MotorCities National Heritage Area
No admission feeFederally designated heritage region across southeast Michigan telling the story of the American automobile industry.
Transit: reachable by public transit

Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
A downtown Detroit public square known as the city's central gathering spot, with a seasonal ice rink, a summer beach, and outdoor dining.
Detroit, MI
Campus Martius Park sits in central Downtown Detroit and serves residents, workers, and visitors as a common meeting place. The Downtown Detroit Partnership, which manages the park, says USA Today ranked it as the top public square in the country in 2024. The park opened in 2003 on the spot the city treats as its zero-mile point, where Augustus Woodward's street plan of 1805 was first laid out. Its seasonal draws include an outdoor skating rink that runs from November through March, a summer beach open from May through October, a heated two-story lounge overlooking the rink, and a seasonal outdoor dining spot. The park also hosts holiday tree lighting and many scheduled events. The pages reviewed do not give a general park admission price, so this entry lists no cost band.
The closest stops to Campus Martius Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
Federally designated heritage region across southeast Michigan telling the story of the American automobile industry.
Transit: reachable by public transit
Right next doorSwitch it up: Sightseeing
A downtown Detroit urban garden run by The Greening of Detroit, focused on pollinator habitat and community programs.
Steps awayMore like this
A 25-story hotel on the site of Detroit's 1701 French fort, with angled bay windows looking over the river and the city.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Stay
A riverside walking and biking path in downtown Detroit with parks, a carousel and views across the water to Canada.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.3 mi awayMore like this
Play slots and table games and stay in a 30-floor hotel tower in Detroit's Greektown neighborhood.
0.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Nightlife
An island park in the Detroit River with an aquarium, a conservatory, a beach, a marble lighthouse and a 5.4-mile loop.
Transit: reachable by public transit
3.1 mi awayMore like this