| FORP & Rouge Park News: Welcome Jasmine Brown, our new Communication and Engagement Coordinator Rouge Park Master Plan Process Begins! Detroit Zoo Conservation Student Interns Enjoy Second Year in Rouge Park
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Upcoming Activities & Event - FORP Holiday Party, Tuesday Dec 16, 2026, 6-8pm
- Rouge Park Winterfest 2026
- Stewardship Workdays: Dec. 6,10, 13 & 18
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Updates & More:
- Rouge Park History: Brennan Pools
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Support the Friends of Rouge Park! |
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Nurture Wonder Growing Tomorrow’s Leaders in Rouge Park |
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Parks are powerful for connection, learning, and opportunity, especially for young people. Rouge Park, Detroit's largest park at 1,122 acres, is underutilized in its potential to encourage healthy lifestyles, provide connections to nature, support skill building and perhaps most important, to nurture curiosity! Let’s grow tomorrow’s leaders in Rouge Park- rooted in nature, guided by wonder!
Consider supporting our year end giving campaign to support youth programming in the park in 2026! |
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Please join us in welcoming Jasmine Brown to the FORP team! Jasmine, our new Communications and Engagement Coordinator, is passionate about trees, storytelling, and environmental justice and prioritizes connecting people to nature through story and history. Jasmine has worked with the U.S. Forest Service as a forestry technician and timber marker and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Forestry at Michigan State University where her work explores the historical relationships between African Americans and forests. She received a M.S. in Forest Ecosystems and Society from Oregon State University and a B.S. in Sustainable Forest Resources from the University of Connecticut. A native of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Jasmine’s love for Detroit blossomed through her involvement in Detroit Style Roller Skating. Jasmine is also involved in CrossFit, and enjoys walks with her dog. Jasmine is excited to support the future growth and visions of and for Rouge Park |
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Rouge Park Master Plan Process Begins! |
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The City of Detroit kicked off the process of developing a 10-15 year Master Plan for Rouge Park in September. A Master Plan is a process of creating a long-term vision for future development, management and improvements that can then be used to prioritize projects for funding. In the 23 years of Friends of Rouge Park, this is the first time that the City has created any specific plans for parks. A Master Plan for Farwell Park was completed in October, to be followed by Eliza Howell Park in February 2025. While a Master Plan does not come with funding for projects, the plan makes it far easier to move projects forward and find funders. Gathering community input is critical to the success of any Master Plan. What do you want to see in Rouge Park? The City’s General Services Department, under the direction of Chief Parks Planner Theresa McArleton, began the community engagement process by putting together an Advisory Committee and forming specific focus groups. Key elements driving the plan include: Community Priorities, Rouge Greenway, Traffic/Roads Assessment, Connectivity, Natural Features and Resources, and Past Planning Efforts. The next step will be an Online Public Survey (shared below), a Youth Design Event in January and a Community Open House in February. Please stay engaged, we need your input. Please fill out the Rouge Park Community Input Survey Here.
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Detroit Zoo Conservation Student Interns Enjoy Second Year in Rouge Park |
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The Detroit Zoo CSI program enables students to shadow professionals in various conservation fields, building relationships with experts at the Detroit Zoo and in their communities. This is the second year that these teens have been with us in Rouge Park. Visiting Rouge Park in three sessions, the youth met with Lead Steward Adele Hawkins and Program Coordinator Noor Ahmad in the prairie where they learned to identify prairie plants, collected seeds and discussed the importance of prairie habitat and fire management. In their second weekend, the interns hiked from Tireman north through the Mountain Bike area of Rouge Park to see the changing forest quality from some relatively old growth forest with an open floor into areas that were once cleared and thus full of invasive species. Afterward they helped remove invasive species along the Ma'iingan Wildwood Trail. They even requested to volunteer more hours on the trail for their final workdays in early December. |
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Tuesday Dec 16, 2026, 6-8pm Starters Bar & Grill, 18426 Plymouth Rd. (map)
You’re invited! Please join us to commune over a delicious meal and celebrate 2025: a year of growth, new relationships and expanded membership! Whether you have attended an event, volunteered with us or even shared our events with your network, we appreciate YOU as part of the Rouge Park FAMILY. During this Centennial Year, all of our efforts working together has paid off and put Rouge Park on the map as an essential park in Detroit that deserves amenities, funding and recognition. As the city’s Master Planning Process kicks into high gear early next year, your voice and engagement will make all the difference in expanding the potential of Rouge Park. Let us get together one last time before the end of the year to toast our successes and strengthen our community! We hope to see you there! Register Here |
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Rouge Park Winterfest 2026 |
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Winter Sports Area (Service Yard Drive between Spinoza and Lahser) map February 7, 12pm-4pm Some of us may not be the most excited about the cold weather but let's face it, we have at least 4 months of winter in Michigan and we may as well make the best of it! Humans have found many ways to stay warm and still have fun by being active and participating in winter activities. Join Friends of Rouge Park and our partner organizations: SOS Outreach, Detroit Outdoors and We Fixin' to Fish to participate in some WINTER FUN! Expect sledding, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, an ice-fishing demonstration, hot chocolate, smores and MORE! Come learn how to build a fire and take advantage of all the space for activities Rouge Park has to offer. Let's cross our fingers for some snow and maybe we’ll have a snowman building contest! More details and a flier coming soon!
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Join the Rouge Park Stewards for December Workdays! This month, we’re caring for the young fruit trees and forest trails that make Rouge Park special and we’d love your help. Weekday Workdays: Caring for the OrchardOver the past two years, together with The Greening of Detroit and the MSU Detroit Partnership for Learning and Innovation, we’ve planted more than 40 cherry trees, 20 pawpaw trees and a few persimmons in our new orchard. We’ve been pruning and protecting these young trees so that one day the whole community can enjoy their fruit. Our next step is weeding and mulching; simple but vital practices that help these trees thrive. Removing weeds reduces competition for nutrients, water, and sunlight, while mulch keeps the soil moist, protects roots, builds organic matter, and encourages healthy soil microbes and fungi. Come lend a hand, learn a little, and help these future fruit trees flourish! 🌱🍒 Weekday Dates & Locations Dec 10, 9am-12pm Cherry Orchard (Rouge Park Dr., south of Plymouth, north of Spinoza Dr.) map Dec 18, 9am-12pm Cherry Orchard (same location)
Sign up here Weekend Workdays: Building the Ma’iingan Wildwood TrailOn weekends, we’ll be working along the Ma’iingan Wildwood Trail, named in honor of Indigenous ornithologist and conservationist Etta S. Wilson. This restored trail, first opened in 1935, will weave through the southern section of Rouge Park, our highest-quality forest, following the river and connecting people with one of the most beautiful natural areas in the city. Our first weekend workday focuses on removing invasive species at a restored trail entrance near Tireman, where a natural stand of pawpaw trees grows along the river. We’ll be joined by youth from the Detroit Zoo Conservation Stewardship Internship Program. Our final weekend workday takes us to the Sugarbush entrance, where we’ll continue clearing invasive species along the forest edge ending the day with a bonfire! Weekend Dates & Locations Dec 6, 9am-12pm Pawpaw Ma’iingun Trail entrance (Spinoza Dr., just south of Tireman) Dec 13, 2pm-5pm Sugarbush (Outer Drive, south of Tireman, north of Warren)
Register Here |
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History of the Brennan Pools |
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The Great Depression stopped nearly all development of the new River Rouge Park in the 1930s. A few amenities from the original 1925 design plan had been built including the roads, bridges and the golf course. However, one other major development was also completed that was not in the plan, the Rouge Park Pools. Learn about the controversial history of this most popular Rouge Park attraction in this month's history blog here. |
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In honor of the centennial anniversary of Rouge Park, we've dedicated a page on our website to recognize our generous donors who have contributed $100 or more to support the Centennial Celebration. Their contributions help commemorate this milestone year and ensure the continued preservation of our beautiful park. Donations will be accepted throughout the year, and all donors will be acknowledged on this page as a heartfelt THANK YOU for their commitment to Rouge Park. |
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Click here to see the Edison Branch's December events. Edison Branch is now open on Saturdays but closed on Fridays. Hours: Mon. & Wed. 12-8pm, Tues., Thurs., & Sat. 10am-6pm
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We would LOVE your help in supporting the future of Rouge Park! |
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