Bringing Up North To Downtown At The DNR's Outdoor Adventure Center

Southfield (CW50) - Located on Detroit's riverfront in the historic Globe Building, with the Dequindre Cut trail running through its backyard, the Outdoor Adventure Center has given people a taste of Michigan's great outdoors inside the city of Detroit since 2015. The historic Globe Building sat on the corner of Dequindre Cut and the Railroad in 1892, as a manufacturer of marine steam engines for freight and passenger vessels.

Today, it is home to the Outdoor Adventure Center, a space to experience exciting outdoor adventures with hands-on activities, exhibits and simulators -- walk behind and touch a waterfall, step into a fishing boat and reel in a big fish, hit the trail on a mountain bike or snowmobile, and much more. At the OAC, you'll learn about how the DNR manages state parks, forests, wildlife and fish as you climb the roots and explore the canopy of a massive bur oak tree, hop aboard a real airplane, and see what's swimming in their aquarium.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Outdoor Adventure Center has kept its doors closed while providing virtual learning programs and partnerships with the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy to host three outdoor fishing events on the river.

Linda Walter, Director of the DNR Outdoor Adventure Center, joins Lisa Germani on Community Connect to talk about the importance of having an outdoor center in the heart of Detroit and what the center has added to its space and programming over the last few years.

The Outdoor Adventure Center will reopen on July 16th, with Walter announcing the date of reopening during the recording of this weekend's Community Connect!

Watch Community Connect, Saturday at 7am on CW50