River Rouge Gateway Trail Parking Temporarily Closed

DEARBORN, MI — Parking for the Rouge River Gateway Trail will be closed temporarily at the trailhead on Michigan Avenue.

The public parking lot, which is west of Evergreen and east of the Andiamo restaurant on Michigan Avenue, will be closed for a couple weeks as of July 20 as the trail undergoes enhancements.

Parking for the Rouge River Gateway Trail will be closed temporarily at the trailhead on Michigan Avenue.

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The public parking lot, which is west of Evergreen and east of the Andiamo restaurant on Michigan Avenue, will be closed for a couple weeks as of July 20 as the trail undergoes enhancements.

The trail will be extended one-fourth mile from the existing trailhead. It will stretch behind the restaurant on an elevated boardwalk, past the west restaurant parking lot, and continue along the wooded tree line through the Dearborn Historical Museum property.

Trail-goers can find alternative parking at the Amtrak train station on Michigan Avenue across from the trailhead; the Dearborn Historical Museum at Brady and Michigan Avenue; Ford Field Park on Brady, north of Michigan Avenue; or in the public spaces on the campuses of Henry Ford College and University of Michigan - Dearborn.

The enhancement to the trail is made possible by a grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, a grant from Michigan Department of Transportation and city contributions.

Thousands of walkers and bicyclists have used the 2.16-mile paved trail since it was first created in 2005. It wends through natural areas on the banks of the Rouge River and includes two attractive pedestrian bridges. It also runs through the campuses of UN-Dearborn and Henry Ford Collage.

Along the route, visitors pass the Henry Ford Estate, Environmental Interpretive Center and extensive picturesque natural areas including a 300-acre mixed-habitat Environmental Study Area; habitats that include one of the few remaining climax beech-maple forests in southeastern Michigan; and the Rouge River Bird Observatory.

More than 250 species of birds have been spotted in this longest-running full-time urban bird research station in North America.

The trail system, open daily dawn to dusk, includes land owned by Wayne County and City of Dearborn parklands. It also connects with the bike path on Edward Hines Park, north of Ford Road, and goes on to Northville, for a total of 19 miles.

Image credit: City of Dearborn