HandleBar: #1 Things To Do In Detroit

Things to do in Detroit #1:  Kayak the Detroit River

• There is a lot more to the Detroit River than looking at the Ren Cen or peering over at Canada!  No one in the city knows the water better than Missy over at Detroit Outpost.  You can go on one of their group rides (we love the sunset paddle!) or you can hit her up and take a custom/private ride here
• Be a tourist in your own city!  It’s unreal how few people have actually checked out the area around Belle Isle on the water.  You can get some really cool views from a Kayak that you would never be able to get from a larger boat as well.  (Check the pics pics & pics!)
• Pricing per person is around $40 and totally worth it!  You can do it as a group or a romantic trip with your significant other.  Either way, if you’re looking for things to do in detroit this should be on your list!

Things to do in Detroit #2: Visit a Downtown Park

• Campus Martius is absolutely gorgeous and located right in the middle Woodward Ave downtown.  They have a beach, a beach bar, a fine dining restaurant, a beautiful fountain and an open grassy area that movies and events take place on.  Even if all you do is walk though it, we highly recommend stopping by Campus Martius Park.
• Beacon Park seems like they’re always having some sort of big party or activation.  A list of their events is here.  It also has an awesome bar/restaurant located in the park.  The outdoor seating and patio on the roof of the restaurant are a must on any list of things to do!  Next door to the park is a beautiful building that resembles a castle (also known as the GAR building).  In that building are a couple of great spots to grab a bite or have a drink, Republic Tavern and Parks and Rec. Diner.
• Hart Plaza is 2 blocks from Campus Martius and right on the Detroit River.  Aside from the excellent views of Canada and the water there are also some great art (Michigan Labor Legacy Monument & Horace E. Dodge Memorial Fountain
• The cost to visit any of these parks is FREE.  You can easily walk to every one of these parks in a single afternoon!  Get outside and enjoy the nice weather while it lasts!

Things to do in Detroit #3: Checkout a local Distillery or Brewery

Detroit is home to the first micro brewery in the state of Michigan.  In the last few years though, Detroit has become a mecca of craft alcohol.  Breweries, Distilleries and even wineries can be found all over the city.  Most have outdoor patios and you can make an entire day exploring the city while you check them out.  Detroit is a huge city, area wise, and is made up of several different parts of town.  To make things easier we’ll break them out by locations in the city.

• Rivertown:  The largest and one of the best Microbreweries in the city is Atwater Brewery. (Our favorite beer is their Dirty Blonde).  They’ve got a ton of options though including one option for every different type of beer you could ever hope to find.  If you’re s sports fan they even have a good lawnmower style Triple Double Lager that they collab’d with The Pistions on.  If beer isn’t your thing they also make their own Hard Seltzer & Spirits as well.  They do have a second location in southeast michigan as well.  Just 15mins north of downtown in Grosse Pointe they’ve got a taproom that is gorgeous as well.
• Eastern Market:  It’s the largest outdoor market in the entire country. Eastern Market itself is awesome and full of murals (by far the best in the city) so if you ever go up there it’s worth budgeting some time to check out the neighborhood as well.  Eastern Market Brewing is somewhat new to the game, opening in 2017, but definitely one of our favorites.  We love their ownership (Tell Dayne we said whaddup!) and while all the beers are good our favorite is the Cusp, cracking in at 7.2%.   If the hard stuff is more up your alley you can pop over to  The Whiskey Factory or  Detroit City Distillery to taste some of the best spirits we’ve ever had.  If you’re into wine you have to at least pop into Detroit Vineyards.  At Detroit Vineyards, they craft premium wines, ciders and meads using local fruit and quality winemaking practices.  Believe it or not, everything they sell is fermented, crushed, destemmed, pressed, racked and bottled right in Detroit’s Eastern Market.
• Midtown:  Midtown has the most options in one area if you’re trying to stick to one neighborhood and just walk between them.   All within a block you can hit Jolly Pumpkin (known for their sours), Motor City Brewing Works (known for their Ghetto Blaster, but our favorite is the sopla fuego pizza!), or Traffic Jam and Snug (Michigan’s first ever micro brewery).   After you hit those you can also walk less than a block to Hopcat and sample beer from across the state.  Only a few blocks directly south on 2nd street you can pop into the Founders taproom, which is Michigan’s largest brewery. Founder’s has an awesome patio with fire pits and their sandwiches are killer.
• Corktown: Batch Brewing Company is awesome and their owner Stephen is one of our favorites.  I can’t single out a favorite beer, but you MUST try their chicken nachos.  One of the spots people don’t always know about is Brew Detroit.  It’s 68,000 sq. ft and their taproom is huge!  They make beer for a lot of your favorite breweries, but also do their own stuff.  If you want to dabble into a cocktail Two James Spirits is an awesome distillery right in the heart of Detroit’s oldest neighborhood, Corktown.
• Downtown: Detroit Beer Company has been a staple on Broadway street for years.  They’ve also just recently finished the 2nd floor so if you’ve got a big group this is a great spot.

Things to do in Detroit #4: Bike or Walk on a City Path

• The Riverfront has become more popular over the years since they re-paved everything.  I still don’t feel like enough people really know how nice it is though.  The views are beautiful and
  • If you don’t have a bike, you can rent a bike for 2 hours for under $15 at Wheelhouse Detroit.  You can also pick up a MoGo and get unlimited 30min rides for the day.
  • At the north end of the riverwalk it’s a perfect excuse to check out the largest microbrewery in Detroit, Atwater Brewery.  Their taproom has been redone and they have a gorgeous view of detroit from their rooftop patio.
  • At the south end of the riverwalk Motor City Brew Tours does beer tasting tours on The Detroit Princess so if you were looking to get out on the water maybe that’s your excuse.
• Dequindre Cut is an awesome ~3 mile path accessible only to bike/walking traffic.  There are separate lanes for bikes and walking.  It was previously part of the Grand Trunk railway and we couldn’t be more happy that it was turned into a pedestrian path in 2009.
  • It connects the east riverfront to Eastern Market and several of the neighborhoods inbetween.   The Cut is a newly paved trail and the views of graffitti and the city are hard to match.  It’s also great people watching because the trails are usually occupied by locals and visitors alike.
  • The murals along the path are cool to check out.  Check out the main murals here.  Many are great opportunities to spruce up your Instagram or Facebook account 🙂
  • Grab a drink from the nationally famous Beas Squeeze Lemonade.  If you haven’t heard of it, a local Detroit couple bought a patch of grass along the path and built a lemonade stand.  They had to devise a pully system in order to reach customers, but it’s pretty cool (and kind of funny) if you haven’t seen it.  Love the entrepreneurial spirit!
• Belle Isle recently became a state park and is an awesome place to visit via bicycle.  The bridge between Detroit and Belle isle is an AWESOME ride and there is a big loop you can do along the island.   There is a beach, an aquarium, a yacht club and some of the most amazing views of Detroit, especially at sunset.  Check out a map here.

• If this seems like too much for you to explore on your own you should consider a tour with RiDetroit.  They have a fleet of electric bicycles so you can cover a crazy distance without much effort.  The coolest part is your tour guide will be a guy who knows more about Detroit than anyone else we know.  Jason Hall created the largest bicycle ride in the world, Slow Roll, and now shows off the city he loves via bicycle.  Ohh and did we mention he’s a retired HandleBar driver ?  If you go this route tell Jay we said whaddup!

Things to do in Detroit #5: Tour Detroit from your barstool with a HandleBar Tour!

• Until you do the HandleBar it would be easy to think we’re similar to a party bus.  Once you’ve been on a tour though you quickly realize that being outside in the open air is a big draw to the experience.  With the COVID-19 shutdown in the rearview mirror we feel lucky to be a business that operates outside in the open air so that we can operate safely.
• You’ll be pedaling and waving at passerbys in traffic and walking on the street while you checkout all the awesomeness of downtown.  Going around 5mph allows you to take in things that you’d never stop to notice going at a normal 30+mph.  Combine that with the fact that you can bring your own drinks/food & play your own music it’s a great way to enjoy the outdoors.