The Manistee River is one of Michigan’s most scenic and ecologically significant waterways, located in the northwestern part of the Lower Peninsula. It stretches about 190 miles from its headwaters near Alba, flowing generally westward until it empties into Lake Michigan at Manistee, a town of the same name. Key Features: • Geography: The river winds through forests, wetlands, and rolling terrain, much of it protected within the Huron-Manistee National Forests. Its course is largely natural and