Nearest city Rose City, Michigan Phone +1 989-473-2258 | Area 18 km² Established 1963 | |
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Location Lower Peninsula, Ogemaw County, Michigan USA Governing body Michigan Department of Natural Resources Address 2550 Rose City Rd, Lupton, MI 48635, USA Management Michigan Department of Natural Resources | ||
Rifle River Recreation Area is a wilderness located on the upper reaches of the Rifle River within the Au Sable State Forest in Ogemaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Covering 4,449 acres (1,800 ha), the area provides a variety of recreational opportunities, including boating, canoeing, hiking, hunting, fishing, cross-country skiing, biking, and swimming.
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This area was formerly a private hunting and fishing retreat owned by Harry Mulford Jewett, president of the Paige-Detroit Motor Car Company, for whom the Jewett automobile was named. In 1945 the tract, then called Grousehaven, was purchased by the Michigan Department of Conservation from Mrs. Jewett after her husband's death. The Department of Conservation renamed it the Rifle River Area and used it as a field laboratory for fish and game research. In 1963, the Parks Division acquired the area and it is now known as the Rifle River Recreation Area.
Camping
Rifle River Recreation Area offers 75 modern sites with electricity and modern shower house. Three rustic campgrounds with a total of 99 rustic campsites with vault toilets as well as rustic cabins.
Fishery
All lakes and waterways encompassed within Rifle River State Recreation Area are closed to boats with motors. Devoe Lake, Grousehaven Lake, Grebe Lake, and Lodge Lake are open to fishing. Jewett Lake is restricted to catch and release fishing with no live bait. Fisheries research has been conducted on thirteen acre Jewett Lake starting in 1945 and has continued to present day.
Bluegills, bass, northern pike, yellow perch and trout can be found in Devoe, Grousehaven, Lodge, and Grebe Lakes. Brook, brown and rainbow trout are present throughout the many miles of streams in the recreation area.