Thinking about checking it out on Saturday, where's the best place to launch? By best I mean easiest, I got a 311 and it will probably be just the wife and myself. Also what time is best to beat the crowd?

Launching depends on which end of the river you want to go to.

Saturday is busy everywhere. I had a 30' and I launched at Brower or Oxbow. Either one is going to have parking issues this weekend. There is another thread in the Great Lakes section on this subject.