Best Day Trips From Detroit

Let's face it: there's not much better than living in Metro Detroit in the summer time. Between the beautiful weather, tons of activities and sports within the city, and time spent with family and friends, it's a veritable paradise. But every once in a while, it's important to get out and take a quick detour from your everyday life. Of those occasions, a speedy day trip from within the Motor City can do wonders. Here's the best places to catch a fast break from the action of the city, whether it's just outside the city, or a little further out into southeastern Michigan.

Belle Isle Disc Golf Course
2334 Oakway
Detroit, MI 48207
(248) 494-3656
www.discgolfscene.com

One of the hottest summer sports in the country is disc golf - a version of golf, complete with long links, drives, and holes - that is all played with a Frisbee-like disc that golfers try to land in a "hole," or a pin, has taken Detroit by storm. To accommodate the flourish of new individuals interested in this sport, Belle Isle, a summer oasis, is now a perfect day trip for anyone interested in trying out disc golf. Not just for children, disc golf has been known to present a fun challenge for players of all ages.

The Detroit Zoo
8450 W. 10 Mile Road
Royal Oak, MI 48067
(248) 541-5717
www.detroitzoo.org

Just north of the city, in Royal Oak, is one of the country's best zoos. Since 1883, the Detroit Zoo has offered families and individuals the best chance at seeing some of the most interesting animals in America. With many different exhibits, including the Arctic Ring of Life exhibit, which showcases polar bears and other polar life, to the brand new Polk Family Penguin Conservation Center, which will become the world's largest structure dedicated to the study of penguins when it opens this year in 2015.

Heidelberg Project
3600 Heidelberg St.
Detroit, MI 48207
(313) 974-6894
www.heidelberg.org

A lot has been said about the Heidelberg Project in Detroit, but all who have been there can agree: seeing it is a trip within itself. Taking a day to travel to the area and just absorb all of the beautiful art and creations that so many people have made throughout the years is a stunning thing to see. Sadly, some of the Heidelberg Project has suffered from vandals and arson in recent years, but officials for the project are quick to turn it around and build from the ashes, much along the lines of Detorit's city motto: "We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes." A perfect way to spend a day in the Motor City (and always free!)

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Lake Shore Drive Through The Grosse Pointes
17147 Maumee Ave.
Grosse Pointe, MI 48230
(313) 885-5800
www.grossepointecity.org

Right within Wayne County, immediately adjacent to the City of Detroit, is one of the area's most beautiful residential communities around. Grosse Pointe, though nearly attached to the Motor City, is pretty much a world all of its own, benefiting from generations of financially-secure landowners and some of Metro Detroit's richest crowds. There are technically five "Grosse Pointes": Park, City, Farms, Shores, and Woods. Along Jefferson Avenue, by the banks of the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair, so much of this elegant coastline goes unseen by many Detroiters (many of whom may not have been wanted in the area), but public lands are now open and this splendid scenery is available to all. It offers families and friends the perfect opportunity to spend some time along the beautiful waters that line Detroit.

Port Huron
2842 Pine Grove Ave.
Port Huron, MI 48060
(810) 984-9790
www.porthuron.org

Stretching for seven miles along the coast of Lake Huron and the St. Clair River, Port Huron is one of southeastern Michigan's most beautiful port towns. Much of the area is quite old and many historic elements of its days as a real port down along the Great lakes still remain. For a day trip from Detroit, Port Huron is a very short drive and has plenty of wonderful restaurants and all sorts of great sights to see, many from the days of Michigan's storied past. Plus, it's always fun to look just yards over to a whole different country and wave to our Canadian friends!

Related: Best Art Walks In Metro Detroit

Michael Ferro is freelance writer and a graduate of Michigan State University where he majored in Creative Writing and received the Jim Cash Creative Writing Award. Born and bred in Detroit, he currently resides in Ypsilanti Township. Additional writing can be found at Examiner.com.