Trying to get outdoors in Michigan? After floods, still many places to avoid

Nearly half of Michigan’s counties are under states of emergencies as record snowfall melted and caused flooding across the state
Around 60 state campgrounds, boat launches and trails were closed from flooding as of Thursday
Officials warn of risks from contaminated waters

A campground road you can swim in. An 18-mile detour for hikers on a long-distance trail. A dammed up river temporarily closed to fishing.

The disastrous flooding that submerged parts of almost half the counties in Michigan after record snow melted has not only damaged people’s homes, interrupted driving routes and threatened to topple dams, it’s also, just as temperatures are warming up, affected how people can enjoy the outdoors.

“When you hear people talk about dams and flooding, they talk about 100 year flood levels,” said Tom Bissett, assistant chief with the Parks and Recreation Division with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. “We’ve exceeded those in several areas throughout the state, and unfortunately, it’s impacted quite a few of the recreation areas and state parks.”

Bridge Michigan counted dozens of campgrounds, dozens of boat launches and a handful of trail sections that were still flooded as of this week.

Related:

At least three sections of the North Country Trail — a long-distance trail that runs across eight states, including Michigan — were affected by flooding as of Friday. One of the areas was along High Bridge Road in Brethren where the Manistee River was washing out the east end of the bridge. The blockade will force long distance hikers to reroute nearly an extra 18 miles on roads.

“Reports continue to come in as sections get assessed and we assume many other areas are still under water or damaged by erosion,” Kenny Wawsczyk, the North Country Trail Associations regional trail coordinator for Michigan, said Wednesday.

Slideshow: Downtown River Boardwalk paths in Grand Rapids are inaccessible due to high Grand River water levels. (Courtesy of the City of Grand Rapids)
A cabin surrounded by floodwater Thursday at Mitchell State Park in Cadillac. (Courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources)
Trail damage along the Boardman/Ottoway River Trail in Traverse City due to recent flooding. (Courtesy of Sean Tower)
A flooded dock at the Grass River Natural Area in Bellaire. (Courtesy of Grass River Natural Area)
A closed fishing pier at Mitchell State Park in Cadillac. (Courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

What campers should do

Nearly 30 state campgrounds were closed as of Thursday.

“There is a state forest campground on Long Lake in Missaukee (County) where the road is so washed out that it’s about 8 feet deep where the road used to be,” Bissett told Bridge Wednesday.

The DNR has suspended reservations at state park campsites that are closed due to flooding. If you have a camping reservation in the near future at a campsite that will likely be underwater or inaccessible, Bissett said someone will reach out to you to let you know and issue a refund.

“There’s no need to reach out to your local state park and say, ‘Hey, what’s going on? Is my reservation going to be good?’” he said.

Campers can also check the DNR’s running list of campgrounds, boat launches and other recreation sites closed due to flooding. There were around 60 items on the list as of Thursday.

Health risks from floodwaters

With water being the issue, you might think paddling or boating would be some of the few ways people can still enjoy the outdoors right now. But Bridge counted more than 30 state and non-state run boat launches closed due to flooding. And some paddlers are hesitant to get out there right now.

Laura Deisig, a Michigan resident who lives near the Titabawassee River, is one of them.

“The current has been so fast with too much debris in the water for me to try kayaking in the river yet,” she said. “I am also afraid of large debris hitting my kayak and flipping me. I’ve decided to wait until it calms down a bit before I try it this season.”

According to materials distributed by the Michigan Department of Human Health and Services, exposure to floodwaters might mean exposure to electrical currents from downed powerlines, household chemicals, animals that might bite and human and livestock waste that can put people at risk of intestinal illnesses caused by E. coli.

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Joe Scheele, the Environmental Health Director for District Health Department #4 in Cheboygan, said the department is testing drinking water but it is not planning to test flooded surface water right now because it’s only contracted by the state to do a certain number of Great Lakes and inland lakes beach testing. But he said he doesn’t need to do testing to know that people should be wary of getting into contact with lakes and rivers right now.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that there’s E. coli present in the flood waters,” he said.

Septic tanks, which hold human waste that can contain E. coli, can fail when flooded if they are old, cracked or not properly sealed. Plus, the county received reports of a septic tank lid floating by.

Scheele said that personally, he would not be kayaking or fishing in areas affected by floods, especially downstream of densely populated areas where there’s more likely to be sewage leaks or chemicals from homes or businesses.

“Assume that floodwaters are contaminated with all sorts of things until you can verify that they’re not,” he said.

Jaymie Perry is a paddle boarder who likes going out on rivers, particularly the Grand.

“Between sewage spills, debris, and crazy currents, I am waiting until calmer waters. Despite using safety gear like a wet suit when I paddle cold water, I don’t think this is worth the risk quite yet,” he said.

Flooding also temporarily shut down Tippy Dam Recreation Area in Brethren, a popular spot for steelhead fishing, right in the middle of the steelhead season.

Captain Anthony Cortis leads guided fishing trips there for his company, Steelhead Nation Outfitters. He estimates he probably lost a couple thousand dollars by not being able to lead trips there for about a week and a half.

The dam area has since reopened, and Cortis said the water is “not bad now. It kind of dropped down to normal.” He said he even caught a couple steelhead while testing out the waters on Tuesday.

Bissett, with the DNR, said that most of the issues the department is dealing with are washouts that are expected to fix themselves as things dry up. But receding water may also bring some new problems to light.

“The biggest thing we have to keep an eye on is infrastructure. If one of our cabins is underwater, we may have to do some repairs, we may have to dry some stuff out. We really don’t have an assessment of all of the issues that will be coming up in such a big system,” he said.

A lot of the flooding issues happened as a result of record snow and ice melting. There might be more of that to come.

“There are roads in the McLane State Park area (in Hancock) that still have six feet of snow pack. So those conditions up in the Upper Peninsula still exist and so we may have not seen the peak of some of the snow melt that we’ll be dealing with,” Bissett said.

In addition to the DNR’s county-by-county list of flooding closures on state lands, below are a few non-state recreation areas that were affected by flooding as of Wednesday:

The Manistee National Forest and Road Commission have closed High Bridge Road in Brethren due to a washout on the banks of the Manistee River along the east end of the bridge. The North Country Trail crosses there and was also closed, forcing an 18-mile road reroute for long distance hikers.
Erosion along the North Branch Boardman River near Boardman Township was causing a 0.3 mile reroute of the North Country Trail between Williamsburg and N Broomhead Road.
A section of the North Country Trail south of Lowell along the Grand River was underwater.
Some trails at the Grass River Natural Area in Bellaire were flooded and closed, including the newly open river access trail. The Sedge Meadow Trail, currently under construction and scheduled to open later this summer, was also affected. Many of the upland trails were open but had standing water.
The Grass River dock and kayak launch in the Grass River Natural Area in Bellaire was closed due to flooding
Some sections of the Boardman/Ottaway River Trail in Traverse City were permanently and temporarily closed. See maps here.
The Beitner Bridge over the Boardman River in Traverse City collapsed, interrupting paddling.
Bob G. Caldwell Municipal Boat Launch on the Tittabawassee River in Midland was being cleaned due to flooding. It was expected to open by Saturday in time for the Freeland Walleye Fishing Tournament.
Riverside Golfside Park Boat Launch on the Tittabawassee River in Midland was being cleaned due to flooding.
Installation of docks for a canoe/kayak launch in Midland near the Tridge and the dock at the Tittabawassee River Overlook were delayed until river levels recede but were expected to be put in on April 30.
There was some erosion on the Poseyville Preserve trail in Midland, which officially opened in December, that will need to be prepared.
At Fish Ladder Park in Grand Rapids, the Grand River flooded around the fish ladder installation and lower sidewalk areas, including a path leading under I-196.
Parts of the Downtown River Boardwalk in Grand Rapids were inaccessible due to high Grand River levels.
Some park trails in the 240-acre Roselle Park in Ada Township were flooded.

Check with local units of governments, trail associations and nonprofits for updates.

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