The Manistee River in the U.S. state of Michigan, runs through the northwestern Lower Peninsula; it now passes through the contemporary villages of Sharon, Smithville, and Mesick, entering Lake Michigan at Manistee. It is considered, like the nearby Au Sable River, to be one of the best trout fisheries east of the Rockies.The river rises in the sand hills in southeastern Antrim County, on the border with Otsego County, about 6mi southeast of the town of Alba. These deep glacial sands provide it with a remarkably stable flow of clean cold water year round, making it a popular river for fishing as well as canoeing. Over the course of its length, it drops in elevation from around 1250to, with an average stream gradient of about.HistoryThe name "Manistee" is from an Ojibwe word whose derivation is uncertain. However, it may be from ministigweyaa, "river with islands at its mouth". The Ojibwe (Chippewa in the United States) and Ottawa peoples lived along the river, with the Ottawa having a reservation on the river from 1836. The federally recognized Little River Band of Ottawa Indians continues to occupy its reservation in Manistee County, as well as lands in Mason County.
