Manistee Riverwalk
River Street Riverwalk
Manistee, MI
A wooden boardwalk that traces the working river from a Lake Michigan beach past marinas and Victorian storefronts to Manistee Lake.
The Manistee Riverwalk is a wooden boardwalk that runs a mile and three quarters along the south bank of the Manistee River, threading the very center of one of Michigan's best-preserved small ports. On one side is the water, alive with fishing boats, sailboats, and gulls; on the other is the back of a downtown full of Victorian brick, so a single flat walk gives you both the working river and the old city that grew up on it.
It is more than a pretty path. Twenty-five markers set along the route tell the story of how this river built the town, from the roar of the lumber mills to the steamers and schooners that carried Manistee pine out across the Great Lakes. Walk it end to end and you go from a Lake Michigan beach, under the highway bridge, past the marinas and old warehouses, and on toward Manistee Lake, reading the town's whole history as you go.
What Guests Love
- An easy, flat walk right along the water, from a Lake Michigan beach all the way to Manistee Lake
- Watching working fishing boats and pleasure craft come and go past the marinas
- The 25 history markers that turn the stroll into a self-guided lesson in the town's lumber and shipping past
- Ending at First Street Beach for a Great Lakes sunset over the water
Worth Knowing
- The boardwalk is flat and mostly level with ramps at both ends, near the US-31 bridge and at First Street Beach, so it is friendly for strollers and easy walking
- It runs right along open water, so hold small children's hands and mind the edge, especially on windy days
- There is no shade for long stretches, so bring a hat and water in summer and dress warm when the lake wind picks up
- Downtown parking and the historical museum sit at the River Street end, a natural place to start
Details
Manistee, MI
Learn about Manistee Riverwalk
The river that built a lumber town
Manistee grew rich on white pine. The land around the river held some of the finest timber in the Midwest, and by the 1870s and 1880s Manistee ranked among the busiest lumber-shipping ports in the country, its sawmills running day and night and its river mouth crowded with schooners waiting to load boards for Chicago and beyond. The Manistee River was the highway that made it all possible, floating logs down to the mills and carrying the cut lumber out to the lake.
A great fire swept through in 1871, the same dry autumn that burned Chicago and Peshtigo, and much of the young wooden town went up with it. Manistee rebuilt fast and rebuilt in brick, which is why the downtown you walk behind today is a solid stretch of ornate Victorian storefronts rather than clapboard. The wealth of the timber years paid for the theaters, banks, and churches that still line River Street.
Walking the boardwalk, marker by marker
The Riverwalk itself came together in phases beginning in the early 1980s, when the town's downtown authority set out to draw people back to the river and the shops behind it. Today it stretches from First Street Beach on Lake Michigan, ducks under the US-31 bridge, and runs behind downtown toward Manistee Lake, following the water the whole way.
The twenty-five markers are what make it special. Each one stands where something used to be, a mill, a dock, a shipyard, a lost building, and carries old photographs and a few paragraphs so you can see the vanished working river laid over the calm one in front of you. Between the markers you pass the municipal marina, restored warehouses, and boats of every size, so the walk is never dull even for those who skip the reading.
Because it is flat and continuous, the Riverwalk doubles as the town's front porch. Locals jog it, families push strollers along it, and anglers drop lines from its rails, and on a summer evening it fills with people out to watch the light change on the water.
From beach to lake
One end of the walk delivers you to First Street Beach, a wide sand beach on Lake Michigan with a pierhead lighthouse out at the channel and some of the best sunsets on the coast. It is a natural place to finish, kick off your shoes, and watch the sun drop into the lake after a walk into town.
The other end carries you toward Manistee Lake, the sheltered inland lake that once held the mill docks and now holds marinas and quiet water. Stitching the Great Lake to the inland lake by way of the downtown, the Riverwalk gives a visitor the whole shape of the place in one unhurried stroll, which is exactly why it belongs on any Manistee stop.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Manistee
First Street Beach and North Pierhead Lighthouse
At the west end of the Riverwalk
A broad Lake Michigan sand beach with a candy-striped pierhead light, the classic spot for a sunset over the water.
Manistee County Historical Museum
Downtown, near the Riverwalk
A time-capsule museum in an old drugstore, full of the town's lumber-era and maritime history.
Downtown River Street
Along the Riverwalk
A well-preserved stretch of ornate Victorian storefronts, the reason Manistee is called the Victorian Port City.
Orchard Beach State Park
About 3 miles north
A bluff-top state park above Lake Michigan with beach access, picnic areas, and long lake views.