Rouge Park campground to reopen this spring

Detroit’s largest park will soon see the return of something that’s been missing for over a decade—a campground.

The Scout Hollow campground is on a 17.4-acre plot near the Rouge River. Rouge Park spans 1,200-acres on Detroit’s west side, from Warren Avenue up to I-96 (by comparison, Belle Isle is 982 acres). Detroit Outdoors will renovate the land with the help of a $200,000 Kresge Foundation grant and a $20,000 Sierra Club grant.

The campground is meant for youth group camping opportunities, and will include a camping library with sleeping bags, tents, and supplies campers might need.

Photo by Noah Morrison

“Rouge Park neighbors—and others across Detroit and surrounding suburbs—have an important relationship with this park that we are working to strengthen,” says Jackie Ostfeld, associate director of the Sierra Club Outdoors Campaign. “This will introduce camping under the stars to young Detroiters who might not otherwise have that opportunity.”

The reopening of Scout Hollow comes from a partnership between The Kresge Foundation, Detroit Outdoors, Detroit’s Parks and Recreation Department, the Sierra Club, and the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit.

Scout Hollow will mainly focus on serving Detroit and metro Detroit youth, but will be open for any youth-serving organization. They expect about 250 campers the first year, in hopes of serving 1,000 youth per year in the coming years.