Grand Rapids Whitewater

Do you prefer this cascading waterfall?

Conceptual photograph of 'landscaped' 4th St dam.

Or this lowhead dam?  

Existing dam, known by river experts as a 'drowning machine.'

Could Grand Rapids’ benefit from a picturesque new tourist attraction?  A wild, scenic, cascading waterfall right downtown?  It’s known by several names; The 6th Street Dam, 4th St. Dam, Fishing Dam and even The Falls.   Read the rest of this entry »

Grand Rapids currently has 5 low head dams downtown.  They are also known as drowning machines.  Most fishermen are aware of the inherent dangers and know to avoid them.

“I thought maybe it was gonna be a little dam that I could go over like the whitewater rafters.  It didn’t work out like that,”  said Joe Hileski.  “I almost died.”  On Wednesday April 8, 2009, Joe set out for an adventure on the Grand River. 

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This is what we believe the Grand River will look like one day. We are now one very important step closer to realizing the dream of restoring rapids in the Grand.

“The ‘preferred alternative’ outlines 2 phases for improving recreational opportunities in the Grand River. Phase 1 consists of two tasks: modifying the dams downstream of the 4th street dam…” Read the rest of this entry »