Trailer ramp · Lake Huron · Michigan

North Riverfront Park Boat Launch

A public trailer ramp on Thunder Bay River in Alpena County, Michigan, with 2 lanes and 22 trailer spaces. Managed by City of Alpena.

Directions All Huron launches

The launch

What the agency lists

Launch type: Trailer ramp — 2-lane ramp
Water: Thunder Bay River
Lanes: 2
Piers / docks: 1
Trailer parking: 22 spaces
Car-only parking: 7 spaces
Toilets: 1
Fee: Not published in the source — ask the manager
Managed by: City of Alpena
Owner: Municipal
Location: Alpena County, Michigan
Coordinates: 45.0631° N, 83.4287° W

Before you launch

Lake Huron is big water

Saginaw Bay is shallow and builds a steep, short sea in a hurry; the open-lake ports along the Thumb and the northeast shore can be a long way apart. Know the next harbor down the shore before the wind tells you that you need it.

Saginaw Bay ice that separates from shore. Offshore wind on a shallow bay has stranded groups of anglers on drifting plates more than once, requiring air rescue. Never cross a pressure crack you cannot recross.
Shallow, steep chop in the bay. Eleven to twenty feet of water builds an ugly short-period sea in a moderate wind, far rougher for its height than deep water.
Long unserviced stretches of Michigan shoreline between Harbor Beach and Alpena. Marina spacing is wide; fuel planning matters.

Read how to read a Great Lakes marine forecast and trailering and launching on big water. Pack the big-water safety kit.

From this launch

What to fish on Lake Huron

Our Huron fishing guides name spots at or near Thunder Bay River:

Brown Trout · Late March through May, with a second window from October into December near harbors and river mouths

Brown Trout Fishing on Lake Huron

Thunder Bay and the Thunder Bay River, Alpena: Protected water that warms early and holds browns close to the river mouth from ice-out into May.

Lake Sturgeon · June through September, outside the spring spawning period

Lake Sturgeon on Lake Huron

Thunder Bay and the Thunder Bay River, Alpena: Sturgeon are occasionally encountered in the bay and near the river mouth. Another water where a hooked fish is a release fish.

Steelhead · October through April in the tributaries, peaking in March; June through August offshore

Steelhead Fishing on Lake Huron

Thunder Bay and the Thunder Bay River: Alpena's river carries a modest run, and the lake off Thunder Bay holds summer surface fish in July.

Chinook Salmon · July through early September, best in the northern ports from Rogers City north

Chinook Salmon Fishing on Lake Huron

Lake Huron's chinook fishery is a fraction of what it was before the alewife crash of 2003, and anyone promising you a Michigan-style king box is selling something. Wild, naturally reproducing fish still run the northern end from Rogers City to De Tour, and they are lean, fast and worth targeting if you go in with the right expectations.

Coho Salmon · May through July, best in the northern third of the lake

Coho Salmon Fishing on Lake Huron

Lake Huron has the thinnest coho fishery on the American side of the chain, a consequence of the same alewife collapse that took the chinook down. The northern shore from Rogers City to De Tour and the water off Alpena still give up coho in early summer, usually mixed into a lake trout and steelhead program.

Lake Trout · May and June on shallow rock, July through September deep, with a heavy fall reef bite

Lake Trout Fishing on Lake Huron

Lake Huron's lake trout are the best conservation story on the chain: a native fish that went to functionally zero under sea lamprey and now reproduces naturally across the main basin. Fish the rock from Rogers City to Drummond Island and you will find more, and shallower, lake trout than most anglers expect.

Lake Whitefish Muskellunge Northern Pike Smallmouth Bass Walleye Yellow Perch

Huron by season

SpringSaginaw Bay wakes up first SummerTrolling season on the bay, deep structure on the main lake FallBig walleye out deep, lakers up on the rock WinterSaginaw Bay is one of the great ice fisheries in America

Next ramp over

Nearest Huron launches

Alpena Municipal Marina0.3 mi · trailer ramp · MI
Rockport9.9 mi · trailer ramp · MI
Snug Harbor11 mi · hand / carry-in launch · MI
Black River Mouth18 mi · trailer ramp · MI
Presque Isle19 mi · trailer ramp · 2 lanes · MI
Harrisville29 mi · trailer ramp · 6 lanes · MI

Straight-line distance, not a boating route.

Landmarks from the water

Lighthouses nearby

Alpena Light0.3 mi

For the crew ashore

Beaches nearby

On shore nearby

Worth the stop

Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary0.2 mi · park

Source

Launch facts are from the Michigan DNR, State Sponsored Developed Boating Access Sites, retrieved 2026-10-05. Ramps close for repairs, fees change and water levels move; confirm with City of Alpena before you tow. Fishing rules are set by theMichigan DNR.

Chart shoreline generalized from Natural Earth (public domain). Not for navigation. Something wrong or missing? Write to contact@greatamericanlakes.com.

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