The Shelldrake River is a river in Chippewa County

Chippewa County, Michigan

-National protected areas:* Harbor Island National Wildlife Refuge* Hiawatha National Forest * Whitefish Point Unit of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...

. It flows through Tahquamenon Falls State Park

Tahquamenon Falls State Park

The Tahquamenon Falls State Park is a 46,179-acre state park in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the second largest of Michigan's state parks. Bordering on Lake Superior, most of the park is located within Whitefish Township in Chippewa County, with the western section of the park extending...

 and the Lake Superior State Forest into Lake Superior

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...

.

The Shelldrake River's headwaters are an undefined area in the Betsy Lake Wetland, an Eastern Hemlock

Eastern Hemlock

Tsuga canadensis, also known as eastern or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as pruche du Canada, is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It ranges from northeastern Minnesota eastward through southern Quebec to Nova Scotia, and south in the Appalachian...

 and tamarack forest in the roadless area of northern Tahquamenon Falls State Park. This wetland, in Chippewa County and adjacent Luce County, is dominated by Lake Superior-fed rain and snow. For mapping purposes, the Shelldrake River is depicted as flowing out of Sheephead Lake, a little-visited lake in the Betsy Lake Wetland area.

Much of the Shelldrake River's course passes through the Betsy Lake Wetland, and an alternate name for the river is "Betsy River."

The Shelldrake River flows generally west-to-east towards its mouth in Shelldrake, Michigan

Shelldrake, Michigan

Shelldrake is a ghost town in Whitefish Township, Chippewa County, Michigan, United States, about south of Whitefish Point, Michigan at the mouth of the Shelldrake River on Whitefish Bay. It is listed on the Michigan Historic Register. Prior to European settlement it supported a seasonal Native...

 and Whitefish Bay

Whitefish Bay

Whitefish Bay is a large bay on the eastern end of the southern shore of Lake Superior between Michigan and Ontario. It begins in the north and west at Whitefish Point in Michigan, about 10 miles north of Paradise, Michigan and ends at the St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie on the southeast...

, Lake Superior. A dam impounds the river 8 miles northwest of Shelldrake; a state-run rustic campground at the dam pond offers 17 spaces, mostly for fishermen seeking northern pike

Northern Pike

The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...

.

Local large mammals include moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

 and black bear

American black bear

The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...

. There is a noted sandhill crane

Sandhill Crane

The Sandhill Crane is a large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird references habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills in the American Midwest...

 nesting ground near the mouth of the river.

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft camped at the mouth of the Shelldrake on June 18-19, 1820, finding a small village of Ojibwa

Ojibwa

The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...

 who fished for whitefish

Freshwater whitefish

The freshwater whitefish are fish of the subfamily Coregoninae in the salmon family Salmonidae. Along with the freshwater whitefish, the Salmonidae includes the freshwater and anadromous trout and salmon species as well as graylings...

 in the lake.

The Shelldrake River should not be confused with the Sheldrake River in Westchester County, New York

Westchester County, New York

Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...

.