Features this Month:

• Healthy Recipe: Crazy Crunchin' Tuna Salad
• Playing as a Family in the Great Outdoors
• So Much to Try, So Much to Experience!

Playing as a Family in the Great Outdoors

It's much easier to play every day now that the weather is beautiful! With the arrival of spring, we're eager to get outside and stretch our legs after a long winter hibernation. So get your family together for a day out at the park and enjoy the sunshine. Here are a few great local parks and greenways you can visit to enjoy the outdoors, hike and get some play in your day:

The Dequindre Cut Greenway - Downtown Detroit

The Dequindre Cut Greenway, an urban recreational path connecting the east riverfront with the Eastern Market district in downtown Detroit, will open to the public on Thursday, May 14 with a grand opening ceremony. While the bike path is already accessible, the grand opening ceremony will include activities and entertainment between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The 1.2-mile paved greenway was developed through a public, nonprofit and private partnership. The Dequindre Cut is part of a growing network of greenway paths developing around the city.

At more than 60 feet wide, the below-grade trail serves as a paved biking, walking and running path while still offering plenty of surrounding green space. It stretches from Woodbridge Street to Gratiot Avenue, 1.2 miles, with exit ramps at Lafayette Boulevard and Gratiot.

The Rouge River Gateway Greenway - Dearborn

The Rouge River Gateway Greenway trailhead starts on Michigan Avenue, in West Dearborn. With a maze of trails and walkways, you can hike on to several areas on the Henry Ford Estate or wind up at Hines Drive. A wonderful space to get ourdoors and hike, this area includes a range of fun things to explore (i.e. the Great Meadow, the Hidden Lake and the Red Bridge at the Rouge River) and boasts a variety of wildlife. Keep an eye out for birds such as Mallard ducks, Kingfishers, Canada Geese, Pied-billed Grebes, Wood Ducks, as well as turtles, and even deer.

The Detroit International Riverfront Area - Downtown Detroit

The Detroit International Riverfront is a planned 5 ½ miles of public waterfront, linked by a continuous RiverWalk and parks, plazas and green spaces. As of June 2007, more than 2 ½ miles of East Riverfront is open to the public, including:

• 1 ½ miles of RiverWalk from Joe Louis Arena to Rivard Street
• 1 ¼ miles of RiverWalk from Stroh's River Place at Joseph Campau Street to Mt. Elliot Park, as well as RiverWalk at Gabriel Richard Park
• Rivard Plaza and Pavilion, located at Rivard Street
• Gabriel Richard Park Plaza and Pavilion

Work continues by the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy and its public and private partners to complete the remaining portions of Riverfront. Enjoy Detroit's beautiful new Riverfront and stay tuned for more!

learn more about the Riverfront Area...

Tri-Centennial State Park - Downtown Detroit

As the first urban park in Michigan, the 31 acres carved out on the banks of the Detroit River offer a green oasis in the midst of downtown Detroit. The first phase of the park - the harbor - was opened to the public in 2004 and offers several covered picnic areas, shoreline fishing and a newly renovated 52-slip harbor. A 63-foot light tower marks the harbor entrance. It is a scaled-down replica of the recently-renovated lighthouse at Tawas Point State Park, originally built in 1876.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Parks & Recreation has already begun work on the second phase of development at the park. This phase will include a wetlands demonstration project, which will show how wetlands act as nature's water filtration system. Interpretative signs will explain how the wetland naturally cleans the water and then returns it to the Detroit River as clean water - without going to a wastewater treatment plant.

The RiverWalk will pass through the park in the area closest to the Detroit River, and a quiet, contemplative area with a memorial to Peter Stroh, a noted conservationist who, for 25 years, was a tireless advocate for the opening Detroit's waterfront the public, will be featured in part of the park. A bike path, with financial support from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), will lace through the area on the other side of the wetland. Fishing platforms are planned along the riverfront edge of the park.

learn more about Tri-Centennial State Park...

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