The river flows generally south and east into Mackinac County.
The Carp River flows for much of its length through the eastern region of the Hiawatha National Forest.
A central portion of the river, near M-123, flows through the Mackinac Wilderness, jointly preserved by the U.S. Forest Service and the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission of the Ojibwa Indians.
Close to its mouth, the Carp River is spanned by the Mackinac Trail – Carp River Bridge, a 1920 spandrel arch bridge that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December 1999.
[1] From the mouth: The drainage basin of the Carp River includes all or part of the following: Download coordinates as: