Dazzling developments: Detroit’s Riverfront shines with help from local, state partnerships

June 9 event in Detroit will recognize accomplishments and the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund's 50th anniversary in 2026

Attracting 3 million people each year and recognized as America’s “best riverwalk,” the Detroit Riverfront continues to transform in positive and historic ways.

Thanks to decades-long partnerships among both private and public organizations – including the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund and several others – this Motor City gem is more vibrant than ever, connecting Detroit neighborhoods to the waterfront and bringing countless visitors to welcoming, beautifully enhanced public spaces along the Detroit River.

On Tuesday, June 9, as part of the Trust Fund’s 50th anniversary celebrations taking place around the state in 2026, partner organizations will gather to tour Detroit Riverfront spaces. A community mixer featuring speakers at the historic Belle Isle Casino will follow the tour.

"The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund has been instrumental in restoring the Detroit Riverfront's public infrastructure, creating a vibrant place where people can fish, walk, jog and roll, connect with one another, and enjoy the stunning scenery of the Detroit River and Canada," said Jon Mayes, DNR recreation grants unit manager. "We're incredibly grateful to our partner organizations for their generous support of these meaningful projects." 

Powerful partnerships

The DNR and the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund “helped unlock Detroit's waterfront as a natural resource, gathering place and recreational destination for Detroiters and Michiganders from around the state,” said Ryan Sullivan, CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, one of several longtime partners in Trust Fund projects benefiting the Riverfront.

“We’ve enjoyed a tremendous partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for many years,” Sullivan said.  “The DNR and the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund have played integral roles in the transformation of the Detroit Riverfront and in connecting Detroit neighborhoods to our waterfront. Many of the most popular public spaces along the revitalized riverfront — including Ralph Wilson Park, Dequindre Cut, Southwest Greenway, and significant portions of our completed East Riverfront — were made possible by the support of the DNR and the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund.”

In the past 30 years, the Trust Fund program has played a crucial role in funding improvements at 21 parks across the city, said City of Detroit General Services Director Crystal Perkins.

“From the first grant we received in 1997 for a new seawall and riverwalk at Riverside Park, to a grant in 2003 for improvements to Belle Isle, to current projects in Romanowski and Eliza Howell parks, even Joe Louis Greenway, the Trust Fund program has helped us make a true difference in our neighborhood and regional parks,” she said.

Connective trails and a signature 22-acre Detroit River waterfront park featuring play areas, water garden and other amenities have come to life through a DNR and Trust Fund partnership with the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.

“The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Trail and Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park represent the kind of lasting public assets that can only be created through partnership,” said JJ Tighe, senior director of parks and trails for the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. “The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund has played an important role in helping make the development of these projects possible, supporting public access to outdoor recreation and the long-term stewardship of spaces that connect people and communities. We are grateful for our partnership with the DNR and for the shared commitment to creating places that will serve residents today and for generations to come.”

Detroit Riverfront projects

Collectively, Trust Fund-supported projects along the Detroit Riverfront total more than $45 million in community investment. Here’s more about each of these projects, some of which are completed and others that are in progress:

Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park
Grant funding: $5.7 million. 
Overview: Designed to inspire wellness and connection, this 22-acre green space features play areas for all ages, a peaceful water garden, sport house for year-round recreation and landscaped, tree-lined paths.

Trust Fund support helped create the West Riverfront Connector at the park, providing a key linkage between the existing riverwalk on the east riverfront and the former West Riverfront Park (now known as Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park). This boardwalk extends 17 feet over the Detroit River.

In addition, Trust Fund support is behind the acquisition of a developed easement for the May Creek Greenway that is a key pedestrian connector of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park to the Corktown and southwest Detroit neighborhoods on the upland side of West Jefferson Avenue via the Iron Belle Trail alignment. Situated along a former creek bed and now active Detroit-Windsor rail tunnel line, this nonmotorized greenway connects residential areas to the existing Detroit Riverwalk with over 3.5 miles of recreational opportunity along the Detroit River.

The May Creek Greenway also serves as the primary nonmotorized connection from the north to the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park, a parcel that was previously purchased with Trust Fund dollars. 

William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor 
Grant funding: $26.25 million. 
Overview: William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor is just east of downtown, providing easy access for fishing, biking, walking and rollerblading. The park is divided into three areas, including the harbor, the picnic shelter area and the berm area.

Thanks to recent renovations, the berm – especially popular for picnics and wildlife viewing – now boasts an accessible walkway, handrails and new trees, shrubs and grass.  

Trust Fund-supported enhancements include development of a 1,500-linear-foot pedestrian trail along the riverfront, construction of the final connection of the Detroit East Riverwalk through Milliken State Park and Harbor, berm development and acquisition of public use easements and land acquisitions along the Detroit River from the Ambassador Bridge to the MacArthur Bridge as part of a 5-mile-long public greenway. Funding also assisted in the acquisition of three large, private parcels and trail easements along the Detroit Riverfront as additions to Milliken State Park and Harbor.  

DNR Outdoor Adventure Center 
Grant funding: $9 million. 
Overview: Located on Detroit’s riverfront in the historic Globe Building, the DNR Outdoor Adventure Center gives you a taste of Michigan’s great outdoors in the heart of the city. Visitors experience exciting outdoor adventures with hands-on activities, exhibits, simulators and more. Trust Fund support helped acquire 48,000 square feet of built-out space in the Globe Building for the OAC.

Belle Isle IBT / Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Trail  
Grant funding: $3.4 million. 
Overview: The Ralph C. Wilson Gateway was completed last fall, providing a new segment of the Iron Belle Trail, the longest state-designated trail in the U.S. The Gateway project completed the 5.8-mile trail loop around Belle Isle. Construction of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Trail was accomplished with funding from a variety of sources and grants including the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Trust Fund. The completed trail and two-way cycle track are among many improvements resulting from Belle Isle Park Multimodal Mobility Study recommendations. 

A legacy of trust, impact

The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund has a solid track record of supporting conservation and recreation in southeast Michigan. To date, the Trust Fund has awarded more than $109 million in grants for development projects and acquisitions in Wayne County alone. During this anniversary year, the Trust Fund is highlighting investment and impact in several areas of the state. In April, it was Flint; in June, it's Detroit. Additional community tour days are set for Marquette (Aug. 18) and Traverse City (Sept. 29).

Established in 1976 and enshrined for permanent protection in Michigan’s Constitution, the Trust Fund provides grants to state and local governments to purchase land for conservation or recreation, and for development of public outdoor recreation facilities.

The Trust Fund is financed through interest earnings on royalties from state-owned oil, gas and mineral leases and administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The concept – that money received from the use of the state’s nonrenewable resources should benefit all generations of Michigan citizens – was unique at the time of its inception in 1976, and Michigan remains one of the few states in the country with such a program.

For over five decades, the Trust Fund has awarded nearly $1.4 billion to buy land or land rights, and to develop quality outdoor recreational facilities and opportunities in Michigan.

This brief anniversary video highlights the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund’s history, ingenuity and impact.

Questions?

For more information about the Trust Fund 50th anniversary or any of the community celebration/tour events, contact Jon Mayes at 517-284-5954.

Note to editors: Accompanying photos are available below for download. Caption information follows.

• Detroit Riverfront sunset: Attracting 3 million people each year and recognized as America’s “best riverwalk,” the Detroit Riverfront continues to transform in positive and historic ways thanks to decades-long partnerships among both private and public organizations, including the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund and several others.
• Detroit Riverfront play: The Detroit Riverfront is more vibrant than ever, connecting neighborhoods to the waterfront and bringing visitors to welcoming, beautifully enhanced public spaces along the Detroit River. Children are shown riding a swing at the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park.
• Detroit Riverfront slide: Designed to inspire wellness and connection, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park features play areas for all ages, a peaceful water garden, sport house for year-round recreation and landscaped, tree-lined paths.
• Detroit Riverfront bear: The Bernstein Bear, a 20-foot-tall bear-shaped slide, is a featured attraction at the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park.
• Milliken State Park and Harbor: Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund-supported enhancements at Milliken State Park and Harbor include development of a 1,500-linear-foot pedestrian trail along the riverfront, construction of the final connection of the Detroit East Riverwalk through the park and harbor, berm development, and acquisition of public use easements and land acquisitions along the Detroit River from the Ambassador Bridge to the MacArthur Bridge as part of a 5-mile-long public greenway.
• DNR Outdoor Adventure Center: Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund support helped to acquire 48,000 square feet of built-out space in the Globe Building, where the DNR Outdoor Adventure Center is housed. 
• Belle Isle cyclists: Cyclists ride along the Ralph C. Wilson Gateway, which was completed last fall and provides a new segment of the Iron Belle Trail, the longest state-designated trail in the U.S. The Gateway project completed the 5.8-mile trail loop around Belle Isle.
• Former Detroit Riverfront_1: A look at what the Detroit Riverfront once looked like prior to enhancements and renovations.
• Former Detroit Riverfront_2: Park and trail projects along the Detroit Riverfront in recent years have transformed the area. This photo shows how the site formerly looked.