Canoeing the Au Sable River is always better in the fall

One of the few times you'll see an image of me on this page. And yes, I am wearing a bandana with skulls and crossbones
on it. Thanks, 2007 CMU Homecoming. (Photo by Jim Kenning)

My first times canoeing as a child came along the South Branch of the Au Sable River. Some close family friends have a cottage near Mio, and I vaguely remember drifting down the river with my paddle, getting exhausted in the process.

The colors along the river looked just like this: mostly green
with a splash of bright red and orange. (Photo by Jim Kenning)

I returned to that same portion of the river this past weekend, heading up north to canoe one of Michigan's premiere canoeing rivers. It's just as nice a river as I remember from doing it a few years ago, and this is the time of year I recommend doing it.

The youth group I help lead does a fall trip each year, opting to canoe every-other year or so. We did the Rifle River back in 2015, as well as the South Branch of the Au Sable in 2012, and decided again to hit the waters this fall this year. With younger, more inexperienced canoers joining us this year, we decided doing the Au Sable would make for a great first trip for member of the young men.

That was certainly the case. We had at least one young man who had never gone canoeing before and had recently moved to the U.S. from Liberia. He seemed to enjoy the calm waters of the Au Sable, which were higher than I'm used to. There's at least a few sections of the river that typically have dried up in areas this time of year, but that wasn't the case last weekend.

As for my excursion, I finally succumbed to something I haven't done a river before: managed to take a spill and flip my boat. After stopping for others to catch up, our boat turned around. While trying to right the ship, we began floating sideways, having both the bow and stern get lodged on some downed trees in the river. That left us vulnerable to another canoe making its way down: once another boat tapped us, there was no for us to go but over, our canoe becoming a swivel. Into the drink we went, with our canoe floating down the river and the contents, too. For being mid-September, the water was unusually pleasant, though walking the 100 feet in the river's murky bed left my boots stinking to high heaven, a distinction they still hold a week later.

The South Branch of the Au Sable River as seen from the
Canoe Harbor State Forest Campground site.

The South Branch of the Au Sable is an excellent stretch for canoers looking for a good time but not wanting a huge challenge. The current is well-paced, and canoe liveries have done a nice job of trimming downed trees for easy passage. The depth can range from a few inches to a few feet. Starting at the Paddle Brave livery, the banks were lined with cabins and homes for the first few hours. After that, we headed into the Mason Tract, where all we saw along the banks were ducks and other water fowl. It's a calming experience to feel like you're in the middle of nowhere even when you know the highway can't be too far away.

After spending five hours on the river, we head back to the Canoe Harbor State Forest Campground, a wonderful place to stay if ever in the area. Since it was after Labor Day, we were some of only a handful of individuals staying there. The campground has a trail leading down to the river, which provided excellent visuals early Sunday morning when I went down the next day.

I've always found fall canoeing to be vastly superior to summer canoeing. The water is calmer, there's fewer people and the fall color highlight the already-gorgeous river. It's an experience everyone should have at least once. You might not head back to the river when it's warm.

Canoeing the south branch of the Au Sable River

Beautiful, isn't it? This was the typical scene down the south branch of the Au Sable last weekend. 

It's been nearly 10 months since I got my boots on and camped. With changing jobs midway through the year, planning a wedding and other hectic life items, I haven't had the chance to get out like I'm accustomed to doing.

I broke that streak this past weekend when I traveled north to canoe the south branch of the Au Sable River. We canoed down the river near the peak of the fall colors this past weekend, doing more than 10 miles down the stretch near Roscommon.

The thing that struck me the most was the fall color along the river. It was one of the reasons I was excited to go on this trip; I knew the Au Sable was surrounded by tall, beautiful trees, and I knew the colors of fall would be exquisite.

Stopping by the Chase Bridge.

We arrived at the canoe livery in the morning, where we shoved off into the water. The river felt like it was around 55 degrees or so, enough to be cold but not enough to do significant damage if we were exposed to it for too long. That typically wouldn't be a problem, since most of the river was only a few feet deep at most places.

Our canoeing took us along the Mason Tract Pathway near Roscommon. We started down the river near the Chase Bridge, and after a mishap where one canoe flipped while trying to maneuver a fallen log, we stopped for lunch at Durant's Castle, the site where former auto millionaire William C. Durant had built a lavish home in the early 1900s.

Continuing down the river, we saw many ducks which seemingly followed us as we floated down. Many cottages lined the banks: some had people there for the weekend, others had "For Sale" signs in the backyard.

The mix of colors with the green made the trip
a wonderful adventure.

The randomness of where the color would appear was half the appeal
of the fall canoe trip.

We followed the river to the Smith Bridge, where we were met by a driver from the livery we rented the boats from. We returned to the Canoe Harbor State Forest Campground, and enjoyed dinner before falling asleep after a long day of paddling.

It's a great time to go up north for a trip like this: the crowds are gone, the campground is empty and the livery employees are more than happy to work with you. They stay open year-round, meaning you could canoe in January if you wanted to. There, you might see the snow on the trees, but I'll contend it does not rival the autumn colors mid-Michigan could offer the last weekend of September.