Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park opens, completing the western Riverwalk

Detroit's newest waterfront park opened to the public on Saturday, October 25, 2025. The 22-acre Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park sits at 1801 W. Jefferson Avenue, between 8th Street and Rosa Parks Boulevard, on ground that was the West Riverfront Park before its 2018 renaming. The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy opened the gates after a 10 a.m. ceremony and turned the weekend into a relocated, free Harvest Fest.

The site carries the name of the late Buffalo Bills owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation committed $40 million toward construction and another $10 million toward the riverfront's long-term upkeep, part of a larger parks and trails initiative the foundation announced in 2018 to mark the 100th anniversary of Wilson's birth, according to the foundation's own announcement.

New York firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates designed the park, the same studio behind Brooklyn Bridge Park. The Conservancy lays the grounds out in four named zones. The Delta Dental Play Garden, roughly five acres, centers on oversized animal climbing structures and a bear slide. The Huron-Clinton Metroparks Water Garden, about two and a half acres, runs winding paths past willow trees, a dock, and a bridge with engineered sightlines to the river. The William Davidson Sport House holds two regulation indoor basketball courts for year-round play. The DTE Foundation Summit is a sloped lawn built for warm-weather events and, in winter, sledding.

The plantings are heavily native. The Conservancy counts 967 trees, 2,413 shrubs, and close to 39,000 perennials and grasses across the grounds, many grown specifically for the project.

The larger significance is the connection. A new stretch of Riverwalk also opened in October, linking the existing path at Huntington Place west to Wilson Park. With that gap closed, the Conservancy says the Detroit Riverwalk now runs continuously for about 4.75 miles, from Gabriel Richard Park near the MacArthur Bridge to Wilson Park on the west side of downtown.

"Ralph Wilson Park will open as one of the most iconic public spaces in the country and will represent a massive step towards the completion of our vision for 5.5 miles of perpetual public access to our revitalized riverfront," Matt Cullen, chairman of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy board, said in the Conservancy's announcement. Ryan Sullivan, the Conservancy's CEO, called it "a world-class gathering place for all."

For visitors, the practical details: the park is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, the same window as the rest of the riverfront, with the Play Garden closing at 9 p.m. and the Sport House running 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. There are about 150 free on-street spaces along Jefferson and Rosa Parks, and roughly 1,000 spaces total within a ten-minute walk, including the paid Bagley Mobility Hub on Wabash Street. Leashed dogs and cats are welcome. Fishing is allowed on a stretch of the west shoreline but not in the Water Garden.