Boat launches · Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie · Michigan

Boat Launches Near St. Clair Shores

6 public launches within 12 miles of downtown St. Clair Shores, Michigan, 5 of them trailer ramps. The nearest is Clinton River Cut-off, 5.1 miles NE.

Within 12 mi

Trailer ramps

Closest

5.1 mi

Closest first

Public launches around St. Clair Shores

Straight-line distance and direction from downtown, not a driving or boating route. Every figure is what the agency publishes; a blank means the agency is silent.

5.1 mi NE
Clinton River Cut-offSt. Clair
Trailer ramp · 6 lanes, 80 trailer spacesDirections
7.5 mi NE
Metro Beach Metro Park WestSt. Clair
Trailer rampDirections
8.8 mi NE
Harley Ensign MemorialSt. Clair
Trailer ramp · 18 lanes, 287 trailer spacesDirections
9.9 mi N
SelfridgeSt. Clair
Trailer ramp · 14 lanes, 112 trailer spacesDirections
10 mi S
Reid RampsErie · Detroit River
Trailer rampDirections
11 mi S
Riverbank DriveErie · Detroit River
Hand / carry-in launchDirections

Once you're off the trailer

What to fish out of St. Clair Shores

Our Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie fishing guides name water reached from these launches for 6 species:

Muskellunge · June through mid-November, with October and early November the trophy windowMuskie Fishing on Lake St. ClairThe Mile Roads off St. Clair Shores: The grass flats from roughly 9 Mile to 14 Mile out toward the shipping channel. The most-trolled muskie water on the lake and still the most productive.Smallmouth Bass · Late May through October, with September and October the best big-fish windowSmallmouth Bass Fishing on Lake St. ClairThe Mile Roads off St. Clair Shores: The grass flats from roughly 9 Mile to 14 Mile out to the shipping channel. The most productive and most heavily fished smallmouth water on the lake, and it still gives up limits.Walleye · Late April through early June, and again from late September into NovemberLake St. Clair Walleye Fishing: Night Bite & Delta TacticsPeche Island and the head of the Detroit River: Where the lake dumps into the river. Heavy current, hard bottom, and a strong fall concentration of fish staging to move down into the river system.Lake Sturgeon · June through September, after the spring spawning period has passedLake Sturgeon in the Lake St. Clair SystemThe Detroit River below Lake St. Clair: The system's downstream half, with restored spawning reefs near Fighting Island and Grosse Ile. Same population, same rules, same responsibility.Muskellunge · September through November, with October the best windowLake Erie Muskie Fishing: Where to Fish & Fall TacticsThe Detroit River mouth and Brest Bay: The far western corner off Monroe, Michigan, where the Detroit River enters Erie. Fish moving down out of the Lake St. Clair system show up here, and they are the largest muskellunge caught in Erie water.Yellow Perch · January through early March on ice; July through October open waterYellow Perch Fishing on Lake St. ClairThe Mile Roads off St. Clair Shores: The grass flats between roughly 9 Mile and 14 Mile. Summer perch relate to the sand holes inside the weed beds rather than to the weed itself.

Northern Pike on St. Clair Steelhead on St. Clair

Before you launch

Lake St. Clair is big water

St. Clair averages about eleven feet deep and much of it is shallower. Outside the dredged shipping channel, watch the chart and the depth finder, and keep clear of freighter traffic in the channel itself. Wind across the open middle builds a sharp chop quickly.

Current from the St. Clair River in the north and the Detroit River outflow in the south. It moves ice, it moves boats at anchor, and it makes ice near either end untrustworthy in any conditions.
Shallow, fast-building chop. Eleven feet of average depth means a 15-knot wind produces a short steep sea that beats a small boat badly and shuts down flat fishing entirely.
Heavy commercial freighter traffic in the marked shipping channel bisecting the lake. Freighters have no ability to maneuver around you and their wake and draw are significant.

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

Camp or picnic

State parks

Belle Isle Park12 mi

For the crew ashore

Beaches

St. Clair Shores Memorial Park Beach2.3 mi
Pier Park6.3 mi
H.C.M.A. - Lake St. Clair Metropark Beach6.9 mi
Belle Isle Beach11 mi

Landmarks from the water

Lighthouses

Questions

Where is the closest public boat launch to St. Clair Shores?

Clinton River Cut-off, about 5.1 miles NE of downtown in a straight line.

How many public boat launches are near St. Clair Shores?

State agency data lists 6 public launches within 12 miles: 5 trailer ramps and 1 unimproved or carry-in sites, on Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie and the bays and rivers that run into them.

What is the biggest boat ramp near St. Clair Shores?

By the lane and trailer-parking counts the agencies publish, Harley Ensign Memorial (18 lanes, 287 trailer spaces). Not every agency publishes those counts, so 3 of the 6 sites here could not be ranked.

Do boat launches near St. Clair Shores charge a fee?

None of these 6 sites publishes fee information, which does not mean they are free; city and park launches often sell a daily or season pass. Confirm with the manager before you tow.

Who sets the fishing rules on Lake St. Clair near St. Clair Shores?

Michigan DNR. Seasons, limits and license rules change, so read the current regulations before you go.

Up and down the shore

Launches near other St. Clair towns

New Baltimore, MI · 15 mi Algonac, MI · 20 mi Port Huron, MI · 40 mi

Source

Launch facts are from Michigan DNR, State Sponsored Developed Boating Access Sites, retrieved 2026-10-27. Ramps close for repairs, fees change and water levels move; confirm with the manager before you tow. Fishing rules are set by Michigan DNR.

Downtown positions are approximate. Chart shoreline generalized from Natural Earth (public domain); not for navigation. Something wrong or missing? Write to contact@greatamericanlakes.com.

Lake St. Clair launches Lake Erie launches Michigan launches Lake St. Clair field guide All launch towns