Rapid River is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Masonville Township

Masonville Township, Michigan

Masonville Township is a civil township of Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,877 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

, Delta County

Delta County, Michigan

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,520 people, 15,836 households, and 10,689 families residing in the county. The population density was 33 people per square mile . There were 19,223 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

.

It is situated on the northern end of the Little Bay de Noc

Little Bay de Noc

Little Bay de Noc is a bay in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The bay opens into Lake Michigan's Green Bay.The bay, consisting of approximately 30,000 acres , is enclosed by Delta County...

 at 45°55′37"N 86°58′01"W, between the mouths of the Tacoosh

Tacoosh River

The Tacoosh River is situated in Upper Peninsula of Michigan state, in the United States. It flows into Lake Michigan at Little Bay de Noc....

 and Rapid rivers with the mouth of the Whitefish River

Whitefish River (Michigan)

The Whitefish River is a river in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The mouth of the river is in Delta County at on the Little Bay De Noc of Lake Michigan. The main branch of the river is formed by the confluence of the east and west branches at .The east branch rises out of Trout...

 just to the east. U.S. Highway 2

U.S. Route 2 in Michigan

US Highway 2 is a component of the United States Numbered Highway System that connects Everett, Washington, to the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan, with a separate segment that runs from Rouses Point, New York, to Houlton, Maine...

 passes through Rapid River and joins with U.S. Highway 41

U.S. Route 41 in Michigan

US Highway 41 is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that enters the state via the Interstate Bridge between Marinette, Wisconsin, and Menominee,...

 just west of town; the two then run concurrently from Rapid River south to Escanaba

Escanaba, Michigan

Escanaba is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, located in the banana belt on the state's Upper Peninsula. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 13,140, making it the third-largest city in the Upper Peninsula after Marquette and Sault Ste. Marie...

. The Rapid River ZIP code

ZIP Code

ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

 is 49878 and also serves areas in the nearby townships in Delta County of Baldwin

Baldwin Township, Delta County, Michigan

Baldwin Township is a civil township of Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 748.- Communities :* Beaver is an unincorporated community in the township at .-Geography:...

, Bay de Noc

Bay de Noc Township, Michigan

Bay de Noc Township is a civil township of Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 329. The township covers the southern portion of the peninsula separating Little Bay de Noc and Big Bay de Noc on Lake Michigan.Ensign Township is to the north...

, Brampton

Brampton Township, Michigan

Brampton Township is a civil township of Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 1,090.-Geography:...

, Ensign

Ensign Township, Michigan

Ensign Township is a civil township of Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 780 at the 2000 census.-Communities:*Kipling is an unincorporated community immediately north-northeast of Gladstone....

, Garden

Garden Township, Michigan

Garden Township is a civil township of Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the township had a total population of 817.-Communities:*The Village of Garden is located within the township....

, Maple Ridge

Maple Ridge Township, Delta County, Michigan

Maple Ridge Township is a civil township of Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 808 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

, Masonville

Masonville Township, Michigan

Masonville Township is a civil township of Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,877 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

, and Nahma

Nahma Township, Michigan

Nahma Township is a civil township of Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 499 at the 2000 census. Nahma was established in 1881 by the Bay De Noquet Lumber Company as the base for its upper Michigan lumbering operations....

. It also serves a small area in Mathias Township

Mathias Township, Michigan

Mathias Township is a civil township of Alger County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 571 at the 2000 census.-Communities:*Trenary is an unincorporated community at . The town's name is familiar to many in the Upper Midwest, especially in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan...

 in Alger County

Alger County, Michigan

Alger County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 9,601. Its county seat is Munising. The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is located within the county.-History:...

The community was first named Rapid Siding as a stop on the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad

Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad

The Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad was a Class I railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the Midwest U.S. Commonly known as the Soo Line after the phonetic spelling of Sault, it was merged with several other major CP subsidiaries on January 1, 1961 to form the...

. The name was recorded as Rapid River when the community was platted in 1887. The community never incorporated as a village.

One scene from the 2001 film Escanaba in da Moonlight

Escanaba in da Moonlight

Escanaba in da Moonlight is a 2001 movie starring Jeff Daniels. It is a comedy about hunting and hunting traditions and is set in the Escanaba, Michigan area...

was shot in the Swallow Inn, a popular bar on Main Street.

Rapid River is home to the Rapid River Public Schools, a class D school.