The Maple River, which flows into

Burt Lake Burt Lake is a 17,120 acre (69 km2) lake in Cheboygan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The western shore of the lake is on the boundary with Emmet County. The lake is named after William Austin Burt, who, together with John Mullett, ma ...

, is a major river in the northern tip of the

Lower Peninsula The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the S ...

of the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. The river drains sections of

Cheboygan County Cheboygan County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, the population was 25,579. The county seat is Cheboygan, Michigan, Cheboygan. The county boundaries were s ...

and Emmet County, and provides an outflow for the

Douglas Lake Douglas Lake, also called Douglas Reservoir, is a reservoir created by an impoundment of the French Broad River in Eastern Tennessee. This lake is located only a few miles from the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area, and also the Great Smoky Mountains ...

Description

The West Branch of the Maple River rises in a wetland, the Pleasantview Swamp, located in Pleasantview Township in central Emmet County. After flowing north, it turns east and then south, draining the town of Pellston and its

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

. Much of the river's course goes through the

Mackinaw State Forest The Mackinaw State Forest is a forested area owned by the U.S. state of Michigan and operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. It is located in the northern area of the Lower Peninsula within the eight counties of Alpena, Antri ...

, a semi-protected environmental area, and the river is considered to be a good-quality stream for trout, including brook trout, brown trout, and rainbow trout. A three-year trout survey done (2010–2012) by the

Michigan Department of Natural Resources The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor a ...

(MDNR) indicated that European-origin brown trout make up at least 94% of the total trout population of the river. South of Pellston, the river's West Branch runs into Lake Kathleen, a small flowage created by the logging-era Maple River Dam (reconstructed in 1967). Water from Douglas Lake, flowing through the East Branch of the Maple River, joins with the main river here. Maple River Township, a semi-built-up area with pastureland farms and summer homes, is named after the now-substantial stream. The river changes course once again, this time toward the southeast, and flows through a second wetland from Emmet County into Cheboygan County. The river then discharges through a laced network of outflow creeks, locally called "the spreads", into Maple Bay and the adjacent Bullhead Bay on the shoreline of Burt Lake. After flowing through the

Cheboygan River The Cheboygan River ( ) is a short but significant river in the Lake Huron drainage basin of the U.S. state of Michigan. in length,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed Novemb ...

, the waters from Maple River eventually discharge into Lake Huron. The Maple River, including its West Branch and East Branch, drain an area of approximately in Michigan's extreme Northern Lower Peninsula.

In popular culture

Sufjan Stevens wrote an instrumental piece entitled "Maple River" inspired by his childhood fishing with his brother and father at the Maple River.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Michigan Rivers of Cheboygan County, Michigan Rivers of Emmet County, Michigan