Things to Do in Metro Detroit This Summer

While we like to spend the summer months wiling away hours on our patio, the areas surrounding the Moose Preserve offer incredible entertainment from family-friendly festivals to . Next time you’ve been in to see us, check out some local attractions afterward.

Birmingham Fair

Celebrating its 58th year, the Birmingham Fair marks the unofficial start of summer. Being held June 1-4, 2023, in Shain Park in downtown Birmingham, Michigan, the fair features carnival rides, games and food, and it benefits more than 15 local nonprofits.

Mini-Golf at Cranbrook Art Museum

By far the closest activity on the list, Cranbrook Art Museum is just a jot south on Woodward Avenue. While the museum is a great yearround attraction, we’re really digging Cranbrook on the Green, their artist-designed mini-golf course that’s open Wednesday through Sunday, May 24–September 3, 2023.

Cranbrook House & Gardens

You can’t visit Cranbrook (to mini golf or otherwise) without stopping to admire the gorgeous gardens. While there are acres of foliage to take in, the pièce de résistance is the showstopping Sunken Garden, located directly next to Cranbrook House. Looking for even more to see and do around Cranbrook? They offer lunch and guided tours of the house throughout the summer.

Frank Lloyd Wright Affleck House

Perhaps we spoke too soon; this must-see architectural gem is actually even closer to the Moose Preserve than Cranbrook. Finished in 1941 in Wright’s Usonian style for Gregor S. and Elizabeth B. Affleck, the house is now used by Lawrence Tech and the College of Architecture and Design as an educational resource, to inspire new generations of architects, and offer seasonal monthly tours. Plan to work up an appetite oggling this midcentury modern marvel, and then head up Woodward for lunch at the Moose Preserve.

Bowers School Farm

This unexpected patch of rural living is smack dab in the middle of Bloomfield Hills. Owned by the Bloomfield Hills Public School District since the 60s, Bowers School Farm is an agrarian dreamland for kids and kids at heart. Plan your visit in advance as the farm has special summer hours as well as seasonal events that you’ll want to consider before stopping in.

Deanna Reyes