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Huron River Drive

Tour Overview

The Huron River originates in a marshy, heavily forested area northwest of Detroit and travels through five counties on its 136-mile journey to the mouth of Lake Erie. It feeds dozens of lakes along the way and is the lifeblood running through 13 MetroParks and State Recreation Areas. This tour features two of the larger lakes fed by the Huron, Ford Lake and Belleville Lake, as well as four of the area's MetroParks. Surprisingly, this part of the Detroit area has remained below the radar of developers until recently when they began to take notice of the wonderful natural amenities and affordable land. This is a leisurely drive that feels quite remote despite its proximity to Detroit.

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Belleville [A]

Vicinity of Main Street and Huron River Drive

Website

Shortly after making the turn off Whittaker Road and heading east along Huron River Drive brings you into view of Ford Lake, the first of two large reservoirs formed by dams along the Huron. The City of Belleville Itself encompasses a downtown situated along the southern edge of the second reservoir, Belleville Lake. Belleville is the home to the Strawberry Festival in June, drawing over 200,000 people annually. Oddly enough, this rural city on the outskirts of Detroit is also considered the birthplace of Techno Music. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, former high school friends Derrick May, Juan Atkins, and Kevin Saunderson (known as The Belleville Three) experimented with mixes and beats in basement studios to develop a new musical form that today enjoys enormous popularity worldwide.

MetroParks [B]

17845 Savage Road, Belleville (Lower Huron MetroPark)

Website

The Huron-Clinton MetroParks provide a 24,000-acre Greenbelt around the Detroit metropolitan area along the Huron and Clinton Rivers. This section of Huron River Drive encompasses the Lower Huron, Willow, Oakwoods, and Lake Erie Metroparks which offer a huge multitude of outdoor activities. At the far end of Belleville Lake, we recommend turning onto Metro Parkway which will take you on a more scenic route through Lower Huron MetroPark (you will pick up Huron River Drive again at the south end of the park). A fee is required to enter the park, but the pass will grant you access to the other three parks on the tour.

New Boston, Flat Rock, & Rockwood [C-E]

New Boston: Vicinity of Huron River Drive and Hannan Road (Website)

Flat Rock: Vicinity of Huron River Drive and Telegraph Road (Website)

Rockwood: Vicinity of Huron River Drive and Church Street (Website)

At the south tip of Lower Huron MetroPark is charming little New Boston. If you didn't know any better, you'd swear you were in the middle of the country. Amazingly, New Boston is only a few miles from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. Further southwest is Flat Rock, a quiet but rapidly growing community best known for its Flat Rock Speedway. The southernmost city in Wayne County is Rockwood, located adjacent to both Lake Erie MetroPark and Pointe Mouillee State Game Area which are known for great fishing and boating.