The Paddle Antrim Festival celebrates the amazing waterways and communities of Northern Michigan. The Festival, always the second weekend after Labor Day, includes a two-day paddle event through the Chain of Lakes Water Trail. This choose your own adventure paddle provides the opportunity for you to paddle one or both days and decide how far to travel. There are exits strategically placed along the route so you may go anywhere from 7 miles to all 42 miles.
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MORE ABOUT MICHIGAN'S CHAIN OF LAKES WATER TRAIL
The Chain of Lakes Water Trail is one of Michigan’s premier paddling destinations — a 100+ mile inland water trail that links together 12 lakes and multiple rivers across Antrim, Charlevoix, Grand Traverse, and Kalkaska counties in northwest Lower Michigan. It’s especially popular for kayaking, canoeing, paddleboarding, and relaxed multi-day paddling trips.
A few highlights:
- The trail is split into an Upper Chain and Lower Chain, separated by a dam in the village of Bellaire.
- It includes famous lakes like Torch Lake — known for its Caribbean-blue water — along with Elk Lake, Intermediate Lake, Clam Lake, and others.
- There are around 84 public access sites, many with launches and some barrier-free access points.
- The route flows all the way into East Grand Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan.
The trail connects several small northern Michigan towns that are easy to stop in while paddling, including:
- Ellsworth
- Central Lake
- Bellaire
- Elk Rapids
One reason paddlers love it is the variety:
- quiet marshes and narrow rivers,
- crystal-clear inland lakes,
- sandy shorelines,
- and larger open-water sections for experienced paddlers.
The trail is managed and promoted by Paddle Antrim, a nonprofit focused on protecting the watershed and improving access.
