St. Clair River Advice
 

I'll be visiting the in-laws up in Bay City, MI with the boat. I was in St. Clair for the races a couple years back and thought that looked like an interesting place to go boating. I don't know whether to start in Port Huron or Algonac. Can you guys recommend a good launch in either place with good parking. This is a day trip only. I won't need a slip. Thanks!

I don't know where the laugh ramp is in Algonac but it would be a nice place to start from and then go up the St. Clair River and under the Blue Water Bridge into Lake Huron and then back again with stops on the Black River in Port Huron and also a stop on the Pine River in St. Clair. They both have nice little Shops and places to eat.

I make this run often. I put in at Selfridge on Lake St. Clair and cut over to the middle channel and then run the whole river into Lake Huron. There is a beach just north of Port Huron that is popular with boaters on week-ends or hot week-days. I top off the gas tank on the Black River and head back south and usually stop at Brown's Bar. It's an easy run and just one sandbar near Marysville where you need to watch for the buoys.

Always loved to boat in the river and get away from the Lake St. Clair weekend bozos..Funny water under the Bluewater bridge also.

Algonac DNR launch is nice has a ton of parking. It is only 3' deep until you get out into the main channel. About 100' out

Pine River launch in town of St. Clair is very nice. Very deep and 24hr guarded parking.

Port Huron 12th street launch is decent. It is a very deep launch and is about 1/2 mile up the Black River. Nice no-wake ride out to the St Clair River. Out of the 3 launches this is the place I would be least likely to leave my truck overnight.

I would probably put in at Pine river. Go down the North channel into Lake St. Clair. Then come back up the South channel and head up to the Blue Water bridge. You will definitely want a depth chart if you go out into Lake St Clair.

You can launch right where the races were, at the ST Clair boat harbor.

Thanks for all the great info!

Sounds like fun!

There's also good boating out of Bay City......

Yeah, that depends on the wind. I took my 70-something in-laws across from Tawas to Caseville for lunch a few years back in a 31 Sonic. The wind picked way up for the return trip. I had to keep it to about 30 MPH and we took a lot of spray in the face. They were real troopers, but I don't want to do that to them again.

Launch in the city of St. Clair in Pine River. Head North for Port Huron and south for Algonac.