You can paddle the Shiawassee River right through downtown Linden

The same river that turned the grindstones at Linden’s old mill is a marked canoe route now. The Shiawassee River Heritage Water Trail is a long, low-key paddling corridor that threads across mid-Michigan. One of its sections runs straight through Genesee County. It goes past Holly, through Fenton, and right by the mill pond in downtown Linden. Then it heads on toward Byron.

This is a friendly river to learn on. It’s a warm-water stream with a fairly slow current. A beginner can put in a kayak, drift, and not feel like they’re fighting anything. The trail is mapped in sections, so you can bite off as much as you want. Take a short afternoon float between two parks. Or make a longer haul if you’re set up to shuttle a car downstream.

What makes paddling it different from hiking a trail is what you pass at water level. You slide under road bridges most drivers cross without a glance. You drift behind the backyards and old industrial sites of towns built on this river two centuries ago. You pass through stretches of marsh, where you’re more likely to startle a heron than meet another person. The Shiawassee was a working river first. Think mills, dams, mill ponds, and the cement and foundry trades that grew up along it. The water trail follows that history without making a lecture of it.

The Linden mill pond sits right behind the 1850s gristmill. It’s one of the easy places to get on or off. Bring a paddle and a little patience for the slow current. The river that built the town will carry you through the middle of it.