Beitner has a paved parking lot right next to the river. Overflow parking across the street.

For those looking to just sit and enjoy the river, Beitner offers easy access to one of the best views of the river.

And, one more thing. You may want to stay on the river bit longer and tackle the Keystone Rapids, the only class 1 rapids on the river.

If you stay on the river past Beitner and go through the tunnel under Beitner Rd., you'll be entering the Keystone Rapids. This is a relatively short stretch, but can be a lot of fun.

Some find the rapids easier in high water; in the spring or after a storm. The rocks are more exposed as the water levels recede, and passages are tighter.

Primary take out spot is near a bridge high over the river. You can get out on either side of the little peninsula, but the second spot is best.

Drivers can meet kayaks straight back from the Keystone Rd. parking lot.

Shumsky is one of the biggest, and busiest, stops on the river. People are, truly, coming and going. People are coming off the river, having come down from Brown Bridge. People are also getting in, on their way down to Beitner.

The river between here and Beitner is the most populated stretch, but is away from road noise more often than the Brown Bridge to Shumsky stretch.

The river is at its widest and easiest to manuver here. Plus, you have the option of doing the Keystone Rapids when you get to Beitner.

Big changes at Brown Bridge. In 2013 the dam was taken out, returning the river to its original path and flow. There was an accident during the dam drawdown, and there was extensive flooding downstream for a short time.

Today, there is only one parking area, down by where the the dam was. A new dropoff area is much closer to the river.

This stretch of the river is a little more populated, and closer to the road.

At the spot marked on the map, there a couple of islands on the left side. They make a great spot to stop. Plenty of room for multiple groups.

Some interesting links:

The Boardman: A River Reborn is the community project.

This is a quick MLive article about the accident. The article includes a link to an article about the project.

Michigan Capital Confidential provides a lot of detail in this article, and a bit of history in this Occupy the Boardman post.

Almost two years later, the Michigan DEQ determined that soil erosion was the cause of the breach.

Don't mistake the horse campground for Scheck's. Scheck's is right where the gravel road turns to pavement.

Parking at Scheck's requires a State Park sticker, or modern day equivalent.

Scheck's to Brown Bridge is dramatically different, due to the dismantling of the Brown Bridge Dam in 2013. The area that once was the Brown Bridge Pond is now once again a narrow, twisty, fast moving river. The downside is that the newly exposed land is still pretty raw. It will be interesting to watch the basin develop.

Forks is really the first place to put in. This is a narrow part of the river and there are plenty of bends and turns. It's also one of the prettiest parts of the river with plenty of nature to see. It's about an hour and a half to Scheck's.

Ranch Rudolf runs canoes up to Forks, so there can be a sudden burst of traffic. As you get close to the ranch, horse trails cross the river in a couple of spots.

Parking at Scheck's requires a State Park sticker.