Staying Home Sucks, home
Mio Dam - panoramio
Au Sable River. Photo: Kurt Schwoppe, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Au Sable River

Kayak spot · United States

Flat water: a lake, canal or slow river

Is it worth the trip?

83Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Tue 3: Wind 8 kn gusting 18, Air 19 °C

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 87 out of 100

Wind
8 kn
Gusts
18kn
Air
19°C
Rain
1.5 mm

Wed 4 · 83 out of 100

Wind
9 kn
Gusts
19kn
Air
17°C
Rain
2.5 mm

Thu 5 · 86 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
19kn
Air
14°C
Rain
0 mm

Fri 6 · 81 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
4kn
Air
9°C
Rain
11.1 mm

Sat 7 · 76 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
6°C
Rain
3 mm

Sun 8 · 81 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
14kn
Air
9°C
Rain
0 mm

Mon 9 · 75 out of 100

Wind
7 kn
Gusts
14kn
Air
8°C
Rain
0.3 mm

Tap a day for wind, gusts, air and rain. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 295, good
  2. Tue 387, good
  3. Wed 483, good
  4. Thu 586, good
  5. Fri 681, good
  6. Sat 776, good
  7. Sun 881, good
  8. Mon 975, good
  9. Tue 1069, good
  10. Wed 1176, good

The spot in two facts

  • Flat waterthe water
  • 11.7 kmthe section

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know the river level, weirs or your skill.

Wind and weather forecast and score for each day at Au Sable River
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Mon 2Nov95, good6 kn15kn18°C0 mm
Tue 3Nov87, good8 kn18kn19°C1.5 mm
Wed 4Nov83, good9 kn19kn17°C2.5 mm
Thu 5Nov86, good6 kn19kn14°C0 mm
Fri 6Nov81, good1 kn4kn9°C11.1 mm
Sat 7Nov76, good3 kn9kn6°C3 mm
Sun 8Nov81, good6 kn14kn9°C0 mm
Mon 9Nov75, good7 kn14kn8°C0.3 mm
Tue 10Nov69, good10 kn24kn8°C0 mm
Wed 11Nov76, good8 kn19kn10°C0 mm

Wind and gusts are in knots, rain in mm. The river's level is under In the water. More

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

No month stands out

Good kayaking days in a typical week, each month, for grade III paddlers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan5of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb5of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar5of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov5of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
  12. Dec5of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical weather, not a forecast, and not the river's level: a month that is often good to be outside may still be low water.

Map

put-in, take-out, its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Photos of Au Sable River

Mio Dam Portage - panoramio
Photo: Kurt Schwoppe, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

More kayaking near here

3 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Au Sable River

A river section on the Au Sable River, from a put-in down to a take-out. It runs 12 km along the river. No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle. OpenStreetMap marks the water open to canoes and kayaks. None within 10 km, the nearest 46 km away. The town to stay in is Mio. Within 5 km we also list 3 kayak spots.

  • River Au Sable River
  • Grade No grade is stated.
  • Length 12 km along the river.
  • Who it suits No grade stated: ask locally before you paddle.
  • Access OpenStreetMap marks the water open to canoes and kayaks.
  • Schools, hire None within 10 km, the nearest 46 km away.

Spots and rivers: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Whitewater sections © Rivermap (rivermap.org), Riverzone and Jonathan Riddell, ODbL.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$951–US$1,690 each

about US$951–US$1,690 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: fuel, stay, food, kayak hire.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Fuelabout 1015 km there and back, sharedabout US$60–US$94
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$348–US$583
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Kayak hire5 days, or bring your ownabout US$201–US$375
Totalabout US$951–US$1,690

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Mio

Closest

Mio

about 5 min by car · 12 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 12 places to stay in Mio · Booking.com

About Mio its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$134 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 6h

About 6h door to door from Chicago

Drive: Drive, about 6h

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

On the water

River level

Gauge at AU SABLE RIVER AT MIO, MI, 0 km upstream: 25 m³/s, normal for November (updated 2 h ago). Running.

Bands are this gauge's own record: under its usual low, running, high, and in flood on its few highest days a year. Not a runnable range for the section: check before you go. River levels in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey (public domain). Credits

Paddling schools, clubs and hire nearby

No paddling school, club or hire mapped within 25 km.

Schools, clubs and hire: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits