Hemlock Rapids: Hemlock River to Bates Amasa Rd. (5.6 miles)Class I-III
5.6 Miles
Avg Gradient 11 fpm
Max Gradient 32 fpm
Gauge Information
River DescriptionThe access paddle down the Hemlock River has a good number of short rocky stretches. At high water, a few of these may be mildly entertaining rapids. At low water, they will all be (varyingly) boney, frustrating boulder fields to pick your way through, knuckle-walk your boat through, or get out and drag/carry your boat through.Very shortly after the last (and worst at low water) of the boulder-garden drops, you reach the Paint River. Just downstream of the confluence, you'll encounter Hemlock Rapids (about 1/3 mile long), a brief flatwater stretch (about 1/3 mile long), then Lower Hemlock Rapids (again, about 1/3 mile long). These two rapids contain some pretty fair action, and (at moderate-to-high levels) could be a real hoot. A few spots could develop wicked holes. Once that action subsides, you are left with about two miles of flatwater to the take-out. Note: DeLormes and topo maps show a road extending upstream from 0.7 miles north of the listed take-out, extending upstream all the way to the end of Lower Hemlock Rapids. Unfortunately, the road and all property along it is privately held, making access via this means extremely unlikely -- count on paddling the flatwater all the way to the listed bridge, where there is plenty of parking and great easy access to the river. As listed here, the suggested put-in is on the Hemlock River, and the take-out is at the bridge on Bates-Amasa Road. Using this combination makes the shuttle as short and simple as can be -- just follow Bates-Amasa Road for 3.5 miles. Alternative access points do exist, and may be advisable for low-to-moderate water-level runs to avoid the grungy access on the Hemlock River. Specifically, it appears (I have not verified) one should find reasonable access at a location marked on TopoZone as "Paint Dam (Abandoned)". Total river miles are virtually unchanged (swapping about 1.8 miles of flatwater on the Paint for about 1.8 miles of flatwater interspersed with very likely grungy boulderbed rapids on the Hemlock River). This does, however, more than double the shuttle length (to at least 8.5 miles). StreamTeam Status: unverified
Last Updated: 2005-12-27 13:59:59
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Michigammee R Crystal Falls [ MI ] |
Current Conditions
Station Graphs |
| Level Legend: | Running | Below Minimum Recommended Flow | Above Maximum Recommended Flow | Unknown |
| State | River Name/Section | Class | Level | Rel. Level | Updated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MI | Paint— Hemlock Rapids: Hemlock River to Bates Amasa Rd. (5.6 miles) | I-III | 514 cfs* | med | 12/2 11:30 | |
| MI | Paint— MI DNR campground to Horserace Rapids (1.5 miles) | II(III) | 514 cfs* | med | 12/2 11:30 |
| AW Gauge ID: | 1840 |
| USGS Station: | 04062500 |
| HUC: | 04030107 |
| Latitude: | 46.1139 |
| Longitude: | -88.2158 |
| Class: | 4 |
No guide books for this stream. If you know of a book that describes this stream please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. User Comments |
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2006-01-11 10:22:40 (1056 days ago)
Rob Smage
FWIW, regarding the comment below, their access (put-in) was an additional 8 miles upstream from the reach as listed here. In concert with the low summer flow, that accounts for the duration of their trip. The listed reach should not take anywhere near that length of time.
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2006-01-10 20:12:55 (1056 days ago)
Adam Vollmar
I did an extended trip that included this stretch in the summer of 2005 when water levels were extremely low. We dropped in at the campgound off of FS-347 and ended at Bates-Amasa bridge (CR-643). It took around 5 hours (aside from the rapids, we floated most of the way) but would be much quicker at higher water. The two sections of Hemlock Rapids were a blast and in the Spring would be great.
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No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
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