Au Sable River (Michigan)

Au Sable River
Beauais River, Rivière au sable
The Au Sable River in Alcona County
Map of the Au Sable River
Location
CountryUnited States
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationFrederic Township, Crawford County, Michigan
Mouth 
 • location
Lake Huron at Au Sable, Michigan
 • elevation
581 ft (177 m)[1]
Length138 miles (222 km)
TypeScenic
DesignatedOctober 4, 1984
Canoes along the Au Sable River
The Au Sable River Queen, the only paddlewheel river boat operating in northern Michigan
View from bluffs of the Au Sable River
View from bluffs of the Au Sable River in Iosco County, Michigan.
Additional view from bluffs of the Au Sable River in Iosco County, Michigan

The Au Sable River (/ɔː ˈsɑːbəl/ aw SAH-bəl) is a 138-mile-long (222 km)[2] river in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Rising in the Northern Lower Peninsula, the river flows in a generally southeasterly direction to its mouth at Lake Huron at the communities of Au Sable and Oscoda. It is considered one of the best brown trout fisheries east of the Rockies[3] and has been designated a blue ribbon trout stream by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.[4] A map from 1795 located in the United States Gazetteer calls it the Beauais River.[5] In French, the river is called the Rivière au sable, literally "Sand River".

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference gnis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  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 7, 2011
  3. ^ Card, James (January 24, 2017). "In Michigan, a Fight Over the Future of a Fabled Trout River". The New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  4. ^ "Blue Ribbon Trout Streams".
  5. ^ "Au Sable River Natural River Plan" (PDF). July 1987. Retrieved June 23, 2022.