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 42 minutes | 157 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 14, 2026 |
River Description
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
River Features
Put In
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
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.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportYou 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.
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.
Paddling today was OK. There is a large tree stuck on river left, parrellel with the flow of the water. For someone coming downstream, this would be a hazard. When you're on the wave, it isn't a problem; I only effects the characteristics of the wave. I was able to front surf with my bow touching the end of the log. I could front surf and side surf, though I always had to be working; no free ride.
What level is poor, good and great seems to change every year. It doesn't take much. This year, it was a bit rough and hard to stay on at 1250 cfs. Definetely worth going, but not as good as when it was 1530 cfs yesterday.
I found this to be a very good level. At 1300 cfs, it was a bit hard to stay on. At 1600 it seemed a little pushy. I flipped on the river left eddy line. But, today at 1530, it was easy to get on and off. I spent most of my time on river left. I could front surf at a little green wave where the diagonal wave coming in from the cement platform met the perpendicular wave in the center. And, just past this I could easily side surf as long as I didn't get too near center, where it pushed me off.
Good level. There were a few spots with green water where you could sit a while. Both edies were running. I found the right eddy line to be pretty abrupt, flipping me over once.
River came up with rain and saturated soils. Paddling was rough as it was mostly a hole. There was some dirty green water in the center, but I couldn't stay on it. I was there from about 3 to 4:30 and no one was around. This was at the end of MSU's spring break and parking on the south side was easy. I could enter from either eddy, right or left, then hold on for a bumpy ride. There was a lot of wood coming down the river. I saw 2 large trees and a sit-on-top. Definetly need to be heads up. It was worth the trip, but it was a work out.
Excellent level. There were two kayaks on the water.
Excellent level. I think there were 6 or 7 kayaks on the water.
The Red Cedar came up after a few days of rain. MSU is in summer session, so with temps in the 50's and raining, no one was around. The eddy on river left was too shallow with trees and shrubs, but the eddy on river right was perfect. There wasn't any green water, only aerated water. It wasn't too shallow to roll, but you could hit bottom with your paddle when trying to brace. I could front surf with some effort. Just left of center was a small hole where I could side surf if I slipped into it at the right spot and with the correct angle.