The Detroit Zoo just opened something worth the drive.
The Fred and Barbara Erb Discovery Trails is the largest project in the zoo's history. Seven acres along the southwest footprint. The first interactive experience in the zoo's run that lets patrons actually touch animals. The trails are open now, and the crowds that showed up opening weekend made clear that metro Detroit had been waiting for this one.
The build cost $49 million. Funding came from the state of Michigan, Detroit, Oakland County, the federal government, and private donors. The Erb name comes from Fred and Barbara Erb, whose family foundation has directed money toward health-focused and cultural work throughout the Great Lakes region. Detroit Zoological Society Executive Director and CEO Dr. Hayley Murphy described it as "a new zoo within the zoo," according to WXYZ 7 News Detroit.
The anchor attraction is Stingray Cove. It runs on a separate ticket, which the zoo says manages crowd size, reduces stress on the animals, and gives visitors something closer to an actual encounter than a shuffle-through. Two species of stingrays and two species of bamboo sharks share the pool.
Little Sprouts has rock-shaped formations and animal-shaped play equipment. The Canopy Trail and Treetop Crossing push kids up into the air. A Farmers Market play area handles the ground level. The design reads more like a park than a traditional exhibit — wide, walkable, built for families who plan to stay.
The barnyard section runs goats, alpacas, miniature donkeys, bush dogs, giant anteaters, burrowing owls, and prairie dogs, with varied pricing on certain encounters. Leslie Erb Liedtke, daughter of Fred and Barbara, said her parents believed children should connect with animals, nature, and the arts to develop curiosity, imagination, and an understanding of the world. The trails were built with that in mind.
Accessibility runs through the whole footprint. Paved ADA-compliant pathways, ADA-compliant restrooms, a motorized universal changing table, and sensory-friendly quiet spaces are woven throughout rather than bolted on at the edges.
The zoo sits in Huntington Woods, just over the Detroit border. Detroiters have claimed it as their own for generations. From downtown it's a straight shot up Woodward, under twenty minutes on a good day. Senior guest experience director Emily Crichton O'Hara called it "the best summer to come to the Detroit Zoo," per WXYZ 7 News Detroit.
Pre-purchased tickets are encouraged. Opening weekend parking filled fast.
8450 West Ten Mile Road, Royal Oak.
