Muskegon River Adventure – Part 9 Houghton Lake to White Birch Campground | July 23, 2026 West Michigan Kayaking Club | Wild Rivers. Rugged Trails. Real Adventure.

We had finally made it all the way to the headwaters of the Muskegon River.

For Part 9 of our Muskegon River Adventure, we launched our kayaks from Houghton Lake, heading south toward the beginning of the river. This time, we had a much larger group of paddlers from the West Michigan Kayaking Club—mostly experienced kayakers, along with a few beginners ready to take on the adventure.

Almost immediately after launching, we encountered our first obstacle: a small dam that controls the water levels in Holden Lake. We had to get out and portage around it before continuing downstream.

From there, the river took us through approximately seven miles of winding backwaters, surrounded by reeds and cattails. The water was incredibly clear, and this section felt more like a wilderness expedition than a typical river paddle.

After approximately seven miles of winding backwaters, we reached another dam—this one much larger—and once again, we had to portage.

After that, we finally reached a more familiar-looking Muskegon River. This far north, however, the river was noticeably narrower, faster, more secluded, and much less developed, with far fewer houses along the banks.

Then we passed M-55…

That’s where the real adventure began.

From this point on, it seemed like there was a major blockage about every half mile.

Trees were down across the river, forcing us out of our kayaks again and again. Sometimes we could drag our boats around the blockage. Other times, we had no choice but to pull out the saw and cut our way through.

And sometimes, the only option was simply to climb over the trees and keep moving.

While we were dealing with the portages and blockages, our pace sometimes dropped to only 1½–2 miles per hour. When we finally reached open sections of river, we were able to pick the pace back up to around 3–3½ mph.

That may sound slow compared with our normal pace, but with a larger group, multiple dams, countless logjams, and miles of obstacles, simply continuing downstream became the goal.

Our destination was White Birch Campground, approximately 25–27 miles from our launch point.

What would normally be a long day on the river turned into something much bigger.

By the time we finally reached White Birch Campground, we had been on the river for approximately 13 hours.

And we arrived after dark.

Muskegon River Adventure – Part 9

Houghton Lake to White Birch Campground | July 23, 2026

It was one of those days where the mileage tells only part of the story.

The real challenge was everything between the miles—the dams, the logjams, the portages, the saw work, the dragging, the climbing, and the teamwork required to keep a large group moving forward.

This wasn’t simply a paddle.

It was an expedition.

We had reached the headwaters of the Muskegon River and discovered that the upper river was going to make us earn every mile.

Another section completed. Another chapter in our 216-mile Muskegon River journey.

Be sure to follow us as we continue this adventure in the coming weeks. We’ll be finishing the remaining miles of the Muskegon River and paddling all the way to the finish line, where the river finally meets Lake Michigan.

The end is getting closer—but there are still miles to paddle, challenges to overcome, and adventures waiting around the next bend.

West Michigan Kayaking Club | Wild Rivers. Rugged Trails. Real Adventure.