St. Joe County Conservation District

"Community Development through Conservation"

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Navigable Rivers in StJoe
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Navigable Rivers in St. Joseph County
 
St. Joseph County, Michigan has more than 150 miles of navigable waterways– more than any other county in Michigan -- and paddling enthusiasts know it! People can access our rivers for a couple of hours of paddling or they can spend all day on the river and come out at sunset exhausted but happy. 
 
As part of a 4-year plan to eliminate access impediments to St. Joseph County's rivers, the St. Joe County Conservation District is cleaning our rivers of debris. As we trim downed trees* and haul out trash, we are recording our progress. Soon to be posted here will be maps of our progress. Happy paddling!
 
 
 
* The St. Joe County Conservation District has not completely removed trees that have fallen into our waterways. We have left the majority of the tree in the water and removed only enough for a paddler to pass through. In an effort to leave paddling a challenging and rewarding experience, we have also not trimmed the trees "in a straight line". You will still need to navigate and work your way down our rivers... you just won't have to portage for long stretches.
 
 

Paddlers Email the Conservation District:

 

"Wow. I just saw your website and am incredibly impressed at the goals you've set to prepare the rivers for paddling and the fact that you've accomplished the first goal. Are there any active paddlers groups in the area. I live in Cass County and am always interested in meeting others who enjoy paddling a river. Thanks for your efforts. I will be sure to paddle your rivers this year."

-- Kevin Anderson, 6/2/11

 

"Hi Amy.  I so loved that the river was cleared and you are probably hearing from others how impassable it is after last night's storm.  'Had to turn back today.  Just could not find any way but climbing through massive tree fall seemed impossible.  A bit before floating bridge is the worst.  The photo doesn't do it justice but here it is anyway. Too bad. So much work had been done."

-- Mary doeZema, 6/1/11

 

"I kayaked the Prairie River between M-66 bridge and Findley Road Bridge on Sunday and there is a power line down across the river. Looks like a tree recently fell and knocked down a power pole. It's located about half way between the two road bridges and is laying across a small farm bridge. I had to portage there because the water was too high to go under the farm bridge. Could be dangerous if the power line is live...it's laying low enough to step on or run into with your head in places and it's not easy to see because there is so much brush laying around. Otherwise, the trip was nice..thanks to the workers who made this stretch navigable once again."

-- K. Davis, 5/31/11

 

"Thank you for your work clearing trees from the rivers. It was getting to be a pain taking my canoe for a walk."

-- Jonathan Rice, 5/24/11

 

"Would it be profitable to have a map with the clean parts of each river marked so that we know which parts of the rivers are now clear? Having this on your website and published by the local newspapers may help to better promote the use of the rivers.  Thank you so much for the work that you have done to clean the rivers. We can't hardly wait for the waters to recede a bit and for the temperatures to rise to begin our spring kayaking."

--William Tacchella, 5/18/11 

 

"Last week 2 of us ventured down the Rocky River from Floating Bridge Rd to Three Rivers.  The river has been mostly cleared so that there is at least a slot to paddle through... so it was a clear go and we went. Neither of us had to get out and there was a minimum of limboing going on.  It was only 1 hour and 5 minutes from F. Bridge to Null and another 55 min from there to Brewsters where we stopped for supper before continuing to TR.  All told 2 ½ hours of paddle time." -- Merritt Brown 5/11/11

 
 
If you would like to make a comment about the condition of St. Joseph County's rivers, please email us at stjoe@stjoecountycd.com.