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.
Skip To…
Tour
Map
More Information
Belleville
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.
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
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.
Tour Map
Number of Destinations: 3
Distance: 30 miles
Overall Tour Time: 1/2 to 1
full day
More
Information
Click on the links below for more information on Huron River Drive and
related attractions:
Downriver
Flat
Rock Speedway
Huron-Clinton MetroParks
Yankee Air Museum
at Willow Run Airport
Back
to Top
|
