East Riverfront

Robert C. Valade Park is the newest park to open along the East Riverfront.   It features an expansive, sandy beach with chairs and umbrellas, a children’s musical garden, colorful play scapes for kids to climb on, a community barbecue pavilion and Bob’s Barge, which is Detroit’s only floating bar each summer.  The park is also home to The Shed, a 3,600-square-foot building that will be used for food, events and programming.  During winter Valade Park will feature over-sized outdoor fire places, hot drinks, marshmallow roasters, the Sled Shed (featuring free sleds when it snows), synthetic ice curling, and more.

Feeling Hungry? Enjoy takeout from great local small business Smokey G's Smokehouse, located at Robert. C. Valade Park. Smokey G's is open Thursday- Saturday from 11AM-8PM  and Sunday from 11AM - 6PM for carryout and delivery via web services. 

Bob's Barge is now closed for the season. The Shed Bar is still open for Winter at Valade at the hours listed below. 

Bar Hours 

• Friday 4-9pm
• Saturday 12-9pm 
• Sunday 12-7pm

Formerly known as Atwater Beach, the Robert C. Valade Park project has transformed an industrial site along the East Riverfront into an exciting park that people of all ages will enjoy. Most recently, the 3.2-acre parcel was used as a buoy storage yard and a cement factory.  The park completes a series of family-oriented parks along the East Riverfront, each located approximately a 10-minute walk from each other.  Robert C. Valade Park includes an important bridge along the RiverWalk, which connects Stroh River Place to Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, two of the most popular destinations along the riverfront.

The park’s official name celebrates native Detroiter and former Carhartt, Inc. Chairman and CEO Robert C. Valade, and is in recognition of a gift to the Conservancy from the Molly and Mark Valade Family Fund.

The project has been supported by a diverse group of leaders, including the William Davidson Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which selected the project as one its 2017 Knight Cities Challenge winners, the Walters Family Foundation, and the Mona and Richard Alonzo Fund. The Conservancy also received a grant for the project from Gannett/USA Today Network as part of the “A Community Thrives” initiative, which supports programs that positively impact local communities.

Robert C. Valade Park is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.  Parking is available across from the park in a gravel lot located at the corner of Atwater and Chene.  

Valade Park is not available for rentals, and use of the community grill area is first come first serve, you may not hold tables. There is no outside alcohol allowed at Valade Park, or on the Detroit RiverWalk. 

Learn more about Winter at Valade

As part of General Motors' renovation of the Renaissance Center for its world headquarters, GM created the GM Plaza and Promenade - a spectacular riverfront space that has quickly become a new city gathering spot and signature event venue.

The Fountains are a focal point for fun and frolic for kids both young and old to play in during the warm summer months. Step into the Ren Cen and enjoy a bite to eat at a variety of restaurants. There is something for everyone. Fine dining at two of the city's hottest restaurants - Andiamo Detroit Riverfront and Joe Muer Seafood  - or a more casual dining experience at Granite City Brewery, Potbelly or the Food Court. Stretch your legs after lunch or dinner with a nice stroll along the RiverWalk.

General Motors also generously donated the first 1/2 mile of the RiverWalk to the Conservancy.

Located in a former Parke Davis laboratory, Roberts RiverWalk Hotel is a recently renovated and historic upscale boutique hotel that features 106 elegantly appointed guestrooms, including six unique room types and tri-level Penthouse Suites.

Most guestrooms feature 12-foot high ceilings, spectacular Detroit River and Canadian views, executive workspace, fitness center, room service, complementary continental breakfast, free high-speed wireless internet, free parking, and free shuttle upon request.

In front of the Talon and Robert's RiverWalk Hotel properties, there was not enough land access to build the RiverWalk. So the Conservancy's team of engineers and architects built a pile-supported walkway out over the water, creating a beautiful boardwalk along the space.

Poised on the banks of the Detroit River near the heart of downtown Detroit, Stroh River Place is a 25-acre mixed-use campus development that brings together the best in business amenities and upscale living. . 

The Talon Office Center is a high quality office building with a beautiful view of the Detroit Riverfront. The building itself has been completely renovated.

Harbortown is a mixed use neighborhood comprised primarily of townhomes and condominiums. The area also includes the 18-story Spinnaker Tower, Harbortown apartments, a riverfront marina and a retail complex at its Jefferson Avenue entrance. In December 2015, Harbortown’s newest residences opened.  Waters Edge features 143 luxury apartments and is located along the picturesque RiverWalk.

The UAW-GM Center for Human Resources is the national headquarters for the partnership between the United Auto Workers and the General Motors Company. Primarily a training institution, students come from UAW-represented GM facilities across the country. The building features state-of-the-art classrooms, a specialized safety training facility, an auditorium and more. In addition to being among the first private organizations to develop public space along the riverfront, UAW-GM philanthropy promotes health, supports youth and education, nourishes the hungry and provides greater hope for those in need.

The Globe Building, one of the most recognizable structures along the east riverfront, has been transformed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources into the Outdoor Adventure Center (OAC). Located at William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor, the OAC gives visitors a taste of Michigan’s great outdoors in the heart of the city.

Visitors can experience exciting outdoor adventures with hands-on activities, exhibits and simulators; walk behind and touch a waterfall; climb the roots and explore the canopy of a massive bur oak tree; hop aboard a real airplane; walk across a suspension bridge; step into a fishing boat and reel in a big fish; hit the trail on a mountain bike or snowmobile, see fish native to Michigan in a giant aquarium and much more.

A little history on the former Globe Building:  The industrial complex began life in the late 1860s as the Dry Dock Engine Works, which employed a young Henry Ford as an apprentice. It was there that Ford apparently first became familiar with combustion engines. At the turn of the 20th century, the company was absorbed by the Detroit Shipbuilding Co. When the Detroit Shipbuilding Co. dissolved in the late 1920s, the former engine building plant was used by a stove manufacturer, the Detroit Edison Co., for appliance repair and finally the Globe Trading Company - a wholesale machinery firm.  It sat vacant for decades until work began transforming the building into the OAC.

For more information about the Outdoor Adventure Center, please click here to visit the DNR's website.

The second phase of the Milliken State Park opened on December 1, 2009 and includes a wetlands demonstration area which shows how wetlands act as nature's water filtration system. Interpretative signs explain how the wetlands naturally removes pollutants from the water and then returns it to the Detroit River as clean water - all without going to a wastewater treatment plant.

The beautifully landscaped Garden Rooms along the RiverWalk from GM Plaza to Cullen Plaza provide visitors with a quiet and contemplative place to relax while enjoying many pieces of urban art.

William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor boasts a 63-foot lighthouse, which is a scaled down replica of the recently renovated lighthouse at Tawas Point State Park, originally built in 1876. Tawas Point Lighthouse is the sole representative of a true Victorian-era style station built on the Great Lakes.