Summer time is the greatest opportunity to pack up a basket and dine al fresco as a family! Make dinner an outing and an experience as you picnic in one of these top places throughout Metro Detroit.

Waterfront View

Whether you want to get in the water or just enjoy the view, here are some great lake picnic locations.

• Detroit Riverfront (Detroit)
• Stepping Stones Falls (Flint)
• Pavillion Shore Park (Novi)
• Lake Erie Metropark (Brownstown)
• Central Park (Milford) 
• Crosswinds Marsh (New Boston)

Picture Perfect Setting

Bring the camera and snap some picnic pictures at these beautiful parks and gardens.

• Cranbrook House & Gardens (Bloomfield Hills)
• The Henry Ford House (Dearborn)
• Belle Isle State Park (Detroit) 
• Matthaei Botanical Gardens (Ann Arbor)
• Toledo Botanical Gardens (Toledo)

Farmtime Fun

Feed the kids and some farm animals when you have a picnic at the local petting farm.

• Heritage Park Petting Farm (Taylor)
• Domino Farms (Ann Arbor)
• Maybury Farm (Northville)
• Wolcott Mill Farm Center (Ray) 
• Hess-Hathaway Park (Waterford)
• Kensington Metropark Farm Center (Milford)

Admission Required

Pack a picnic and enjoy an afternoon of fun at these fun local attractions. Admission is required but if you’re a member it’s FREE!

• Edsel & Eleanor Ford House (Grosse Pointe Shores) 
• Greenfield Village (Dearborn)
• Detroit Zoo (Royal Oak) –
• Meadow Brook (Rochester)

Playground Picnic

Enjoy a meal and let them run off their energy just in time for bed at a super cool playground.

• Innovation Hills (Rochester)
• Scarlet’s Playground (Commerce)
• Booth Park (Birmingham)
• Plymouth Township Park (Plymouth)
• Palmer Park (Detroit)
• Bauervic Woods Park (Southfield)

Bonus – Midtown

A personal favorite not to be overlooked – the Detroit Institute of Arts. There is a creative picnic area along Woodward to sit and watch people, cars and ‘the train’ pass by in the city’s Cultural Center. Enjoy lunch and then explore the DIA, the Detroit Historical Museum, Michigan Science Center or the Charles H Wright Museum – they are located within a 10 minute walk of each other.

Photo credit: Ryan Southern Photography

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