Pere Marquette River Camping
There are over 2200 private campsites which are dispersed through the watershed. Other outdoor recreational facilities provided by private sources include golf courses, horseback riding and skiing activities.
Although not located in the watershed, there are several state parks located in the vicinity of the Pere Marquette River. These include Ludington, Newaygo and White Cloud state parks. These parks offer almost 600 campsites as well as picnicking, hiking and playground facilities.
In addition, there are three state forest campgrounds located near the Pere Marquette River. These are: Bray Creek - 9 campsites; Little Leverentz - 7 campsites; and Big Leverentz - 11 campsites.
The U.S. Forest Service campgrounds Timber Creek, Nichols Lake and Highbanks Lake offer picnicking and snowmobiling, and have a total of 43 camping sites. In the past, indiscriminant camping has occurred at the Bowman's Bridge access site. The U.S. Forest Service is currently developing approximately 50 designated camping units at this location to alleviate this problem. New camping units will be located back away from the river and will be designed to protect the natural values of the river environment. Camping at the water's edge will be prohibited in the future.
The City of Scottville operates Riverside Park, a campground on the Pere Marquette River. This facility offers picnicking, playground, boat launch facilities, as well as over 50 campsites.
Boat and canoe access sites are well distributed on the mainstream. These include sites at: the Forks, Bowman's Bridge, Rainbow Rapids, Upper Branch Bridge, Walhalla Bridge, Indian Bridge, Scottville, and U.S. 31 Bridge. Access sites are also located on the Baldwin River, Middle Branch, Little South Branch and Big South Branch
Source: Pere Marquette River Natural River Plan, Michigan DNR (revised 2002)
