Making plans to go this year! I checked and Brower park is sold out. Anyone have any suggestions on where to stay in the area? I haven't decided yet Tent or Hotel. Depends on whats available and close by.
Also do the boat ramps fill up on that weekend. I would like to launch about 10:00 am Fri morning and put the boat back on the trailer at approx. 8:00 pm. Same thing for Saturday. Would that be a problem?

+1

This will be a first time for myself... and curious about this also.

Just curious, where and when is it at in Mi?

Hot Boat is always the weekend after Labor Day on the backwaters of Hardy Dam in W MI, just south of Big Rapids.

Brower Park is "the show" but I personally like the ramp at Sandy Beach state Park down by the dam much better.

Consumers Beach is the carnival and not kid friendly..some may disagree but I wouldn't take my kids there.

Up river there is a sand bar - allegedly where it all started - where the small hot rods tend to hang out.

It's a pretty impressive event….there is some very serious stuff, large and small, that can be seen up there.

Oxbow is a good camp ground with a good ramp. And it's just across the river from the party

I haven't been to Oxbow in years, but the last time I was there it was nice.

The park right at the dam is a nice ramp, and pretty well protected from wind, waves, and current but I don't believe you can camp there and the ramp is steep which seems to freak some people out. Parking can be tricky.

Brower Park is upriver - closer to Big Rapids - but it's my least favorite. Lots of (enforced) rules, and the last time we put in there we filled the sea strainer with weeds…but it's "the place" because it's the easiest to get to if you are coming off the highway.

RiverRidge is a bit farther upriver and has a nice ramp, but I have never put in there. It looks to me like a long rig will have issues and it doesn't look like parking is convenient. The ramp is in a no wake zone which is nice and there is food, restrooms, and a store right there.

Sandy Beach is just upriver from the dam is a county park with camping. The ramp is fairly well protected from the prevailing wind, in/out and parking is easy. The reason I like it the best is because the ramp is a nice gradual slope; my boat floats early and a steep ramp puts my bow under the bow stop.

If I was staying at a hotel in Big Rapids I'd still launch at Sandy Beach…If you get off at the Brower/River Ridge exit you can turn south just west of RiverRidge and Sandy Beach is only a few minutes away.

This is assuming you have a big boat and want to do all the water; if you've got a flat or a hydro I'd either put in at The DNR ramp across from RiverRidge, the ramp just upriver from the sandbar (where 131 crosses the river) , RiverRidge, or Brower - in that order.

There are more places to put in, but these are the ones I'm familiar with. The nice thing about HotBoat weekend is if you even get close you'll see boats and people who'll help point you in the right direction.

If you're staying at Oxbow or Sandy Beach, or using the ramp at the dam and want sit down food and drink you're only a few minutes from "downtown" Croton. There's the Driftwood, which is a bar and has bar food. The Red Anchor has good food, the pours for the drinks are generous, and the servers are easy on the eyes. Parking with a trailer is easier at the Anchor as there's a vacant lot next to it; you'll be parking on the side of the road at the Driftwood. There's another place called Happy Grillmores but I don't know anything about it other than it seems to change names every couple summers.

cheers

s

Great info, Thank you!

No thanks necessary…enjoy the show.

Make sure you get some info on the river. From the dam to the M20 bridge is very easy..really only a couple spots to worry about, good rule of thumb is hang to the middle or high bank..stay to the outside of the island..you'll see people go between the island and the shore but I don't.

Upriver from RiverRidge / M20 Bridge it's gets trickier but is still manageable if you use some common sense (which is always in short supply that weekend) …there are some tricky spots that look ok but aren't. Get some direction from someone.

Watch for stuff in the water..lots of activity will churn stuff up from the bottom & recent rain will wash things in to the river. If you pay attention you should be fine.

I stop at the the 131 bridge. It gets really narrow/rocky/stumpy upriver from there. Others don't, but I like my stuff….

Just reserved a slip at River Ridge for September 5th and 6th (fri and sat). Excited to finally get out to "Hot Boat"

You might have trouble launching at River Ridge. You might be able to launch there if your tow rig is short. If your towing with anything with a long wheelbase you might want to look at launching at a different ramp. Pull up River Ridge on Google Earth and you will see what I'm talking about. You pull down a long winding hill then have to pull up to the left and back into the ramp, no much room. We launch at Oxbow with a 38 Fountain Sport Cruiser and have never had a problem. We also stay at River Ridge out on one of the T docks. I can't believe we are already talking about Hot Boat Weekend! It doesn't even feel like summer is here yet. Another word of advise is to watch out for several no wake zones between River Ridge and the dam. Welcome to Hot Boat!