven-mile-long Blendon Lumber Company railroad in Ottawa County, which was the first in the state to employ a steam locomotive in May 1857.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Wildlife

There is abundant wildlife, including black bear, otters, waterfowl, white-tailed deer, and bald eagles and, despite increasing development, some areas are still fairly remote and natural with much of the surrounding land composed of state-owned tracts.

The Muskegon State Game Area is an 8,411 acre section of land which overlays the Muskegon River on the section between Maple Island Road and US Route 31.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This state game area is accessible for licensed hunters. Permits can be obtained for whitetail deer hunting and waterfowl hunting. The Muskegon State Game Area spans both Muskegon County and Newaygo County.

Recreation

• The river is popular for recreational fishing for large migratory steelhead, brown trout and planted Chinook Salmon.
• Due to its slow speed and length (being shorter only then the Grand River), the river is popular for Kayaking and Canoeing.<ref>Hillstrom, Kevin, and Laurie Hillstrom. Paddling Michigan. Guilford: Falcon Publishing, 2001. 98-100.</ref>

Camping is another popular activity around the river, with several shoreline parks and campgrounds. Hunting is popular in the forests near by on public hunting land.

Crossings

List of Bridge Crossings

Route	Type	City	County	Location
Template:Jct	State Highway	Muskegon	Muskegon	Template:Coord
Template:Jct	US Route			Template:Coord
Maple Island Road	County Highway			Template:Coord
Warner Avenue	County Highway		Newaygo	Template:Coord
Bridge Street	City Street	Newaygo		Template:Coord
Template:Jct	State Highway			Template:Coord
Croton Dam Pond Road	County Road			Template:Coord
Hardy Dam Pond Road	County Road			Template:Coord
Template:Jct	State Highway		Mecosta	Template:Coord
Template:Jct	US Route			Template:Coord
South State Street	County Road	Big Rapids		Template:Coord
Maple Street	City Street			Template:Coord
Riverwalk	Pedestrian Bridge
Baldwin Street	City Street			Template:Coord
White Pine Trail	Non-Motorized Path			Template:Coord
Hoover Road	County Road			Template:Coord
Hersey Road	County Road		Osceola	Template:Coord
Carlson Road	County Road			Template:Coord
South Main Street	City Street	Evart		Template:Coord
Template:Jct	US Route			Template:Coord
Pere Marquette Trail	Non-Motorized Path			Template:Coord
50th Avenue	County Road			Template:Coord
Template:Jct	Michigan Highway			Template:Coord
Template:Jct	Michigan Highway			Template:Coord
Railroad	Railroad		Clare	Template:Coord
Template:Jct	Michigan Highway			Template:Coord
Leota Road	County Road		Missaukee	Template:Coord
Cadillac Road	County Road			Template:Coord
Template:Jct	Michigan Highway			Template:Coord
Template:Jct	US Route		Roscommon	Template:Coord
Harrison Road	County Road			Template:Coord

There are approximately 31 bridge crossings over the Muskegon River waterway. These bridge crossing include motorized vehicle crossings, railroads, and several pedestrian/bicycle trail crossings. The majority of the bicycle and pedestrian trail crossings are former railroad bridges which have been converted to non-motorized traffic.

Boater on Croton Dam Pond

Dams

The three major dams of the Muskegon River (Rogers, Hardy and Croton) generate about 45,600 kilowatts, with about 30,000 of that from Hardy Dam. This provides enough electricity to serve a community of nearly 23,000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The smaller Reedsburg Dam is near the source of the Muskegon River.

Name	Height	Purpose(s)	Capacity (MW)	Year	Owner name	Reservoir name	Coordinates	Comments
Croton	Template:Convert	Hydroelectric	8.85	1907	Consumers Energy	Croton Dam Pond	Template:Coord
Hardy	Template:Convert	Hydroelectric	30	1931	Consumers Energy	Hardy Dam Pond	Template:Coord
Reedsburg	N/A	Flood control	N/A	1940	Michigan DNR	Dead Stream Flooding	Template:Coord
Rogers	Template:Convert	Hydroelectric	6.75	1906	Consumers Energy	Rogers Dam Pond	Template:Coord
Total			45.6

Cities and towns along the river

• Houghton Lake, Michigan
• Leota, Michigan
• Evart, Michigan
• Hersey, Michigan
• Big Rapids, Michigan
• Newaygo, Michigan
• Muskegon, Michigan

Template:GeoGroup

See also

• Houghton Lake
• Lake Michigan
• List of rivers in Michigan