Belle Isle Beach — Attraction in Detroit

My girls had fun at the beach, however, there was construction everywhere and it was bumper to bumper driving throughout the whole place. It was completely packed, I assume because they weren't using the toll booths and it was free to get in. It took at least half an hour to find somewhere to park close enough to the beach.

The ground was littered with garbage, even on the beach. My 3 year old stepped on an old pop can that cut her foot while playing in the sand.

The bathrooms were.....a horrying experience. Bring some sort of baby wipes with you!! There were only 2 bathrooms near the beach. Both of which were unisex and only had one toilet, so the lines were extremely long. Of course my 3 year old can't hold it for very long and even in a line with all adults, no one offered for her to let her move towards the front. (However, I do realize this is not the responsiblity of Bell Isle, speaks volumes for the type of people there. As well as why she even had to hold it for 20 minutes in the first place) the doors were propped open because there are not any lights in the bathrooms. There is just a half wall between the toilet and the door. So as you use the bathroom you can hear a bunch of drunk people outside yelling to hurry up. The floor was wet with puddles of some sort of liquid (water or something else, I'd rather not think about it) and there was no toilet paper either. The toilet itself was covered in urine. No actual seat on it either, just the bowl. All of which made it extremely difficult to take my little one potty without her being able to "hover". There was soap though, thankfully. It was just absolutely disgusting.

There were drunk people everywhere, but luckily state police were too, so it made us feel more safe.

My girls were looking forward to the water slide but they were closed and it appears the pool and slides haven't been open in a long time. The water in the pool was greenish brown. So that was a bummer.

All in all, my husband and I may have been frustrated and shaking our heads at some things but from a kids perspective they had a blast. They don't notice the drunks acting a fool everywhere and they don't give much thought to the litter on the ground. They just enjoyed being at the beach and swimming in the water (which was probably the cleanest thing there) and having alot of other kids to make friends with. At the end of the day, that's what really matters anyways.

They should really hire people to keep the park clean and reopen the pool and water slides. They would end up making a lot more money...

Note: the following review is for the beach area only and does not reflect on the other great things that Belle Isle offers.

Belle has become quite the summer day attraction for so many people! Something to understand about it though is this: while it is absolutely a family friendly experience, because of the more recent recreational laws that Michigan has, the people who went over there to "chill" before it became a state park with entry fees are still there doing their thing. The beach area is great and always packed with people tanning, playing in the sand and barbecuing. The farther from the water you get, the more drinks and smokes you'll find. Some areas have it going on less than others. The last two, maybe three times we've visited, the island has been shut off to vehicle traffic due to maxing out the capacity so if you choose to go on a sunny weekend, make sure you get there by noon or so. Even at that time, you're looking to have a walk...

Very nice and peaceful since the state took over and set strick rules for the roundy young generation lol a lot of State Police presence. Also they added Grand Prix extra bonus. Would be amazing if they have concession stands in the summer to buy food or add a splash water park for Kids. They started manning the entrance now so I had to pay 😳 only had my credit card so I had to drive out to atm to get cash couldn't find white building to pay by card but once I stopped in gas station and came back a different young lady said I also had the option to pay for a year round park pass that comes like a sticker tab for $11 so I did that very convenient since I did not pay for it at the...