Reviews: River Street Marina aka James C Acheson Marina

Reviewed by: David Mann , Now or Never, on Aug 27, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 44'
Draft: 4.7'

Rating: 4

Clean and safe this popular location offers strong docks with good electrical hookups and water at each location. Clean restrooms located at the office are near a public deck area where boaters congregate. Short walk into town for a variety of restaurants and activities. Good location to hide from a storm. Now named the "James C Acheson Marina". Still operated as a municipal marina and can be booked by telephone or now on the Michigan DNR site which allows you to pick your slip and shows availability.

View location on the Waterway Guide Explorer

Reviewed by: Ken Beyer , Hull of a life, on Aug 24, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 50'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 5

Nice little marina, easy approach and good depth, you do have to contend with two draw bridges, you end up waiting about ten minutes for the second to open. $4.00 diesel, clean bathroom/shower facilities. CVS just two blocks, several restaurants within walking distance. Ravens was a great place for lunch! 50 Amp service, good water pressure. Staff was friendly and very helpful.

View location on the Waterway Guide Explorer

Reviewed by: Lburket on Jun 8, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 34'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 5

Staff was very nice and helpful. Occupied a transient space for one night. Town was very cute and walkable. Facilities for shower and bathing were very clean and nice. Laundry was in seperate area but free. Thanks for a good stay.

View location on the Waterway Guide Explorer

Reviewed by: Douglas Morrow , Ripple, on Aug 25, 2023
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 39'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 4

Very nice Marina in town. It is a half mile or more walk to restaurants and shops. During office hours they will run you into town in a golf cart. We were docked on the wall and other docks are skinny finger docks. The showers need some TLC and are in the office. Vintage is good for dinner, but some of the main courses are more of an appetizer size. Maria's Cafe has great breakfast. Diesel was a very good price at River Street.

View location on the Waterway Guide Explorer

Reviewed by: Michael Gribble , This Is What, on Aug 13, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 47'
Draft: 3.8'

Rating: 5

This turned out to be a great stop. Various restaurants within walking distance. Check out the Vintage Tavern for dinner or the Raven Cafe for coffee and breakfast. Gill-Roy's Hardware is available close to the marina. There is a small grocery store about a 10min walk.
Docking fee is also reasonable too.
They have restrooms, laundry, and a BBQ area.

View location on the Waterway Guide Explorer

Reviewed by: Capt Maria Langer on Sep 6, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 27'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 5

I really liked this marina and its location on the Black River. We made reservations for the holiday weekend (which turned out to be a good thing because they were completely booked up) and were greeted at our slip by a dock hand who helped us tie up. There is 30 amp power and water at each slip. The marina is a long row of slips perpendicular to the river. There was no trouble with wake, despite the holiday weekend crowds and traffic. The restrooms, shower, and laundry are in the main building, which is quite a walk from where we were parked at Slip 65. If you need those facilities often (and want a good WiFi connection), try getting a lower numbered slip. But if you think you might want to go into town often, a higher number slip is better, since that end is closer to shops and restaurants in town. Everything except groceries are within walking distance. The marina also includes a covered picnic area with propane grills. There are lots of garbage receptacles. The staff is young and helpful; they even handled our pump out for us (we tipped them). And at just $25/night for our 30-foot boat, it seemed like quite a deal!

View location on the Waterway Guide Explorer

Reviewed by: Bill Mcmahon on Aug 6, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 40'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 4

On the way up the Black River passed 3 lift bridges, the first is a RR bridge that is always open, next the Military Street opens on the :00 and :30 (VHF 9), then 7th Street opens after Military closes.

Big marina with about a half a mile of slips between the 10th and 7th street bridges. The dock office with showers and laundry is in the middle, but it is still likely that you will have to walk a way to it. Fixed wooden dock with posts and cleats are in decent shape. Where our slip was (48) the WiFi signal was useless (as with too many marinas). Only stayed 1 night, but had a good meal at the Vintage Tavern and found a good hardware store, Gill-Roys all nearby.

Leaving in the morning, there was quite a lot of boat traffic (8 boats) waiting for the first 7th St. bridge opening (at 8:15). We all had to wait between the bridges because only one bridge can be up at a time. No issues, but it did add some stress as we all had to get pretty close.

View location on the Waterway Guide Explorer

Reviewed by: Rob Dare , Liberty Call , on Aug 3, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 46'
Draft: 4.5'

Rating: 4

Nice marina right before Lake Huron. Very narrow finger piers. Excellent dock hands that work hard to ensure everyone is happy. Bathrooms are a long walk. Lots of great green space to walk a dog. Nice town with good restaurants and shops.

View location on the Waterway Guide Explorer

Reviewed by: Robert Webb , Doc's Aweigh, on Jun 22, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 54'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 4

Stayed two nights and great spot. Staff attentive, with easy docking; docks starting to wear but are being renovated. It's close to downtown and the staff chauffeured us to a restaurant in a golf cart. Very pleasant place and would go there again.

View location on the Waterway Guide Explorer

Reviewed by: Richard Robinson , tranquilo ll, on Jan 13, 2017
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 42'
Draft: 4.6'

Rating: 5

Spent two weeks here. I'ts in the middle of town with lots to offer. Very clean with things to do. Great docks, fuel and pump out, Expert, professional staff including security (Dale Mills). Will return again next summer for a short stay

View location on the Waterway Guide Explorer