Things to Do in Harrison Township

Harrison Township is the boat town on Lake St. Clair, and most of what there is to do here happens within a mile of the water. The big draw is Lake St. Clair Metropark at the end of Metro Parkway. The rest is a township park on Jefferson, an air museum you need clearance for, a couple of ice cream windows, and the lake itself.

Lake St. Clair Metropark

The Metropark sits at 31300 Metro Parkway, where the parkway dead-ends at the lake. You pay at the gate: $10 for a daily vehicle or boat pass, or an annual pass, which as of 2026 runs $40 for Michigan residents and $45 for non-residents, with a lower senior rate. Prices move a little each year; confirm on metroparks.com before you go. The park is open 6 AM to 10 PM on weekdays and until 11 PM on weekends.

What is inside:

• The beach. A 600-foot sand beach on the open lake. The Metropark beach is free once you are in the park, though it is a walk from the lot. Dogs are not allowed on the beach.
• The pool and water park. The Olympic-sized pool has two slides with 120-foot flumes and a 17-foot drop. Pool and Squirt Zone spray ground run 11 AM to 7 PM, Memorial Day through Labor Day. The pool charges admission on top of the gate fee; the splash pad and the padded playgrounds next to it do not.
• The boat launch. Eight ramps and a big trailer lot, plus transient docks and seawall space if you come by water. It is the default public ramp on the west side of the lake; the public boat launches guide covers the others.
• Trails and the nature center. A 3.75-mile flat paved loop for bikes and strollers, 1.5 miles of nature trail with boardwalk out into the marsh, and a nature center with exhibits on the lake.
• Sunday concerts. Free live music on the lawn by the Activity Center on summer Sunday evenings, 6:30 to 9 PM, through Labor Day weekend, and boats tie up at the park for it. The events calendar has each year's dates.

There is not much food for sale inside the park, so pack a cooler.

Par 3 Golf on Metro Parkway

Par 3 Golf is the Metropark course, 18 holes at 1,454 yards, par 54, open roughly mid-April to mid-October, with foot golf on the same holes and an adventure golf course next door. Green fees as of 2026 are $10 on weekdays and $13 on weekends and holidays; seniors 55 and up and juniors 20 and under pay $8 and $10. You still need a park pass to reach the first tee. The rough gets deep, and golfers have found ticks after wading in for a ball.

If it is raining or February, Macray Golf Simulator at 99 Sea Ray Boulevard in the MacRay Harbor complex runs Friday through Sunday, 10 AM to 10 PM, with a private bar.

Harrison Township Waterfront Park

This is the township's own park, at 34890 Jefferson Avenue near the Shook Road end of Jefferson. It is smaller and quieter than the Metropark, with no gate fee and no resident pass required. Hours are listed as 8 AM to 8 PM daily, and it opens for the season in April when the weather allows.

What is there: a railed pier and boardwalk along the lake that shore anglers use hard, a concrete kayak launch, a playground with baby swings and separate toddler and climbing structures, a basketball hoop, two sand volleyball courts, restrooms, picnic tables, and a pavilion with a charcoal grill. As of 2026 the pavilion rents for $150 for residents and $300 for non-residents plus a $100 refundable deposit, with reservations opening in January. Unreserved, it is first come, first served.

Two things surprise first-timers: there is no beach and no swimming, and dogs are not allowed even though the park shows up in dog park searches. Check the township parks page before you go.

Morine Park and Dog Island

Morine Park at 29420 Emerick Street is a neighborhood pocket park: two playscapes, swings, benches, a picnic table and a little free library. Street parking only, no bathrooms, so it is a twenty-minute stop with the kids.

Dog Island is not a park you visit. It is a small island off the Harrison Township shore that a cormorant colony took over around 2020, and the birds' droppings have killed its trees. You will see it from a boat, but there is nowhere to land.

Selfridge Military Air Museum

The Selfridge Military Air Museum at 27333 C Street has vintage military aircraft indoors and out in the air park, on an active Air National Guard base, which changes how you visit. As of 2026 it is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11 AM to 5 PM, through October 31. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and military, $5 for kids 4 to 17, free for 3 and under.

The base runs a security background check on every visitor, submitted through the museum's online form at least ten days ahead. Bring a REAL ID driver's license (or a passport, or a Social Security card plus a certified birth certificate), your vehicle registration and proof of insurance. Foreign nationals need about 30 days. Show up unannounced and the gate turns you around. Confirm the process on selfridgeairmuseum.org.

Total Sports

Total Sports & Entertainment at 40501 Production Drive, near the base, is the rainy-day and winter answer: bowling, axe throwing, laser tag, basketball courts, an arcade, billiards, outdoor softball leagues and the Upper Deck bar upstairs. Open until midnight most nights and 2 AM on Friday and Saturday; a lot of local graduation parties end up here.

On the water

You do not need to own a boat to get out on it.

• Kayak and paddleboard. Simple Adventures rents kayaks and stand-up paddleboards inside the Metropark, roughly noon to 7 PM weekdays and 10 AM to 7 PM weekends in season. The marsh paddle is the sheltered route for first-timers. Book online ahead on summer weekends; life jackets come in limited sizes.
• Rent, join, or charter. The boat rentals and boat clubs guide covers the rentals and club memberships based in Harrison Township, and the charter listings cover fishing and sightseeing trips. Once you have a boat under you, read Lake St. Clair by boat.
• The Clinton River and the spillway. The Clinton River meets the lake in Harrison Township. The spillway is the straight channel the Army Corps cut in 1950 to move flood water from Mount Clemens to the lake, since rebuilt with native plantings and woody habitat. Shore anglers work it for catfish, bass and perch; the fishing without a boat guide has the access points.

Where to eat after

The best restaurants in Harrison Township list is the full rundown. Closest to the water, Terry's Terrace at 36470 Jefferson and Bumpers Landing on North River Road are the two waterfront standbys, and the waterfront restaurants list covers the rest of the lake.

For ice cream, Jefferson has two. Lori's Lick 'em Up at 35610 Jefferson has been scooping since 2004, with 49 soft-serve flavors, a five-pound banana split, and seasonal hours of 1 to 9 PM. Frosty Boy at 38650 Jefferson is the Flavor Burst place, open 11 AM to 10 PM.

By season

• Summer. Beach and pool at the Metropark, kayaks in the marsh, Sunday concerts, ice cream on Jefferson on the way home.
• Fall. The Metropark trails and the Waterfront Park pier are at their best in October. The Clinton River gets a small, unpredictable run of salmon and steelhead; treat fish as a bonus, not a plan.
• Winter. The Metropark stays open, and when the lake freezes the launch lot fills with ice anglers walking out for perch. There are 2.5 miles of marked cross-country ski trail. Check the ice yourself; nobody checks it for you.
• Spring. The Metropark ramps and the par-3 open in April, and the Waterfront Park pavilion goes back on the reservation calendar.

The Harrison Township area page indexes the marinas, launches and restaurants in town, and the recreation directory lists every park and thing to do we track around the lake.