The Detroit Riverwalk became continuous on October 25, 2025, with the opening of a new extension west of Riverfront Towers that links the existing path to Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park. From Gabriel Richard Park, just east of the MacArthur Bridge to Belle Isle, you can now walk, jog, bike, or roller skate roughly 4.75 miles west to the edge of Wilson Park without leaving the path.
The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy ran the project. The extension required negotiating easements with three private property owners on the parcel just west of the former Joe Louis Arena site. Two of those segments had been complete for some time.
The third, plus a new boardwalk, came online with the Wilson Park opening. The Riverwalk's eastern terminus is Gabriel Richard Park. Its western terminus is Wilson Park, with on-street parking on Jefferson and Rosa Parks Boulevard for visitors.
The Conservancy's full vision is 5.5 miles of continuous riverfront, eventually reaching the Ambassador Bridge. The October opening puts the system at almost five. The path connects, via the new Southwest Greenway, to Michigan Central Station through the Bagley Mobility Hub at Wabash and Bagley.
From Michigan Central, the route ties into the Joe Louis Greenway. In practice, you can now ride a bicycle from Belle Isle to Hamtramck without driving on a road for the majority of the trip. The Riverwalk has been voted best in the country by USA Today's 10Best three years in a row.
It opened in pieces over the past two decades. The Mt. Elliott Park section.
The Dequindre Cut. The Uniroyal Promenade. The Robert C.
Valade Park reach. The expansion through the former Free Press parcel, where Wilson Park now sits. The Conservancy went through a difficult 2024.
Former CFO William Smith pleaded guilty late that year to stealing at least $44.3 million from the nonprofit over twelve years. The Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan stepped in with a $35 million fund to finish the park and other downtown riverfront work. The Wilson Foundation backed the rest.
New CEO. New CFO. New auditors.
Continuous riverfront access, west to east, was the goal from the beginning. Detroit Riverwalk, eastern terminus at Gabriel Richard Park
