Trailer ramp · Lake Huron · Michigan

Port Austin Boat Launch

Name: Port Austin
Address: MI, US
Telephone: 989-738-8663

A public trailer ramp on Lake Huron in Huron County, Michigan, with 4 lanes and 76 trailer spaces. Managed by Port Crescent State Park.

Directions Call 989-738-8663 All Huron launches

The launch

What the agency lists

Launch type: Trailer ramp — 4-lane ramp
Water: Lake Huron
Lanes: 4
Piers / docks: 2
Trailer parking: 76 spaces
Car-only parking: 40 spaces
Toilets: 1
Fee: Not published in the source — ask the manager
Managed by: Port Crescent State Park
Owner: DNR-PRD
Location: Huron County, Michigan
Coordinates: 44.0482° N, 82.9947° 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 Port Austin:

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

Port Austin and Grindstone City: Rocky shoreline at the tip of the Thumb with browns holding tight to the shallows in April and May.

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

Lake Trout Fishing on Lake Huron

Six Fathom Bank: A large offshore shoal in the middle of the main basin that rises sharply out of deep water. Classic summer structure and a long, committing run from Harbor Beach or Port Austin.

Smallmouth Bass · Mid-June through early October, with September the best size window

Smallmouth Bass Fishing on Lake Huron

Grindstone City and the Thumb shoreline: Rock shelf and boulder fields from Port Austin east to Harbor Beach in 12–30 ft. Long stretches of it, easily accessible, mostly unfished for bass.

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 Sturgeon · June through September, outside the spring spawning period

Lake Sturgeon on Lake Huron

Lake sturgeon persist in Lake Huron in scattered, closely watched populations rather than as a general fishery, and nearly all of this water is release-only or closed to sturgeon fishing outright. Treat a Huron sturgeon as a fish to identify, handle correctly and release, and check the Michigan DNR rulebook for the exact water before you go.

Lake Whitefish Muskellunge Northern Pike Steelhead 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

Eagle Bay3.9 mi · trailer ramp · MI
Grindstone City5.0 mi · trailer ramp · 2 lanes · MI
Caseville Dock16 mi · trailer ramp · MI
Stafford County Park16 mi · trailer ramp · MI
Fillion Road20 mi · trailer ramp · 1 lane · MI
Harbor Beach Ramp22 mi · trailer ramp · MI

Straight-line distance, not a boating route.

Landmarks from the water

Lighthouses nearby

Port Austin Light2.5 mi

For the crew ashore

Beaches nearby

Larned Road End0.8 mi
County Road End4.3 mi

Camp or picnic

State parks nearby

Port Crescent State Park4.2 mi

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 Port Crescent State Park 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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