Detroit River

The Detroit River is an international river and strait. It flows west and south for about 28 miles from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie in the Great Lakes system and forms part of the border between Michigan and Ontario. It separates the Detroit and Windsor metropolitan areas. The river is 0.5 to 2.5 miles wide and 53 feet deep at its deepest point, in the northern portion. It drops only about 3 feet along its length and has no dams or locks. Its average discharge is about 190,000 cubic feet per second. The entire American side lies in Wayne County, with Grosse Pointe Park, Detroit, River Rouge, Ecorse, Wyandotte, Riverview, Trenton and Gibraltar along the shore. Grosse Ile is the largest of its islands. The river is one of the world's busiest waterways.

Public launches on the Michigan shore include Riverside Park in Detroit, Dr. H. Belanger Park in River Rouge (a City of River Rouge park), Ecorse Municipal Ramp, Wyandotte Municipal Ramp, Reid Ramps, Elizabeth Park and Harrison Ave near Trenton, and a carry-in site at Riverbank Drive. State local watercraft controls set slow-no-wake zones that differ by city. Within Detroit the zones reach 200 feet from shore, or 400 feet along designated stretches. A no-wake rule also covers the channel north of Belle Isle, and Detroit waters have a 40 mph speed limit. The no-wake distance is 1,000 feet from shore in Trenton, Grosse Ile Township and designated zones off Ecorse and Wyandotte, and 500 feet in Gibraltar.

Industrial pollution once left the river unsafe for recreation. After restoration work, walleye, perch and bass are again thriving. The river was named an American Heritage River in 1998 and a Canadian Heritage River in 2001. Much of the lower river lies within the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, established in 2001.