The Betsie River (/bɛts/ BET-see) is a 54.0-mile-long (86.9 km)[2] river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is located in the northwestern Lower Peninsula of the state, flowing into Lake Michigan at Frankfort. The river's course is mostly within Benzie County, (which takes its name from a variant pronunciation of the river), although the river rises in western Grand Traverse County and flows briefly through northern Manistee County.

Betsie River
Mouth of the Betsie River at Lake Michigan, in Frankfort
Betsie River is located in Michigan
Betsie River
Location of mouth
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationGreen Lake near Interlochen
 • coordinates44°35′31″N 85°47′40″W / 44.5919459°N 85.794522°W / 44.5919459; -85.794522[1]
Mouth 
 • location
Lake Michigan at Frankfort
 • coordinates
44°37′45″N 86°14′45″W / 44.6291652°N 86.2459287°W / 44.6291652; -86.2459287[1]
Length54 mi (87 km)

The river widens to form Betsie Lake before emptying into Lake Michigan between Frankfort and Elberta. The Betsie River is a part of Michigan's Natural Rivers Program.[3]

Betsie River Wetland Delta near Elberta

Etymology

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The name is derived from the French la rivière aux Bec-scies, meaning river of sawbill ducks (bec-scie). A corruption of this pronunciation led to the name of Benzie County. Other alternate historical names include the following:[1]

  • Aug-sig-o-sebe
  • Aux Buscies River
  • Betsey's River
  • Benzie River
  • Black Robe River
  • Gay-she-say-ing
  • Riviere du Pere Marquette
  • Sawbill Ducks River
  • Shelldrake Ducks River

Course

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While most sources indicate the river rises as the outflow of Green Lake in southwestern Grand Traverse County, some consider it navigable immediately south of US-31 from Tullers Lake into Green Lake. Another tributary of the river flows directly out of northern Duck Lake and into northern Green Lake, connecting with the aforementioned Tullers Lake Outlet. Although not considered part of the Betsie River today, older maps of the area do say so.[4] Green Lake straddles the boundary between Grant Township on the south and Green Lake Township on the north between Karlin and Interlochen. Several nearby lakes, including Duck Lake and its tributaries, drain into Green Lake.

The river winds southwesterly from Green Lake into eastern Benzie County, and then briefly into northern Manistee County before turning northerly back into Benzie County. A dam on the river forms Homestead Pond, after which is flows mostly west and slightly north to Lake Michigan.

 
Betsie River emptying into Lake Betsie, Elberta, MI (bridge shown is M-22 crossing the river outlet)

Drainage basin

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The Betsie River drains an area of approximately 155,026 acres (627.37 km2)[5] in three counties. The drainage basin include about 93 miles (150 km) of linear stream, 52 miles (84 km) of which is part of the mainstream.[6]

Dams

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  • Homestead Dam 44°35′48″N 86°04′48″W / 44.59667°N 86.08000°W / 44.59667; -86.08000[7] was mostly removed in 1974 and currently acts as a lamprey barrier. It impounds little water and does not impede salmon migrations.[5] The remains of the dam are now sometimes called "Homestead Falls".[8] The dam was a power generating facility formerly owned by Consumers Energy.[6]
  • Grass Lake Dam, approximately 4 miles (6 km) downstream from Green Lake, forms an approximately 90-acre (36 ha) impoundment. The dam was constructed in 1951 to improve waterfowl habitat and northern pike fishing.[5] The dam was installed by the state Wildlife Division and created a 482 acres (195 ha) waterfowl flooding.[6]
  • Thompsonville Dam was an old power dam[6] that failed in the spring of 1989 and was subsequently removed. Prior to its removal, the dam posed a barrier to salmon migration. Salmon and trout have access to the entire mainstream of the river, even above the Grass Lake Dam.[5]

Bridges

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Below is a list of public crossings of the Betsie River:

Route Type Municipality County Location
  M-22 (Frankfort Avenue) State highway Benzonia Township Benzie 44°37′13.1″N 86°13′18.1″W / 44.620306°N 86.221694°W / 44.620306; -86.221694
Betsie Valley Trailway (west) Paved trail 44°37′09.2″N 86°13′13.5″W / 44.619222°N 86.220417°W / 44.619222; -86.220417
River Road (west) County road Crystal Lake Township 44°37′05.9″N 86°10′04.0″W / 44.618306°N 86.167778°W / 44.618306; -86.167778
River Road (east) County road Benzonia Township 44°37′05.2″N 86°07′24.0″W / 44.618111°N 86.123333°W / 44.618111; -86.123333
Grace Road County road 44°36′16.0″N 86°06′44.3″W / 44.604444°N 86.112306°W / 44.604444; -86.112306
US 31/M-115 (Benzie Highway) State highway 44°36′02.2″N 86°07′24.0″W / 44.600611°N 86.123333°W / 44.600611; -86.123333
  M-115 (west) State highway Weldon Township 44°33′26.3″N 86°03′12.3″W / 44.557306°N 86.053417°W / 44.557306; -86.053417
County Line Road County road Weldon/Springdale township Benzie/Manistee line 44°30′52.0″N 86°02′40.6″W / 44.514444°N 86.044611°W / 44.514444; -86.044611
Psutka Road County road Springdale Township Manistee 44°29′46.4″N 86°01′47.7″W / 44.496222°N 86.029917°W / 44.496222; -86.029917
Kurick Road County road 44°30′05.3″N 85°58′45.2″W / 44.501472°N 85.979222°W / 44.501472; -85.979222
  M-115 (east) State highway 44°30′26.9″N 85°58′06.3″W / 44.507472°N 85.968417°W / 44.507472; -85.968417
Lindy Road County road Weldon Township Benzie 44°31′13.8″N 85°57′41.5″W / 44.520500°N 85.961528°W / 44.520500; -85.961528
Wolf Road County road 44°31′43.1″N 85°56′55.8″W / 44.528639°N 85.948833°W / 44.528639; -85.948833
Betsie Valley Trailway (east) Paved trail 44°31′48.6″N 85°56′51.6″W / 44.530167°N 85.947667°W / 44.530167; -85.947667
King Road County road 44°32′32.1″N 85°56′32.9″W / 44.542250°N 85.942472°W / 44.542250; -85.942472
South Thompsonville Highway County road Colfax Township 44°37′47.2″N 85°56′16.9″W / 44.629778°N 85.938028°W / 44.629778; -85.938028
South Carmean Road County road 44°33′19.6″N 85°55′05.8″W / 44.555444°N 85.918278°W / 44.555444; -85.918278
Wallin Road County road 44°34′13.7″N 85°53′35.0″W / 44.570472°N 85.893056°W / 44.570472; -85.893056
Nostwick Road County road 44°34′23.4″N 85°53′16.7″W / 44.573167°N 85.887972°W / 44.573167; -85.887972
South Reynolds Road County road 44°34′28.8″N 85°52′40.2″W / 44.574667°N 85.877833°W / 44.574667; -85.877833
Betsie River Road County road Grant Township Grand Traverse 44°35′34.7″N 85°47′48.0″W / 44.592972°N 85.796667°W / 44.592972; -85.796667
Diamond Park Road County road Green Lake Township 44°37′59.5″N 85°46′55.2″W / 44.633194°N 85.782000°W / 44.633194; -85.782000
J. Maddy Parkway County road 44°38′29.2″N 85°46′02.2″W / 44.641444°N 85.767278°W / 44.641444; -85.767278
Birch Road County road 44°39′14.5″N 85°45′04.6″W / 44.654028°N 85.751278°W / 44.654028; -85.751278
  US 31 State highway 44°39′30.9″N 85°44′59.7″W / 44.658583°N 85.749917°W / 44.658583; -85.749917

Tributaries

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Betsie River
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed November 21, 2011
  3. ^ Betsie River, Michigan Department of Natural Resources
  4. ^ LLC, Historic Map Works. "Blair - Left, Atlas: Grand Traverse County 1881, Michigan Historical Map". www.historicmapworks.com. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  5. ^ a b c d Betsi River, Mark A. Tonello, "Status of the Fishery Resource Report, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, No. 2004-3, 2004
  6. ^ a b c d Betsie River Natural River Plan, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, July 1973, revised March 12, 2002
  7. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Homestead Dam
  8. ^ The Betsie River, Hanmer's Canoe Trips
  9. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Betsie Lake
  10. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Crystal Lake Outlet
  11. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cold Creek
  12. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Rice Creek
  13. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Dair Creek
  14. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Little Betsie River
  15. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pickerel Creek
  16. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Twin Lake
  17. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Upper Twin Lake
  18. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Grass Lake
  19. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Mud Lake
  20. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Green Lake
  21. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bridge Lake
  22. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Tullers Lake
  23. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cedar Hedge Lake
  24. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Mud Lake
  25. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Duck Lake
  26. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Brigham Creek
  27. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Mason Creek
  28. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Weidenhamer Swamp
  29. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Tonawanda Lake
  30. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ellis Lake
  31. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Saunders Lake
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