Red Cedar
B) MSU Wave (0.1 miles)
| Difficulty | I(II) |
| Length | 0.017 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Red Cedar River at East Lansing, Mi |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 52 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 14, 2026 |
The best play wave in southern Michigan when the level is right. There is something like an old cement, river wide low water dam that is broken up. Most of the year the water is only a few inches deep, but at higher levels a decent play wave is created.
The river is up and the wave is playable for only a few days per year, so watch the gauge. If you are going to play this wave, you need a solid roll. The creek is flooded when he wave is playable, so the shore is full of bushes and trees. The eddies below the wave are great, but once you are past the eddies, it is very difficult to get to shore. Even if you have boaters to help you, you'll end up down river in the bushes. This is not only dangerous, but the only way back is to haul your boats out and walk. I would consider this a class 2 wave for running but a class 3 wave for playing.
The following clip shows side surfing at about 800 cfs: MSU Wave
Gauge is less than a quarter-mile upstream, so very accurately reflects actual flow at this feature.
You can put-in on the north or south shore, depending on where you park. If you use the small permit parking lot on the south shore, put in from the little observation sidewalk just upstream from the Wave, just slide your boat into the water. If you use the public parking lot for the Administration Building on the north shore, then walk your boat down to the grassy area just upstream ot the cement wall.
Take-out just below the wave on river right or left. River left (south shore) is a little steep with about a 4' bank to climb over. With trees and bushes, there are only a few good spots to climb up. On river right (north shore) there is grass down to the water with a mild slope and it is easier to get out.
Apr 11, 2026
You can surf at this level, but it is shallow. The river left eddy was do-able, but too much work. The river right eddy was OK, but to get on the wave I had to grab a root on shore and push into the wave. Once I figure this out, the system worked fine. No side surfing today. The best manuever seemed to be sliding over from river right to just river left of center and carving back and forth. One time, near river right, the paddle snakes grabbed my paddle; after about a second of panic, I was able to pull it out.
Apr 10, 2026
An OK level but a bit rough/bouncey. Some side surfing. I did a really nice stern squirt; too bad it wasn't on purpose. I was side surfing and my bow was being pushed upstream then downstream. On a downstream push, I ended up back surfing, the stern went down into the rocks and I squirted out at about a 70 degree angle. Managed to stay up without flipping. I had a good time.
