Belle Isle Park

Belle Isle
Detroit, MI

Detroit's foremost park, designed by Olmsted, is actually a series of individual islands connected by lovely bridges.

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Why It Works

Belle Isle is the foremost park in the city of Detroit. Being an island, it is surrounded by the lovely water of the Detroit River, which is a strait connnecting Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie in the Great Lakes. Beautiful features, such as the Scott Fountain and the Conservatory, flock the island. The Detroit Yacht Club and the Belle Isle Casino are also present. Deer are present on the island, and "the island" itself is a series individual islands connected by lovely bridges. I feel that it is time that this little-known beauty be made available on a global scale.

What Makes Belle Isle Park a Great Place?

Roads and paths make Belle Isle easily accessible. The island is connected to mainland Detroit (U.S. side) by a lovely bridge, the MacArthur Bridge.

Belle Isle, while still looking lovely, has decayed somewhat, like most of the city. However, you can still see the natural and architectual beauty of the island, and great potential has always been present.

Just being a little piece of nature in the middle of a city makes it a great place. The spectacular view of the Detroit and Windsor skylines (Windsor is in Canada, opposite Detroit) make it lovely. You can watch freighters come in on the river, or watch yachts sail from the Detroit Yacht Club, also on the island. There is the Belle Isle Zoo, Conservatory, the lovely aquarium, a classic water park, beaches, a golf course, and many more things.

Belle Isle is a diverse place. While much of Detroit is African-American, the island is a very diverse place where people come to have a good time and relax from their pressured lives.

History & Background

Belle Isle was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the same landscape architect who designed Central Park in New York City.

Contact Info:

Detroit Recreation Department General Number: 313-224-1100

User Comments:

> Add your own comment about Belle Isle Park

09/26/03 Shaun Smakal said:: I don't think there could ever be a more lovely description of such a lovely park filled with so many lovely things written with such lovely words...

All joking aside, it's a disgrace that Belle Isle (as well as the rest of Detroit and its green spaces) has been allowed to fall into such disrepair. While cities like Boston and Seattle are seeking to revitalize their Olmsted parks and investing in the vision and public good set forth in their designs, Detroit is wallowing pitifully in its own neglect. Lovely indeed.
12/29/03 Katharine Boyda said:: Belle Isle holds a special place in my heart. When I was a youngster, my family spent many Sunday afternoons on this once-exquisite island. The buildings and landscaping created an urban oasis.

Belle Isle has been terribly neglected and is now a former shell of itself. The buildings, the landscaping, the hanging-out, not gathering of people, have made it a very unpleasant place to visit.

Our last trip to Belle Isle was a "Fright Night" experience. What a shame!
09/21/05 dave franklin said:: How can I know more about restauration of empty spaces in the city, like the transformation from a industrial space to a public park.
12/24/05 Pamela Harrison said:: I love Belle Isle Park or "the Island" as many of us call it. Day or night, winter, fall, spring, or summer, I make a trip over the bridge as often as my hectic lifestyle will allow. It is peaceful, scenic, and special to those of us who find the Island a new experience each time we visit. Crowds in the summer, walkers, bikers, lovers holding hands, families enjoying family picnics, etc., make the Island a place of diversity. Though the weather was only 38 degrees yesterday, a few days before Christmas, I was there. Belle Isle is a wonderful place worth visiting and making even better for generations to come.
09/08/08 charles jones said:: No one here mentioned the canoes one could rent on the island. I spent many saturdays and family and friends BBQ's on Belle Iwsland while growing up. My frinds and I always rented two or three canoes and went through the lagoons all day long. When we were almost back at the rental place, we would always tip each other over :-). What fun memories. OH!! I almost forgot, tha Aqauarium had a penguin house too that was awsome. I loved that place. I have lived in Germany over twenty years now and Detroit has truly decade to the point that I get a queezy stomach at times when I visit home, it is so sad :-(.