Boardman Lake

Boardman River
Ottawa River
Boardman River between downtown Traverse City and Grand Traverse Bay
Nickname: "The B"
Country	United States
Tributaries
- left	Beitner Creek, Kids Creek, Hoosier Valley Creek
- right	Swainston Creek, Jaxon Creek, Hauerstein Creek
Cities	Traverse City, South Boardman, Kalkaska
Source
- location	Union Township, Grand Traverse County: Confluence of North & South Branches, Michigan
Secondary source
- location	Springfield Township, Kalkaska County: Confluence of Butler Road Creek & Sharon Creek, Michigan
Additional source
- location	Rainbow Lake, Coldsprings Township, Kalkaska County: Source of North Branch, Michigan
Mouth
- location	Grand Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan, Michigan
Length	28 mi (45 km)

The Boardman River is a 28.2-mile-long (45.4 km) river that flows into the west arm of Grand Traverse Bay in Traverse City, Michigan. The Boardman's upper tributaries rise near Kalkaska, Michigan, and its watershed drains an area of 295 square miles (760 km²) through 130 miles (210 km) of river and tributaries. The Boardman River is considered one of the top ten trout streams in Michigan. Before entering the Grand Traverse Bay, it becomes Boardman Lake, a natural lake that was originally 259 acres (1.05 km²) in size and increased to 339 acres (1.37 km²) after the Union Street Dam was constructed in 1867. After flowing through Boardman Lake, the river descends through downtown Traverse City, following a hairpin-shaped course to Grand Traverse Bay. This Traverse City section of the Boardman River is accessible by motorboat from the lakeshore up to a weir upstream from the lakeshore. A short distance upstream from the weir is the Union Street Dam, a small decommissioned mill dam located between Cass and Union streets.

In the year 1847, Captain Horace Boardman of Naperville, Illinois, purchased land on the Grand Traverse Bay. He was the namesake of the Boardman River, which had previously been known as the Ottawa River.

Later in 1800s, as Traverse City was first being settled, the Union Street Dam was being built by the Hannah-Lay Company as a saw mill. Around this time, citizens were dumping sewage into the Boardman, which was causing severe health problems.

In 1869, Boardman Lake became a great tourist attraction for the citizens of Traverse City. The Oval Wood Dish Company built a factory on the northwestern shores of the lake. The western shore of the lake was used for a log rollaway and rail yard on the Great Lakes Central Railroad, up until the early 2000s.

In 1894, the Boardman Dam was being built 4.6 miles (7.4 km) upstream from the Union Street Dam as a hydroelectric power plant. The building of this dam created Keystone Pond and diverted the stream. This ancient flow channel is called the relic channel.

The Sabin and Brown Bridge dams were built during the oncoming years. Over time, these dams withstood many floods, and in 2013, the Brown Bridge Dam was removed, draining Brown Bridge Pond.