South Branch Kalamazoo River

The South Branch of the Kalamazoo begins near Moscow, Mich., and meets up with the North Branch to form the Kalamazoo River near Albion.  As such, the Kalamazoo River Watershed Council promotes and preserves this tributary as well. The South Branch offers up some very nice small river paddling through wooded and marshy areas.

There are also some back water lakes or mill ponds near Homer and upstream of Albion. The map below contains 14 access sites covering about 33 miles of river.

Battle Creek River

The Battle Creek River is one of the watersheds preserved and promoted by the Kalamazoo River Watershed Council.

The river provides good paddling downriver of Bellevue, Mich. Above Bellevue the river becomes more narrow, less accessible, and appears to have been channelized in the past. From Bellevue to Battle Creek is about 23 miles and going further up river to Spicerville Highway adds another 11 miles.

There are several dams on the river which are marked on the map. The river from Bellevue to McAllister Road is likely to have many downed trees to portage and pull over, but the river riparian is mostly wooded and pretty.

Rabbit River

The Rabbit River joins the Kalamazoo River near New Richmond, Mich, and is part of the Kalamazoo River Watershed Council’s promotion and preservation efforts. The river is a designated state Natural River from 36th Street downstream 17 miles.

The map shows three access sites and about nine miles of river to paddle from Hamilton to New Richmond. The river along this stretch is windy with occasional tree falls creating the biggest hazard. The average width is about 30-40 feet with a clear sandy bottom in most places and good current.

There is very little development along the nine miles making for a nice escape into a mostly untouched river riparian environment.