The Muskegon River is a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in the western portion of the lower peninsula

Lower Peninsula of Michigan

The Lower Peninsula of Michigan is the southern of the two major landmasses of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is surrounded by water on all sides except its southern border, which it shares with Ohio and Indiana. Geographically, the Lower Peninsula has a recognizable shape that many people...

 of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. The river has its headwaters in Houghton Lake

Houghton Lake (Michigan)

Houghton Lake is a large lake in Roscommon County. The unincorporated community of Prudenville is at the southeastern end of the lake, while the unincorporated communities of Houghton Lake and Houghton Lake Heights are on the southwest and west shores...

 in Roscommon County

Roscommon County, Michigan

-Local attractions and activities:The community is centered in the area of two very large lakes, in the middle of large state forests. Wildlife are nearby, including bear, deer, eagles, Kirtland's Warblers, and turkeys. Local attractions and activities include:...

, flowing out of the North Bay into neighboring Missaukee County

Missaukee County, Michigan

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 14,478 people, 5,450 households, and 4,043 families residing in the county. The population density was 26 people per square mile . There were 8,621 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile...

. From there it flows mostly southwest to Muskegon, Michigan

Muskegon, Michigan

Muskegon is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,401. The city is the county seat of Muskegon County...

, where it empties into Muskegon Lake

Muskegon Lake

Muskegon Lake is a fresh-water lake in Muskegon County, Michigan, USA. Located in the lower peninsula at the mouth of the Muskegon River, Muskegon Lake forms a broad harbor along the eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan, approximately wide by long....

. Muskegon Lake is connected to Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...

 via a mile-long channel. The river has several major branches, such as the Hersey River

Hersey River

The Hersey River is a stream in the lower peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It rises in Lincoln Township in northwest Osceola County at the junction of Hersey Creek and the East Branch Hersey Creek at . For approximately the first two miles, the river flows southward just east of U.S. Route...

, Cedar Creek and Little Muskegon River

Little Muskegon River

-References:*...

. The main stream is 212 miles (341.2 km) long and drains an area of 3250 square mile.

History

Like many of its neighboring streams, the Muskegon was one of the favored logging

Logging

Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...

 rivers during the boom years of the 1880s-1890s, and a keen eye can still pick out remnants of stray logs left over from the spring logging runs which embedded on the river bottom.

Wildlife

There is abundant wildlife, including otter

Otter

The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....

s, waterfowl, deer

Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

 and eagle

Eagle

Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...

s and, although development has been creeping in, the upper reaches are still fairly remote and natural with much of the surrounding land composed of state-owned tracts.

Recreation

In recent years, the river has gained a certain measure of fame as a recreational fishery, boasting large migratory steelhead, brown trout

Brown trout

The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....

 and planted Pacific salmon.

Dams

The three major dams of the Muskegon River (Rogers, Hardy

Hardy Dam

Hardy Dam is a dam and powerplant complex on the Muskegon River in Big Prairie Township, Newaygo County, Michigan. At the time of its completion, it was the largest earthen dam in North America east of the Mississippi, and is still the third largest earthen dam in the world and the largest east of...

 and Croton

Croton Dam (Michigan)

Croton Dam is a dam and powerplant complex on the Muskegon River in Croton Township, Newaygo County, Michigan. It was built in 1907 under the direction of William D. Fargo by the Grand Rapids - Muskegon Power Company, a predecessor of Consumers Energy...

) generate about 45,600 kilowatts with about 30,000 of that from Hardy Dam. That is enough electricity to serve a community of nearly 23,000.

Name	Height	Purpose(s)	Capacity (MW)	Year	Owner name	Reservoir name	Coordinates	Comments
Croton	40 ft (12.2 m)	Hydroelectric	8.85	1907	Consumers Energy Consumers Energy Consumers Energy is a public utility that provides natural gas and electricity to more than 6 million of Michigan's 10 million residents. It serves customers in all 68 of the state’s Lower Peninsula counties. It is a division of CMS Energy. Its headquarters is in Jackson.-History:The company was...	Croton Dam Pond	43.43714°N 85.66382°W
Hardy	106 ft (32.3 m)	Hydroelectric	30	1931	Consumers Energy Consumers Energy Consumers Energy is a public utility that provides natural gas and electricity to more than 6 million of Michigan's 10 million residents. It serves customers in all 68 of the state’s Lower Peninsula counties. It is a division of CMS Energy. Its headquarters is in Jackson.-History:The company was...	Hardy Dam Pond	43.48656°N 85.6296°W
Rogers	43 ft (13.1 m)	Hydroelectric	6.75	1906	Consumers Energy Consumers Energy Consumers Energy is a public utility that provides natural gas and electricity to more than 6 million of Michigan's 10 million residents. It serves customers in all 68 of the state’s Lower Peninsula counties. It is a division of CMS Energy. Its headquarters is in Jackson.-History:The company was...	Rogers Dam Pond	43.61320°N 85.47894°W
Total			45.6