Personal Watercraft
Pine River USFS Permits
Watercraft permits are required for all watercraft, including tubes, from the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend through the Monday of Labor Day Weekend. Permits are required for all watercraft on the Pine River between Elm Flats and Low Bridge.
We cannot facilitate shuttles for folks bringing their craft unless they have first purchased River Permits from the US Forest Service. Until they run out for any given day, they are available for $2/craft plus a $6 transaction fee from the USFS at 1–877–444- 6777 or at the Recreation.gov Pine River Page.
Transportation
Options
If you bring your paddlecraft, have purchased your river permits and parking passes, and need help with your transportation, we charge the fee in the Table below, based on the starting and ending point.
Many who have brought their own in the past, choose now to just rent from us. It saves the hassle and cost of obtaining river permits; parking passes, loading, unloading, cleaning your craft, vehicle gas, plus paying a third party to facilitate your shuttle.
PRPC Car Spotting Rates
About Car Spotting Prices
We are a business with payroll, taxes, insurance, equipment, buildings and associated overhead. When we are providing transportation for folks who own their own craft, the Michigan Department of Transportation licensing and testing requirements for our employees are more stringent, hence expensive, and we are also required to pay for an additional rider on our insurance policy. We factored these costs into the fees shown in the above pricing table.
We serve customers renting our craft first. If we have the resources to shuttle for you, we will be happy to do so. Thank you for understanding.
A neighbor and friend of ours also does car-spotting. Contact John at 231-846-4464
From deep in the heart of Texas, we send you a great big THANK YOU for making our recent trip down the Pine River such a huge success. The summer weather you ordered up for our Labor Day expedition was greatly appreciated, as was the organization and helpfulness of you and your staff. We were also appreciative of your flexibility in our changing of plans which enabled us to experience kayaking for the first time. We didn't get a chance to properly bid you farewell, so thanks again for such an enjoyable adventure.