Things to Do in Southeast Michigan: Detroit, Ann Arbor, Lakes & Small-Town Getaways

Southeast Michigan is the state’s urban core and its most varied day-trip region. In one corner of the map you get Detroit’s museums, riverfront and Motown history, Ann Arbor’s college-town streets, Henry Ford’s Dearborn, and walkable small downtowns from Plymouth to Rochester. Add the Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie shorelines, 13 Metroparks and a National Park Service battlefield in Monroe, and you have a region that rewards a long weekend or a dozen separate day trips.

Use this guide as your starting point. It explains how we define the region, compares ten cities and communities side by side, and highlights what each does best. It also sorts out the park pass confusion that trips up many visitors, lays out sample itineraries, and covers seasons, getting around and common questions. Each city section links to our full guide for that city.

What Counts as Southeast Michigan?

The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), the region’s planning agency, defines Southeast Michigan as seven counties: Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne. We use the same footprint on InsideMichigan, with one exception: St. Clair County’s Blue Water Area (Port Huron and the St. Clair River towns) is covered in our Thumb guide, because it is the gateway to Lake Huron and the Thumb.

Looking west? Our West Michigan and Southwest Michigan guides pick up where Washtenaw County ends. Most of the cities below can be reached from Detroit in under an hour of driving, and several are on the same Amtrak line.

Southeast Michigan at a Glance

Which Southeast Michigan City Is Right for You?

Each city here has a different personality. Use this table to match the trip you want with the right base.

Explore Southeast Michigan City by City

Detroit: Museums, Motown and the Riverfront

Detroit is the region’s anchor and the stop most trips are built around. The Detroit Institute of Arts holds more than 65,000 works, including Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry murals, which were a gift from Edsel Ford. A few miles away, the Motown Museum occupies the West Grand Boulevard house where Berry Gordy launched Motown Records in 1959. Eastern Market has operated since 1891 and covers about 43 acres, with its big Saturday market as the main event. From there, the Dequindre Cut greenway runs roughly two miles to the Detroit RiverWalk, a 5.5-mile path along the water that has been named the best riverwalk in America by USA TODAY’s 10Best readers.

Belle Isle Park, a roughly 982-acre island park in the Detroit River, has an aquarium, the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory and the Dossin Great Lakes Museum. It is a Michigan state park, so vehicles need a Recreation Passport. Michigan Central Station, the 1913 depot that served Detroit until 1988, was restored by Ford and completed in 2024, and it now offers tours. Also worth your time: the Detroit Historical Museum, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and the Michigan Science Center, a Smithsonian affiliate.

Good to know: The QLINE streetcar runs along Woodward Avenue and connects with the Amtrak station in New Center. Comerica Park and Ford Field sit a short distance apart downtown. Read our Detroit guide →

Ann Arbor: A College Town With Big Attractions

Ann Arbor centers on the University of Michigan. Michigan Stadium, known as “The Big House,” is the largest football stadium in the United States, with capacity above 107,000. On campus, the University of Michigan Museum of Art is a major university art museum with free admission, and the Nichols Arboretum (“the Arb”) covers 123 acres along the Huron River. Matthaei Botanical Gardens has a conservatory with tropical, temperate and arid houses. Just off campus, Kerrytown has long been the heart of the city’s market scene, and the Ann Arbor Farmers Market has operated there for generations.

Families can try the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library sits on the university’s North Campus. The Ann Arbor Art Fair, held each July, is one of the largest in the country, and the Michigan Theater anchors the city’s arts scene.

Good to know: Ann Arbor has an Amtrak Wolverine station, so you can arrive by train from Detroit or Chicago. Read our Ann Arbor guide →

Dearborn: Henry Ford’s Hometown

Dearborn is home to The Henry Ford, a campus of attractions that includes the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, Greenfield Village and the Ford Rouge Factory Tour. The museum’s collection includes presidential limousines and the Rosa Parks bus, and my family’s favorite is Greenfield Village, which is an open-air museum that operates from spring through fall. Allow a full day for each. Nearby, Fair Lane, the Henry and Clara Ford estate on the Rouge River, offers tours.

Dearborn also has one of the largest Arab American communities in the United States. In downtown Dearborn, the Arab American National Museum is the only museum in the country devoted to Arab American history and culture.

Good to know: Dearborn is about 20 minutes from Detroit Metropolitan Airport and has its own Amtrak station. Read our Dearborn guide →

Royal Oak: Zoo Day and a Lively Downtown

Royal Oak is home to the Detroit Zoo, which is run by the nonprofit Detroit Zoological Society and hosts well over a million guests a year. Despite the name, it sits at 8450 West 10 Mile Road in Royal Oak, not in Detroit. Downtown Royal Oak has a walkable grid of shops, restaurants and entertainment, and the Royal Oak Farmers Market has been a local institution since 1927, running Fridays May through Thanksgiving, Saturdays year-round and an antiques-and-artisan market on Sundays.

Woodward Avenue runs through town, and the Woodward Dream Cruise, an annual celebration of classic cars, follows a 16-mile stretch of it. Royal Oak also has an Amtrak Wolverine stop.

Good to know: Royal Oak is roughly 15 to 20 minutes from downtown Detroit, depending on traffic. Read our Royal Oak guide →

Plymouth: Kellogg Park and Year-Round Festivals

Plymouth is built around Kellogg Park, a triangular green that has been a city landmark since 1867. The brick-lined downtown around it has shops, restaurants and the historic Penn Theatre, and the Plymouth Historical Museum is nearby. Downtown hosts more than 130 events a year, many in Kellogg Park, including summer concerts and the Art in the Park festival in July.

The biggest draw is the Plymouth Ice Festival, which held its 44th edition on January 30 to February 1, 2026. It is free and features more than 100 hand-carved ice sculptures, carving competitions and family activities. Check the festival’s website for 2027 dates.

Good to know: Plymouth is about 25 miles west of Detroit and 15 miles east of Ann Arbor, which makes it an easy stop between the two. Read our Plymouth guide →

Northville: A Historic Downtown With a State Park Next Door

Northville’s city center dates back to 1825 and includes “The Twist,” a pedestrian-only corridor on parts of East Main and North Center streets. A short walk away, Mill Race Historical Village preserves historic buildings and is open year-round, with a self-guided walking tour. Ford Field Park sits beside it along the Middle Rouge River.

Just outside town, Maybury State Park covers nearly 1,000 acres with trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. Maybury Farm, a working farm run by the Northville Community Foundation, sits right next door, and a trail called The Link connects downtown with both Maybury and Hines Park. The town’s long-running cider mill makes it a popular fall stop.

Good to know: Maybury State Park requires a Recreation Passport for vehicle entry. Read our Northville guide →

Rochester: Historic Estates, Trails and Holiday Lights

Downtown Rochester sits on Paint Creek, with Rochester Municipal Park offering more than a mile of paved walkways along the water. The Paint Creek Trail runs 8.9 miles to Lake Orion on a former rail line and is regarded as Michigan’s first rail-to-trail. It is good for walking, biking and, on its ungroomed sections, cross-country skiing.

Just outside downtown, in Rochester Hills, Meadow Brook Hall is a Tudor Revival mansion built between 1926 and 1929 by Matilda Dodge Wilson and her husband, Alfred Wilson. They donated it in 1957 to help found what is now Oakland University. It is a National Historic Landmark, and its holiday programming is a seasonal highlight. In winter, downtown Rochester is wrapped in more than a million lights from mid-November to mid-January for the Big Bright Light Show.

Good to know: The Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm and the Clinton River Trail are nearby if you want more history and trail time. Read our Rochester guide →

Ypsilanti: Depot Town, Museums and a Riverside Historic District

Ypsilanti is home to Eastern Michigan University, which was founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School. Its historic district is one of the oldest and largest in Michigan, with landmarks that include the 1889 Water Tower, considered the city’s unofficial symbol, and the colorful buildings of Depot Town, which grew up around the railroad.

The museums here are unusually quirky. The Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum shows off Hudsons, Corvairs and Kaiser-Frazers, the Michigan Firehouse Museum fills more than 26,000 square feet, and the Ypsilanti Historical Museum is two blocks away. A short drive away, the Yankee Air Museum occupies part of the former Willow Run Bomber Plant that Ford built in World War II. The Huron River runs through town, with paddling and fishing access.

Good to know: Ypsilanti sits next to Ann Arbor, so the two combine easily into one trip. Read our Ypsilanti guide →

Grosse Pointe: Lake St. Clair and a Grand Lakefront Estate

“Grosse Pointe” is actually five separate communities on Lake St. Clair: Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Woods and Grosse Pointe Shores. They are usually visited as one destination. The Edsel & Eleanor Ford House, at 1100 Lake Shore Road in Grosse Pointe Shores, is the highlight. The Cotswold-style home was designed by Albert Kahn with landscaping by Jens Jensen, sits on 87 acres of lakefront grounds, and has been open to the public since 1978.

For shopping and strolling, head to The Village, a three-block retail district on Kercheval Avenue with more than 40 stores and businesses. Many of the Pointes’ waterfront parks are private and reserved for residents, so plan your lake access around nearby public options such as Lake St. Clair Metropark.

Good to know: Grosse Pointe Park borders Detroit and is connected to downtown by bus and by bike lanes on Jefferson Avenue. Read our Grosse Pointe guide →

Monroe: War of 1812 History and Lake Erie

Monroe sits on the western shore of Lake Erie, about 35 miles south of Detroit. River Raisin National Battlefield Park, managed by the National Park Service, preserves the site of the January 1813 battles of the War of 1812 and their aftermath, and admission is free. The visitor center explains the events, and the park hosts a commemoration each January.

The River Raisin Heritage Trail system links the battlefield, downtown Monroe and Sterling State Park, which is Michigan’s only state park on Lake Erie. Sterling has a sandy beach, a boat launch and camping, and the surrounding marshes and the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge make the area a good one for birding and fishing.

Good to know: Sterling State Park requires a Recreation Passport. The battlefield park does not charge admission. Read our Monroe guide →

Southeast Michigan Parks and Passes, Decoded

Visitors often assume one pass covers every park. In Southeast Michigan, three different systems apply, and a pass for one will not get you into the others. Michigan’s Recreation Passport covers state parks only, and the Metroparks say plainly that it does not allow entry to their parks.

About the Metroparks: The Huron-Clinton Metroparks include 13 parks across five counties, among them Lake St. Clair Metropark, with a boardwalk and a one-mile shoreline, and Lake Erie Metropark. Daily vehicle passes are $10, and resident and non-resident annual passes are sold separately. Some Michigan libraries lend free daily passes. Water parks, pools and boat rentals cost extra. Check metroparks.com for current pricing.

About the Recreation Passport: It grants vehicle entry to all 103 Michigan state parks and recreation areas. For 2026, the Michigan DNR lists the passport at $15 for Michigan-registered vehicles when added during license plate renewal. Out-of-state vehicles pay $42 for an annual pass or $12 for a day pass. You do not need one if you arrive on foot or by bicycle. Prices can change, so confirm on the Michigan DNR website.

Five Sample Southeast Michigan Itineraries

These routes are built around the places above. Check hours and seasonal schedules before you go.

A Classic Detroit Weekend

1. Day 1: Start at the Detroit Institute of Arts, then visit the Detroit Historical Museum or the Wright Museum nearby. In the afternoon, walk the Detroit RiverWalk.
2. Day 2: On a Saturday, begin at Eastern Market, then take the Dequindre Cut to the riverfront. Finish at Belle Isle, or tour Michigan Central Station. Add the Motown Museum on either day.

Auto History and Innovation (Dearborn and Detroit)

1. Day 1: Spend the day at The Henry Ford, splitting your time between the museum and, in season, Greenfield Village.
2. Day 2: Take the Ford Rouge Factory Tour, then visit the Arab American National Museum in downtown Dearborn. Finish with Michigan Central Station in Detroit.

Two College Towns (Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti)

1. Day 1: Walk the University of Michigan campus, visit the Museum of Art, then stroll the Arb and Kerrytown.
2. Day 2: Spend the morning in Ypsilanti’s Depot Town and Automotive Heritage Museum, then head to the Yankee Air Museum.

Small Downtowns and a State Park (Plymouth, Northville and Maybury)

1. Morning: Start in Plymouth at Kellogg Park and the Plymouth Historical Museum.
2. Midday: Walk Northville’s downtown and Mill Race Historical Village.
3. Afternoon: Hike or bike at Maybury State Park, or visit Maybury Farm.

Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair

1. Option A (Monroe): Tour River Raisin National Battlefield Park, then ride or walk the heritage trail to Sterling State Park for the beach and birding.
2. Option B (Lake St. Clair): Tour the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, stroll The Village, then spend the afternoon at Lake St. Clair Metropark.

If It Rains

Southeast Michigan is strong on indoor options: the Detroit Institute of Arts and Detroit’s other museums, The Henry Ford in Dearborn, the University of Michigan museums in Ann Arbor, the Ypsilanti museum cluster, the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House and Meadow Brook Hall.

When to Go: A Season-by-Season Planner

Getting to and Around Southeast Michigan

• By air: Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) serves the region and is about 20 minutes from Dearborn.
• By train: Amtrak’s Wolverine runs between Chicago and Pontiac with stops in Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Detroit, Royal Oak and Troy. At Detroit, it connects with the QLINE streetcar. Check Amtrak for current schedules.
• In Detroit: The QLINE runs along Woodward Avenue, and the Detroit People Mover loops downtown. A car makes the suburbs and parks much easier to reach.
• By road: I-75 links Monroe, Detroit and Oakland County, and the battlefield park in Monroe is just off I-75 at exit 15. I-94 and I-96 run east-west through the region, with I-696 crossing the northern suburbs.
• Across the border: Windsor, Ontario sits just across the Detroit River. Check current U.S. and Canadian border requirements before you go, and bring a valid passport or other approved travel document.

Southeast Michigan FAQ

What counts as Southeast Michigan?

SEMCOG defines it as seven counties: Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne. On InsideMichigan, we use that footprint but cover the Blue Water Area of St. Clair County in our Thumb guide.

What are the best things to do in Southeast Michigan?

Popular picks include the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Motown Museum, Belle Isle, Eastern Market, The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Ann Arbor’s campus and arboretum, the Detroit Zoo, Lake St. Clair Metropark and River Raisin National Battlefield Park.

Does the Recreation Passport work at the Metroparks?

No. The Huron-Clinton Metroparks are a separate regional park system and require their own vehicle pass. The Recreation Passport covers Michigan state parks such as Belle Isle Park, Maybury State Park and Sterling State Park.

Is the Detroit Zoo in Detroit?

No. It is in Royal Oak, at 8450 West 10 Mile Road.

Can I visit Southeast Michigan without a car?

Partly. Amtrak serves Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Detroit, Royal Oak and Troy, and the QLINE and People Mover cover parts of downtown Detroit. Suburbs, Metroparks and smaller towns are much easier with a car.

How far is Ann Arbor from Detroit?

By Amtrak Wolverine, the trip between Ann Arbor and Detroit takes about an hour. Plymouth sits roughly between the two.

Can I visit Windsor, Canada from Detroit?

Yes, but you need valid travel documents such as a passport. Requirements change, so check official U.S. and Canadian border agency guidance before you travel.

When is the best time to visit Southeast Michigan?

There is a good reason to visit in every season: festivals and beaches in summer, cider mills and fall color in autumn, and ice sculptures and holiday lights in winter. Check event dates before you book.

How is Southeast Michigan different from West Michigan?

Southeast Michigan is urban and suburban, centered on Detroit and Ann Arbor, with Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie on its edges. West Michigan is organized around the Lake Michigan shoreline. See our West Michigan guide and Southwest Michigan guide.

Keep Planning

• West Michigan: Beaches, Dunes and Lakeshore Towns
• Southwest Michigan: Dunes, Beach Towns, Kalamazoo and Wine Country
• Best U-Pick Blueberry Farms in Michigan by Region
• The Thumb Travel Guide
• All Michigan Destinations

Sources and Further Reading

We build these guides from official and primary sources wherever possible. Details like hours, prices and festival dates change, so confirm them with the sources below before you go.

• Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG)
• Michigan DNR: Recreation Passport
• Huron-Clinton Metroparks: Passes and FAQ
• National Park Service: River Raisin Heritage Trail
• Recreation.gov: River Raisin National Battlefield Park
• Amtrak