I could imagine what this was like circa 1930's. When some of those houses were new. Beautiful old "woodies" up and down the canals. Great tour! Thankyou.
@@austinpierce7313 I get the joke, but realistically you'd have to go back to pre turn of the century to find a low population of blacks in Detroit. Auto factories brought everyone to the city.
No one in Detroit really knew about this because it is basically right on the border of Southeast Detroit and Grosse Pointe Park. Awesome video! You definitely showed me something new!
What a resource! Clean up the downed trees, clean up the blight. Man these city kids could live in a kayaking paradise! What an overlooked opportunity. DNR bought Belle Isle. But making more sense to me would be Improving these canals and making this a navigable water trail, with bike paths, fishing piers for kids, etc. OMG! What a resource! If I were a billionaire, this is where I would sink my money! City kids need this ! Detroit needs this!
Every Detroit / Grosse Pointe Local knows about these canals and has been there because they are on the border of Detroit / Grosse Pointe on Lake St Clair. Its the suburbanites from the outer suburbs who dont know about this kayaking gem. There is also a eclectic restaurant on this canal too.
@@M.TTT.man you have no clue. Most kids in Detroit love swimming please stop talking about something you know nothing about. And kayaking is not available to most inner kids in any major city.
Detroit's history is like every city, good days and bad. I grew up across the river in Canada but now live in Michigan permanently. I don't care what anyone says, I love Detroit. The museums are first rate, the events are first rate, and I think the people are as well. Being near water is so peaceful that everyday I sayI'm in heaven. Don't go knocking Detroit, it's beautiful here.
@@fastinradfordable heaven is a state of mind, not a place; a feeling about a particular location in time, not the actual location. heaven is subjective, not objective. one person's heaven is another person's dung heap, and vice versa. we are made to celebrate the differences, not ridicule and ruin them. as humans, as individuals, as members of one distinct group from another, we are called to this higher purpose. we are called as soon as we are born different from all other creatures that are born. and we are all born different. it is not an easy thing to do, celebrate the differences, but who said life would be easy? only a few through the ages have told us about this most difficult, yet most rewarding part of life; to embrace our differences with love, not scorn them with fear. @fastinradfordable what is your heaven? different from mine, i am sure and clearly different from @lizpeterson6719, but surely something that is a treasure, if not sacred to you.
Being from a family that sold their farm so Detroit could be built, I love this. I know Detroit had its bad times. My dad (who was a Detroit cop for 30 years, his dad was Canadian) talked about watching the city burn from his roof as a kid, and my mom remembered her uncle driving a tank down their street during the riots so the kids could play on it. My family were steel mill workers, auto workers, cops, truckers... my grandpa came here from Canada to help build buildings and bridges. But i was an otr trucker, all over the us and Canada, and no city has the spirit our city does. Closest I've found is New Orleans (which is another city full of art and music that people look at like it's garbage. Funny enough, they pretty much had the same settlers. Acadian French).
This now Michigander grew up on the canals in South Florida. I've been to Detroit a few times but I had no idea there are canals in Detroit. Thank you so much. I love learning things about my new home state. After 47 years of living in Florida, I never knew what freedom was until I moved to Michigan. 💙
@stevelane5023 I made the move in 2015. I've been back twice to help family and friends. Each time reinforced the difference. Florida has a huge oppression problem. Even the attitudes of law enforcement officers are totally different in Florida vs. Michigan. In Florida I was told I lived in paradise, in Michigan I know I do. 💯🤗
@@kathyd9324 I spent 12 yrs in Naples, Fl. Moved back to Wi 15 yrs ago. I actually spend quite a bit of time in the U.P. sledding during winters. I love the change of seasons but I do miss my canals in Florida. Thanks for sharing.
It was fun following along on Google Maps satellite view. For those who want to do so, the tan garage at the 0:10 mark appears to be 911 Ashland St, Detroit, MI 48215. The canal they start in is called Fox Creek. The bridge they play with at 19:30 can be found next to 14337 Harbor Island St.
That beautiful house at 878 Ashland, just after they cross under the Ashland St. bridge -- you can tell it was originally built by someone wealthy, with that garage specifically for a boat right on the edge of the creek. But now it is falling apart and the creek is eroding everything almost up to the house. According to Zillow, it was sold two years ago along with the house next-door at 862 as one unit, so I am hoping the person who purchased it is planning on renovating it and doing something about reinforcing the shoreline with the creek so the house doesn't fall apart.
@@TakenTook - I saw that house come on the market. Thought about taking a look at it but decided that I didn’t want to undertake the renovations. The bootlegger’s garage is really cool. (The boathouse attached to that house was alleged to have been used by rum runners during prohibition,)
Thanks for sharing you passed by grandparents house Ashland St my father grew up there I live there 1968 -78. When it was nice & clean I learned to swim ice skate & fish on that canal I still live in Detroit metropolitan area & every once in awhile I go down to the foot of altar and fish. A lot of people don't know October 24th 1958 a British Vulcan military plane crashed on Ashland St down at the end my grandparents house was one that did not catch fire and is one of the original houses still standing
My dad was a detroit firefighter when that plane crashed.........my mom walked us over to Alter rd. ........it was bad........dad didn't talk too much about it........
back in the day(65 yrs. ago) us kids fished in what we called fox creek.......a stones throw from Marshalls.........later on in the early 70's a bunch of us hippies rented the slate-roofed mini-mansion next to the Ashland bridge.......fishing all year.......skating parties and hockey in the winter.....weed always.....we had local bands playing in the huge dining room......$5 admission.......community kegs.........chaos..... Thanks again !
THIS is a part of Detroit that many Detroitiers are clueless about. I live in that neighborhood, river side of Jefferson, west side of Alter Rd. Nice footage.
I kayaked here with Missy Kinyon and Detroit Outpost several years ago. She loved this place. It was really special to kayak with her. I believe her family has kept Detroit Outpost alive and still do river tours.
Seawalls on private property. Each running 50k to north of 100k. Neglect?…yeah okay buddy. There are plenty of areas like what you’re talking about in Detroit and surrounding areas. This is just one stretch in a more lower income area with some money scattered in between.
a big part of the surrounding neighborhood is in ruins........burned out houses.......packs of wild dogs..........a few small areas will always be desirable as they're closer to the Detroit river........
I have been down those before when fishing St. Clair. They ought to be worth MILLIONS given direct access to the lake via those canals. Over the 17 years we have fished, that area the last couple years has started to be reclaimed. The derelict marina by the ramp is now a very popular restaurant. The blocks leading into that area look much better and safer. It's great to see those homes starting to get refurbished and reclaimed!
Love this video. The city of Detroit should have to clean that canal up. It’s so beautiful. The residents or the area can enjoy it and it will give jobs to the ppl that clean it.
BS on Detroit forking out the money to clean this up. That property isn't abandoned. Let the owners pay. Afteall if there is any benefit in it they gain.r
I agree I live here never seen back here before and now when I go to the park I'm just think how bad and sad it looks back there so sad from the streets you can see all this trash I'm in disbelief of the ppl that live there still
Born and raised. It'd be wonderful if it all got cleaned up. But I find it very very interesting. I appreciate what you do. I'd really like to see more kind of brings back memories. Thank you.
I bumped my prop and bent it, on an old chris craft back in the 70s over by Peche Island. I went back one of these canals, and found a guy that had a lift behind his house. He let me lift up the back of the boat and change my prop ( I always carried a spare) instead of having to do it under water. Great memory, thanks for posting
Loved this . Day drinking while watching it on a bogus account and in Ohio and live on a lake . Dad worked in Detroit several years .Best wishes to all of you .
That would be such a cool place to kayak! I love that nature has reclaimed the land somewhat. It would be awesome to see a bunch of native species planted in there. What a cool video ❤
About the only type of water craft that I didn’t see is an English narrow boat which were used on water ways like this for hundreds of years. This is an underutilized treasure that needs to be preserved and respected.
Unlike the canals in England, these don't really go anywhere. You should think of them as alleys behind the residences that give access to the Detroit River and from there the Great Lakes waterway. The whole of the canals presented in the video stretch about 14 city blocks. The entire canal grid depicted exits into the Detroit River through one of three ways a total of about 500 yards apart. The Detroit River is likely a bit much for narrowboats - it's a half to mile wide strait between Lake St Clair and Lake Erie separating Detroit from Windsor, Ontario with a strong current.
This brought back memories from about 50 years ago. Me and my best friend would head to either Alfred Brush Form Part or Riverfront-Lakewood Park nearly every weekend and nearly every other day during summer vacation (when school was out). I remember walking the trail along the Alter Road canal. We fished all the bridges along the way at one time or another, swam across the canal once or twice, but mostly just fished the canal and river at Riverfront for carp, bass, rock bass, perch, and walleye. I can't count the times we fell asleep under a giant oak/maple tree on the canal not far from the boat rental/bait store to be awaken by the sound of a big carp making the drag sing. I grew up there. Thanks for the memories.
My old stomping grounds. I grew up on the east side in the 70s and my dad always had a fishing boat here. He still does, and you passed it on your tour.
Use to stay on east lawn by the river and canals running in the back of people houses dirty water and fishing want no parts of it looks like swamp Land snakes rats etc I'm in melvindale Michigan now
This is so cool! That was wild seeing that house structure building thing with like the door that went basically right up to the water. This is crazy. I've never seen this. I mean I know there's canals around. I'm basically everywhere in Michigan, rivers, little streams and stuff. But this is cool. Cool very very cool
I did not search for this video, but UA-cam served it to me anyway because it knew it would scratch several overlapping itches of my interests (urban geography, history, urban exploration, unusual boating, etc). Cool stuff! update @ 19:30 : dudes rock
England refurbished their canal system and now it is aa way of life so many people to travel the canals. This could be so beautiful, it hurts to see the decay. Detroit was a beautiful city! Corruption ravaged it.
I was able to locate where you exited on Google maps, then scrolled back through. That last extremely low bridge, the large boat just before that that looks like it was forgotten in the water years ago, on Google maps still looks in good shape. This was a fascinating ride along.
Hello from Alaska, Great Video... I've been a Fan of Detroit my whole Life. I literally Fought a myriad of corrupt laws to stop them from seizing and shredding Classic Cars.. I grew up in Florida and use to swim in the Canals with the Manatee and your video was a great reminder of those days and an eye opening perspective of the Canals of Detroit... I loved the Houses and Boats but kept wondering if there was an old Mustang or Challenger hiding around the corner.. Great Video...
thanks, saw my home town in a way I never have before. Go TIgers! I remember the Unlimited Hydros racing on the river for the Gold Cup, the sound of those Allisons/Merlins carried all over the city.
Great video I subbed! Good memories! Back in the mid-50s.school is out. Me, my buddies, and neighborhood girls, all of us aged 14 and 15 years old living in the six-mile rd. and Chalmers area. My Dad had an 18 foot Oldtown sponson canoe with a side mounted 1.7 Hp. Neptune Mighty Mite outboard motor. My Dad would drop us off at the end of Alter rd. on his way to work early in the morning with the canoe and all the food that the girls had made and would then pick us up on his way home after work. Wearing swimsuits all day and stopping at Tommy's boat rental for pop and snacks we explored every canal, then with the motor running and all six of us paddling (Yes, the canoe could handle that many 90-100 lb. girls easily) we would dodge any freighters coming and head for Peche Island. (We pronounced it peach island) We would swim off the small sand beaches for a while and then pick up the canoe and portage it across a bit of land into the canals of the island and explore there. (More private for some boy/girl fun up to a certain degree.) We also had some young friends who lived in the trailer park on the canal and had a boat and would join us at times. Would do this 3 or 4 times a month. (No computer screens and games, just pure fun and healthy trim tanned bodies!) Goodtimes!
Great Memories and OMG I forgot about Tommy's ! Use to love riding my bike there as I grew up in the Park on the border of Alter rd . They had the greatest selection of penny candy . Also went to Peche island and camped over night , maybe we crossed paths ? who knows . Also remember the mental hospital at Angel park and the scary stories we used to tell associated with it , Good Times . Reply
@@williamh192 Yep! We also rode our bikes there to go fishing. One time one of the girl's bike chain broke, so I rode her there and back on my bike's handlebars. LOL! No one told me about sore leg muscles, but I knew about them the next day! LOL!
@@rorymartin329 I wonder ..., If we ever crossed paths ? Maybe somebody needs to come up with a Fox Creek reunion from the mid 60's to mid 70's Lol After that , the late 70's was all about chicks ...chicks .....CHICKS !!!!! Lol
Now wasn't that a fun little adventure!! Best vid I've seen on YT in months! I kinda felt a little like Huck Finn riding along with you!!! Very cool Guys!! Subbed!
Wow...I'm back to being 12 years old, my dad taking me out to the dumping grounds to Perch fish. He rented a slip on Fox Creek for his '58 Lyman 19'...Thank You!
Wow I didn't even know that was there! Not that I've lived in Metro Detroit for long but man what a place that could become once again. Even just cleaning up the debris would make it look better. So cool.
Some of those with the houses going right to the water are crazy. I can picture Mobsters hanging out and escaping by the water. The nostalgia in this video is off the chain. So the city isn't required to maintain their canal walls. They should be required to do so like they are a city street. This is a form of transportation
really cool canal. there are some nice boats too. i wonder if they can all reach the river. some might have to wait for a big rain considering their size and how shallow it is in places
I grew up in this neighbor hood ...my family lived in this old parish of St. Marten Depores. I attended the school and my family were parish members. Grandparents were two houses off of Jeffersson Ave. on 1044 Navahoe (demolished now )We lived at the corner address of 694 Drexel and Freud which was two blocks directly down from the church itself. The school, Convent, house on Drexel all demolished now. The church is a desanctihfied by the Catholic Diocese of Detroit and derilict yet the playground across the street with softball diamonds are still maintained by the City of Detroit. All my family on my mothers side as well as my immediate family grew up there. My personalmemoreis date back to 1955 thru 1964....when we moved away from the Jefferson /Chalmers area and ''canals ''.
I used to explore those canals by kayak about 20 years ago. Harbor Island was supposedly on the upswing then, but it looks about the same as it did then. I'm surprised it hasn't gotten much better. That's one of the gems of Detroit. If you turn right when you hit the river there are a bunch of newer McMansions on a couple separate canals within a mile or so. Not too exciting but worth a quick trip through if you're close by. About another mile down you can see the Manoogian Mansion and Kid Rock's former party house.
I never knew this existed. I lived in England for a couple years and I walked/boated the canals there. This seems so strange. Some really nice boats and houses and some just garbage. And that crazy low bridge; there must be another way out to the lake. How many miles of interconnected canals exist in Detroit? It's a shame that they are somewhat dilapitated... It makes me want to go there and explore!!! THANKS FOR POSTING!
Been here all my life you see a lil from the streets when your going to the parks but to see it from this angle is really sad to just let it go to waste is crazyi cant beliv it looks like that the front of the homes are beautiful well some still are but to know the back look like this im just sad😢😢😢😢😢😢
Looking at the yards i didn't see many gardens. Mannnnnn, The sheer amount of food I would be growing in the backyard is insane. I know that soil is good and rich, doesn't need watering often and even when it does the water source is right there....
I kayak here often. Awesome location. Off Alter Rd. Border of Detroit and Groose Pointe. Hung out at Alter Park there last weekend. My dad had a paper route on this street in the 50s.
Back in the 50’s early 60’s we had an uncle that had a house with boathouse and Old wooden boat on that canal along Alter road. He would take the family out on the river once a year. Loved it!
THANKS FOR THE RIDE, I NEVER KNEW THIS EXISTED, I KNEW THE CLINTON RIVER, WHICH THIS WOULD PROBABLY RUN INTO. SOME DAY THIS WILL LIVE AGAIN. TIME TO BUY AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.
Thanks for the tour. Grew up in Detroit, drove around the canals but never boated on them. Interesting sights. Too bad that some of the canals are in bad shape.
I remember renting a dock behind somebody's house on that canal over 20 years ago, it hasn't changed too much and I really forgot how long that canal is along alter road.
holy smokes, I live in sterling heights....I was just down in Detroit Friday night cruising around and I NEVER knew there were canals in the city. I absolutely want to watch this....before I do, I would guess and assume it would be wild to ride through it as the city in areas is in obvious rough shape, I'll still stick up for the city as its got a food culture that really is competitive with any other major city. sure the down town has been priced out for most of us but I don't really want to live there anyways....that city life is for the young people. I'm rambling, thanks for the upload this is fascinating
Great video. Anywhere else in the world with this resource would have it cleaned up and the properties would be in high demand. Bet it's great for ice skating in the winter.
Hamilton Avenue in Highland Park, north of Palmer Park is actually a tributary of the Huron River, PAVED OVER. In the worst winters, I have seen three foot water spouts on Hamilton between Oakman Blvd and 6-Mile near the Focus Hope Campus. Imagine if there was again a bgt waterway in the center of Detroit
At least once every summer, our friend Herb Courtney would take us in his boat along the Thoroughfare Canal in Grosse isle, the rich neighborhood outside of Detroit. We loved it. A lot of car factory workers bought boats for cruising and fishing in the Great Lakes on both the American and Canadian side. This brings back fond memories of 1960s summers. Thank You!
I had no idea Detroit had this ............ And you guys going under the bridge was hilarious! That's just like the stuff me and my friends do, lol ............. hanks for posting it.
I heard about this place, referred to as the Venice of Detroit, but couldn't get there because I have no boat and access appeared to be on private property. Thank you for posting. I was curious.
This is definitely a treat for me🎉 Universe never fails to serve❤ so wonderful to see the treasure that I knew partially from the other side. Wonderful memories residing on Manistique in the late 90s., ushering in the 2000. Thrilled to see this and take this ride with y'all 💝 much Thanks 👍
Never knew Detroit had that. Very peaceful ride! Thanks
@269Mafia Most metro Detroiters have no idea the canals exist.
@269Mafia www.google.com/maps/place/Coriander+Kitchen+and+Farm/@42.3596112,-82.9373919,16z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x8824d51927d07d59:0xce9b345191d9f4cf!8m2!3d42.3596112!4d-82.9322367!16s%2Fg%2F11jn5ms5w7?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MDkxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
I live in Redford and I’m just finding this out for the first time.
@@mr.nightshade8465
There's a restaurant right on the canals called Coriander Kitchen. Looks cool
@@mr.nightshade8465 sterling heights and literally just learned this today and commented on it LOL
I could imagine what this was like circa 1930's. When some of those houses were new. Beautiful old "woodies" up and down the canals. Great tour! Thankyou.
$$$$$$&$ and lots of it
*when it was whites only lol
@@austinpierce7313 I get the joke, but realistically you'd have to go back to pre turn of the century to find a low population of blacks in Detroit. Auto factories brought everyone to the city.
You might want to do some research on the 1930's haha, not exactly a good time for anything. But hey, we could be headed to worse, who knows.
You mean after the great depression of 1929? LOL
No one in Detroit really knew about this because it is basically right on the border of Southeast Detroit and Grosse Pointe Park. Awesome video! You definitely showed me something new!
What a resource! Clean up the downed trees, clean up the blight. Man these city kids could live in a kayaking paradise! What an overlooked opportunity. DNR bought Belle Isle. But making more sense to me would be Improving these canals and making this a navigable water trail, with bike paths, fishing piers for kids, etc. OMG! What a resource! If I were a billionaire, this is where I would sink my money! City kids need this ! Detroit needs this!
The type of kid in Detroit isn't exactly what you'd call outdoorsy, let alone keen to be in or near the water
@@M.TTT. they would be if they had an opportunity
Every Detroit / Grosse Pointe Local knows about these canals and has been there because they are on the border of Detroit / Grosse Pointe on Lake St Clair. Its the suburbanites from the outer suburbs who dont know about this kayaking gem. There is also a eclectic restaurant on this canal too.
@@M.TTT.man you have no clue. Most kids in Detroit love swimming please stop talking about something you know nothing about. And kayaking is not available to most inner kids in any major city.
@ericperry72 actually I have a lot of clues, some would say they're huge clues. Enormous clues actually, yes
Detroit's history is like every city, good days and bad. I grew up across the river in Canada but now live in Michigan permanently. I don't care what anyone says, I love Detroit. The museums are first rate, the events are first rate, and I think the people are as well. Being near water is so peaceful that everyday I sayI'm in heaven. Don't go knocking Detroit, it's beautiful here.
Just because you say you’re in heaven, sorry,
But it doesn’t mean shit.
It’s toxic literally and figuratively.
Detroit has Soul. Not many cities can say that.
@@fastinradfordable How long have you lived in the city?
@@fastinradfordable heaven is a state of mind, not a place; a feeling about a particular location in time, not the actual location. heaven is subjective, not objective. one person's heaven is another person's dung heap, and vice versa. we are made to celebrate the differences, not ridicule and ruin them. as humans, as individuals, as members of one distinct group from another, we are called to this higher purpose. we are called as soon as we are born different from all other creatures that are born. and we are all born different. it is not an easy thing to do, celebrate the differences, but who said life would be easy? only a few through the ages have told us about this most difficult, yet most rewarding part of life; to embrace our differences with love, not scorn them with fear. @fastinradfordable what is your heaven? different from mine, i am sure and clearly different from @lizpeterson6719, but surely something that is a treasure, if not sacred to you.
Being from a family that sold their farm so Detroit could be built, I love this. I know Detroit had its bad times. My dad (who was a Detroit cop for 30 years, his dad was Canadian) talked about watching the city burn from his roof as a kid, and my mom remembered her uncle driving a tank down their street during the riots so the kids could play on it. My family were steel mill workers, auto workers, cops, truckers... my grandpa came here from Canada to help build buildings and bridges.
But i was an otr trucker, all over the us and Canada, and no city has the spirit our city does. Closest I've found is New Orleans (which is another city full of art and music that people look at like it's garbage. Funny enough, they pretty much had the same settlers. Acadian French).
This now Michigander grew up on the canals in South Florida. I've been to Detroit a few times but I had no idea there are canals in Detroit. Thank you so much. I love learning things about my new home state. After 47 years of living in Florida, I never knew what freedom was until I moved to Michigan. 💙
Freedom? You must be retired. You’re in a much different political climate now. Good luck.
@stevelane5023 I made the move in 2015. I've been back twice to help family and friends. Each time reinforced the difference. Florida has a huge oppression problem. Even the attitudes of law enforcement officers are totally different in Florida vs. Michigan. In Florida I was told I lived in paradise, in Michigan I know I do. 💯🤗
@@kathyd9324
I spent 12 yrs in Naples, Fl. Moved back to Wi 15 yrs ago. I actually spend quite a bit of time in the U.P. sledding during winters. I love the change of seasons but I do miss my canals in Florida. Thanks for sharing.
@@kathyd9324 Michigan's a great state to live in. I've been here my entire life.
Alter rd and jefferson
It was fun following along on Google Maps satellite view. For those who want to do so, the tan garage at the 0:10 mark appears to be 911 Ashland St, Detroit, MI 48215. The canal they start in is called Fox Creek. The bridge they play with at 19:30 can be found next to 14337 Harbor Island St.
Thanks, I figured it was fox creek when I checked G earth- I've never been there so this was pretty cool to watch.
That beautiful house at 878 Ashland, just after they cross under the Ashland St. bridge -- you can tell it was originally built by someone wealthy, with that garage specifically for a boat right on the edge of the creek. But now it is falling apart and the creek is eroding everything almost up to the house. According to Zillow, it was sold two years ago along with the house next-door at 862 as one unit, so I am hoping the person who purchased it is planning on renovating it and doing something about reinforcing the shoreline with the creek so the house doesn't fall apart.
Ty, I was about to ask exactly where is this. This is beautiful. I bet 95%+ of us westsiders know nothing about these canals 😂😂😂😂
@@TakenTook - I saw that house come on the market. Thought about taking a look at it but decided that I didn’t want to undertake the renovations. The bootlegger’s garage is really cool. (The boathouse attached to that house was alleged to have been used by rum runners during prohibition,)
@@Vlad-from-USA -- And it makes perfect sense that it has a bootleggers garage. given it was built in the 1920s
Thanks for sharing you passed by grandparents house Ashland St my father grew up there I live there 1968 -78. When it was nice & clean I learned to swim ice skate & fish on that canal I still live in Detroit metropolitan area & every once in awhile I go down to the foot of altar and fish. A lot of people don't know October 24th 1958 a British Vulcan military plane crashed on Ashland St down at the end my grandparents house was one that did not catch fire and is one of the original houses still standing
My dad was a detroit firefighter when that plane crashed.........my mom walked us over to Alter rd. ........it was bad........dad didn't talk too much about it........
I am about to move to Ashland street. Which house was your grandparents?
I had never heard of this crash, thank you for the info.
I think the cockpit of the jet is still under somebodys house, they dug down but couldnt reach it.
Yup - i was not around for the crash but i remember reading about it. Grew up in Petoskey where the planes flew out of kinchlow.
back in the day(65 yrs. ago) us kids fished in what we called fox creek.......a stones throw from Marshalls.........later on in the early 70's a bunch of us hippies rented the slate-roofed mini-mansion next to the Ashland bridge.......fishing all year.......skating parties and hockey in the winter.....weed always.....we had local bands playing in the huge dining room......$5 admission.......community kegs.........chaos..... Thanks again !
Oh Jonny ! The memories you just gave me ! Thx Bro !
Sounds great!
No wonder it all went so bad
@@Uzeil21 scrotum
Sounds like big fun back then!!
THIS is a part of Detroit that many Detroitiers are clueless about.
I live in that neighborhood, river side of Jefferson, west side of Alter Rd.
Nice footage.
East Alter Rd
I kayaked here with Missy Kinyon and Detroit Outpost several years ago. She loved this place. It was really special to kayak with her. I believe her family has kept Detroit Outpost alive and still do river tours.
I have lived in the burbs of Detroit for 60 years, and I had no idea! What a very cool video! Thanks!
Imagine if this was cleaned up and seawalls built where there are none.
Could really be impressive. Neglect on a grand scale.
Seawalls on private property. Each running 50k to north of 100k. Neglect?…yeah okay buddy. There are plenty of areas like what you’re talking about in Detroit and surrounding areas. This is just one stretch in a more lower income area with some money scattered in between.
a big part of the surrounding neighborhood is in ruins........burned out houses.......packs of wild dogs..........a few small areas will always be desirable as they're closer to the Detroit river........
Why sea walls ?
@@mansize6622 some are needed.....others not so much
@@mansize6622to prevent erosion. Those cattails were doing it naturally
I have been down those before when fishing St. Clair. They ought to be worth MILLIONS given direct access to the lake via those canals. Over the 17 years we have fished, that area the last couple years has started to be reclaimed. The derelict marina by the ramp is now a very popular restaurant. The blocks leading into that area look much better and safer. It's great to see those homes starting to get refurbished and reclaimed!
I’m a city girl but only ever saw the canals from land view. This was an experience, thanks for sharing!
I've been all over Detroit, but never seen this! Thanks for posting!
Love this video. The city of Detroit should have to clean that canal up. It’s so beautiful. The residents or the area can enjoy it and it will give jobs to the ppl that clean it.
BS on Detroit forking out the money to clean this up. That property isn't abandoned. Let the owners pay. Afteall if there is any benefit in it they gain.r
I agree I live here never seen back here before and now when I go to the park I'm just think how bad and sad it looks back there so sad from the streets you can see all this trash I'm in disbelief of the ppl that live there still
You mean the yard apes that destroyed it should clean it up? I agree
Born and raised. It'd be wonderful if it all got cleaned up. But I find it very very interesting. I appreciate what you do. I'd really like to see more kind of brings back memories. Thank you.
Secret Detroit - thanks for sharing!
fantastic tour! thanks. never knew they existed. nice work to the guy painting the old garage door.
I bumped my prop and bent it, on an old chris craft back in the 70s over by Peche Island. I went back one of these canals, and found a guy that had a lift behind his house. He let me lift up the back of the boat and change my prop ( I always carried a spare) instead of having to do it under water. Great memory, thanks for posting
I kaayked to Peche Island a few years ago. Fun!
@@TheGreatOutdoorsyou should throw a line in there looks like a bass heaven but probably gets too cold up there for em
I live 500 miles north of Detroit and we have lots of bass. Largemouth and smallmouth.
I had no idea that these canals even existed !
Loved this . Day drinking while watching it on a bogus account and in Ohio and live on a lake . Dad worked in Detroit several years .Best wishes to all of you .
That would be such a cool place to kayak! I love that nature has reclaimed the land somewhat. It would be awesome to see a bunch of native species planted in there. What a cool video ❤
About the only type of water craft that I didn’t see is an English narrow boat which were used on water ways like this for hundreds of years. This is an underutilized treasure that needs to be preserved and respected.
You mean drained to clean out the thousands of dead bodies on the bottom.
Unlike the canals in England, these don't really go anywhere. You should think of them as alleys behind the residences that give access to the Detroit River and from there the Great Lakes waterway. The whole of the canals presented in the video stretch about 14 city blocks. The entire canal grid depicted exits into the Detroit River through one of three ways a total of about 500 yards apart. The Detroit River is likely a bit much for narrowboats - it's a half to mile wide strait between Lake St Clair and Lake Erie separating Detroit from Windsor, Ontario with a strong current.
You two took that low bridge with style, smiles & laughs.😊 Thanks for the tour.
This brought back memories from about 50 years ago. Me and my best friend would head to either Alfred Brush Form Part or Riverfront-Lakewood Park nearly every weekend and nearly every other day during summer vacation (when school was out). I remember walking the trail along the Alter Road canal. We fished all the bridges along the way at one time or another, swam across the canal once or twice, but mostly just fished the canal and river at Riverfront for carp, bass, rock bass, perch, and walleye. I can't count the times we fell asleep under a giant oak/maple tree on the canal not far from the boat rental/bait store to be awaken by the sound of a big carp making the drag sing. I grew up there. Thanks for the memories.
Thanks for sharing your stories. ❤
My old stomping grounds. I grew up on the east side in the 70s and my dad always had a fishing boat here.
He still does, and you passed it on your tour.
He passed two of my friends homes Nice homes....🤣
Use to stay on east lawn by the river and canals running in the back of people houses dirty water and fishing want no parts of it looks like swamp Land snakes rats etc I'm in melvindale Michigan now
Ps look like the creature from the black lagoon stay in the water
@@ronnieperdue2977 nature
I love this video. Thank you for sharing
This is so cool! That was wild seeing that house structure building thing with like the door that went basically right up to the water. This is crazy. I've never seen this. I mean I know there's canals around. I'm basically everywhere in Michigan, rivers, little streams and stuff. But this is cool. Cool very very cool
That’s a boathouse. Basically, a garage for your boat.
@ hmmm 🤔 interesting cool ! Thanks for sharing
I wouldn't necessarily want to move to Detroit but I did live there the canal would be a cool place to live for easy access to the river.
Man, ill bet back in the day that was something to see.
It really was but it was good to see it again i live 4 blocks north I haven't been back there in years
Still is.
I did not search for this video, but UA-cam served it to me anyway because it knew it would scratch several overlapping itches of my interests (urban geography, history, urban exploration, unusual boating, etc). Cool stuff!
update @ 19:30 : dudes rock
Ditto
England refurbished their canal system and now it is aa way of life so many people to travel the canals. This could be so beautiful, it hurts to see the decay. Detroit was a beautiful city! Corruption ravaged it.
Don't they call it "empowerment" now? Sounds better than corruption, or grift, or ....
I was able to locate where you exited on Google maps, then scrolled back through. That last extremely low bridge, the large boat just before that that looks like it was forgotten in the water years ago, on Google maps still looks in good shape. This was a fascinating ride along.
This is some cool footage! I’d love to see more like this !!
Hello from Alaska,
Great Video... I've been a Fan of Detroit my whole Life. I literally Fought a myriad of corrupt laws to stop them from seizing and shredding Classic Cars..
I grew up in Florida and use to swim in the Canals with the Manatee and your video was a great reminder of those days and an eye opening perspective of the Canals of Detroit... I loved the Houses and Boats but kept wondering if there was an old Mustang or Challenger hiding around the corner..
Great Video...
Thank you so much for sharing this. This is my favorite part of Detroit.
I've enjoyed watching! Thank YOU for the tour!
Very peaceful and Beautiful. The Bridge had me feeling a little nervous for your well-being, nice job navigating.
thanks, saw my home town in a way I never have before. Go TIgers! I remember the Unlimited Hydros racing on the river for the Gold Cup, the sound of those Allisons/Merlins carried all over the city.
Fantastic video, it was like cruising up there. Not talking, with just the motor was perfect. Well done.
Such a cool video. I like how you just let it roll with very little commentary. Very immersive.
Thanks for showing a side of Detroit that I haven't seen. Love from Chicago
Wow, the good the bad and the ugly shown by this video. Very interesting community along the canals of Detroit. Thanks for sharing with everyone.
My dad was from the Eastside down in this area he showed us these 20 years ago. Dope to see from the water view
Great video I subbed! Good memories! Back in the mid-50s.school is out. Me, my buddies, and neighborhood girls, all of us aged 14 and 15 years old living in the six-mile rd. and Chalmers area. My Dad had an 18 foot Oldtown sponson canoe with a side mounted 1.7 Hp. Neptune Mighty Mite outboard motor. My Dad would drop us off at the end of Alter rd. on his way to work early in the morning with the canoe and all the food that the girls had made and would then pick us up on his way home after work. Wearing swimsuits all day and stopping at Tommy's boat rental for pop and snacks we explored every canal, then with the motor running and all six of us paddling (Yes, the canoe could handle that many 90-100 lb. girls easily) we would dodge any freighters coming and head for Peche Island. (We pronounced it peach island) We would swim off the small sand beaches for a while and then pick up the canoe and portage it across a bit of land into the canals of the island and explore there. (More private for some boy/girl fun up to a certain degree.) We also had some young friends who lived in the trailer park on the canal and had a boat and would join us at times. Would do this 3 or 4 times a month. (No computer screens and games, just pure fun and healthy trim tanned bodies!) Goodtimes!
Great story. Thanks for sharing!
Great Memories and OMG I forgot about Tommy's ! Use to love riding my bike there as I grew up in the Park on the border of Alter rd . They had the greatest selection of penny candy . Also went to Peche island and camped over night , maybe we crossed paths ? who knows . Also remember the mental hospital at Angel park and the scary stories we used to tell associated with it , Good Times .
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@@williamh192 Yep! We also rode our bikes there to go fishing. One time one of the girl's bike chain broke, so I rode her there and back on my bike's handlebars. LOL! No one told me about sore leg muscles, but I knew about them the next day! LOL!
@@rorymartin329 I wonder ..., If we ever crossed paths ? Maybe somebody needs to come up with a Fox Creek reunion from the mid 60's to mid 70's Lol After that , the late 70's was all about chicks ...chicks .....CHICKS !!!!! Lol
@@williamh192 I'm as old as dirt! Try the mid 50's! LOL!
I was on the edge of my seat with that motor!!😂😂
Michigan is one of the most beautiful states
Now wasn't that a fun little adventure!! Best vid I've seen on YT in months! I kinda felt a little like Huck Finn riding along with you!!! Very cool Guys!! Subbed!
@@allenwayne2033 what a great comment! Thank you!
25 enjoyable minutes. Going into my Favorites file. Thanks for sharing .
Wow...I'm back to being 12 years old, my dad taking me out to the dumping grounds to Perch fish. He rented a slip on Fox Creek for his '58 Lyman 19'...Thank You!
I grew up in Detroit and never knew about these. Look at the big old houses that area could be made beautiful with restored homes & cleaned canals
Get homeowners a special assessment to cover some costs.
Thanks for the boat ride, and very interesting video.
When I was a Kid. I used to fish and catch the biggest Carp on the planet in those canals. We swam in it to.
I grew up in a house along the canal in St Clair Shores. It was wonderful being so close to the water.
You learn something new everyday thanks
I live off a canal in Elizabeth Park in Trenton, fun to kayak.
Wow I didn't even know that was there! Not that I've lived in Metro Detroit for long but man what a place that could become once again. Even just cleaning up the debris would make it look better. So cool.
Why is this so beautiful and depressing at the same time 🫤
This was sooo beautiful back in the day! During the summer everyone hung out in the back lots ❤️
Some of those with the houses going right to the water are crazy. I can picture Mobsters hanging out and escaping by the water. The nostalgia in this video is off the chain. So the city isn't required to maintain their canal walls. They should be required to do so like they are a city street. This is a form of transportation
First time in over 60 years I've ever seen someone standing on a pontoon boat to paint the back of their home...
Live in Detroit all my life never knew this was here
really cool canal. there are some nice boats too. i wonder if they can all reach the river. some might have to wait for a big rain considering their size and how shallow it is in places
@@fadedgeff not all boats can make it under the bridge like we did. ;)
@@aarontimlin9226 that was a close one!
I grew up in this neighbor hood ...my family lived in this old parish of St. Marten Depores. I attended the school and my family were parish members. Grandparents were two houses off of Jeffersson Ave. on 1044 Navahoe (demolished now )We lived at the corner address of 694 Drexel and Freud which was two blocks directly down from the church itself. The school, Convent, house on Drexel all demolished now. The church is a desanctihfied by the Catholic Diocese of Detroit and derilict yet the playground across the street with softball diamonds are still maintained by the City of Detroit. All my family on my mothers side as well as my immediate family grew up there. My personalmemoreis date back to 1955 thru 1964....when we moved away from the Jefferson /Chalmers area and ''canals ''.
I used to explore those canals by kayak about 20 years ago. Harbor Island was supposedly on the upswing then, but it looks about the same as it did then. I'm surprised it hasn't gotten much better. That's one of the gems of Detroit.
If you turn right when you hit the river there are a bunch of newer McMansions on a couple separate canals within a mile or so. Not too exciting but worth a quick trip through if you're close by. About another mile down you can see the Manoogian Mansion and Kid Rock's former party house.
That's incredible...had family stay over that way and it flipped me out driving past this
Very Nice!
Detroit is home. Use to live there. Live on West Michigan now.
I never knew this existed. I lived in England for a couple years and I walked/boated the canals there.
This seems so strange. Some really nice boats and houses and some just garbage. And that crazy low bridge; there must be another way out to the lake.
How many miles of interconnected canals exist in Detroit?
It's a shame that they are somewhat dilapitated...
It makes me want to go there and explore!!! THANKS FOR POSTING!
Been here all my life you see a lil from the streets when your going to the parks but to see it from this angle is really sad to just let it go to waste is crazyi cant beliv it looks like that the front of the homes are beautiful well some still are but to know the back look like this im just sad😢😢😢😢😢😢
“There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats” (Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows)
Wow! That is very cool! What an asset! Amazing the home owners along there haven't got together and clean in up.
Thanks for posting. An entertaining 25 mins. Close call with the bridge.
I'm not from around those parts, but I watched the whole video and enjoyed it!
This is cool I've never seen this side of Detriot
Looking at the yards i didn't see many gardens. Mannnnnn, The sheer amount of food I would be growing in the backyard is insane. I know that soil is good and rich, doesn't need watering often and even when it does the water source is right there....
The rolling shot of the Dad and his son at 8:00 was so pure
I kayak here often. Awesome location. Off Alter Rd. Border of Detroit and Groose Pointe. Hung out at Alter Park there last weekend. My dad had a paper route on this street in the 50s.
That's all I could think of, unless by Gross Isle
Back in the 50’s early 60’s we had an uncle that had a house with boathouse and Old wooden boat on that canal along Alter road. He would take the family out on the river once a year. Loved it!
THANKS FOR THE RIDE, I NEVER KNEW THIS EXISTED, I KNEW THE CLINTON RIVER, WHICH THIS WOULD PROBABLY RUN INTO. SOME DAY THIS WILL LIVE AGAIN. TIME TO BUY AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.
Clinton River is about 15 miles north of here, they dont connect
Thanks for the tour. Grew up in Detroit, drove around the canals but never boated on them. Interesting sights. Too bad that some of the canals are in bad shape.
I remember renting a dock behind somebody's house on that canal over 20 years ago, it hasn't changed too much and I really forgot how long that canal is along alter road.
Thanks for the tour - equal parts fun, fascinating, and creepy AF..
Very cool, never had a clue that existed. I would love to live along there, until it flooded.
I knew there were a lot of boats on properties in Detroit, but I had no idea about the canals. Thanks for the video!
This must have been awesome neighborhoods with boats and nice people in the day
Thanks for posting this video love this kind of stuff.
holy smokes, I live in sterling heights....I was just down in Detroit Friday night cruising around and I NEVER knew there were canals in the city. I absolutely want to watch this....before I do, I would guess and assume it would be wild to ride through it as the city in areas is in obvious rough shape, I'll still stick up for the city as its got a food culture that really is competitive with any other major city. sure the down town has been priced out for most of us but I don't really want to live there anyways....that city life is for the young people.
I'm rambling, thanks for the upload this is fascinating
Great video. Anywhere else in the world with this resource would have it cleaned up and the properties would be in high demand. Bet it's great for ice skating in the winter.
Hamilton Avenue in Highland Park, north of Palmer Park is actually a tributary of the Huron River, PAVED OVER.
In the worst winters, I have seen three foot water spouts on Hamilton between Oakman Blvd and 6-Mile near the Focus Hope Campus.
Imagine if there was again a bgt waterway in the center of Detroit
You got a shovel it off first
Shoutout from Lansing! I never knew Detroit had this
At least once every summer, our friend Herb Courtney would take us in his boat along the Thoroughfare Canal in Grosse isle, the rich neighborhood outside of Detroit. We loved it. A lot of car factory workers bought boats for cruising and fishing in the Great Lakes on both the American and Canadian side. This brings back fond memories of 1960s summers. Thank You!
Who needs Venice....we have Detroit!!!
I had no idea Detroit had this ............ And you guys going under the bridge was hilarious! That's just like the stuff me and my friends do, lol ............. hanks for posting it.
Looks like Bass fishing heaven
💯Sure Is!!!! ❤💎
I heard about this place, referred to as the Venice of Detroit, but couldn't get there because I have no boat and access appeared to be on private property. Thank you for posting. I was curious.
That could be such a great Canal system if it was cleaned up
This is definitely a treat for me🎉 Universe never fails to serve❤ so wonderful to see the treasure that I knew partially from the other side. Wonderful memories residing on Manistique in the late 90s., ushering in the 2000. Thrilled to see this and take this ride with y'all 💝 much Thanks 👍
Cool video boys!👍 Gibraltar, Mi area boater, fisherman here, always loved cruising canals! You should post more like this!👌