Places to exploreMuseums, parks, neighborhoods and icons
Metro Detroit mapWhat Metro Detroit is, and what every town is about
The Henry FordRosa Parks’ bus, Greenfield Village and the Ford Rouge Factory
RenCen: live trackerThe Renaissance Center’s past, present and future, up to the minute
Gordie Howe BridgeThe new bridge to Canada: live waits, tolls, and yes, you can walk it
ToursBy boat, by bike or on foot, with a local guide
Escape roomsOne hour, one lock and your crew
Plan a meetingVenues, hotels and what’s on in town on your dates
Metro Detroit Wayne County City
A quiet bedroom city along the Rouge River parklands, right next to Dearborn
Nothing on our calendar here this week yet.
01 / Why it matters
Dearborn Heights isn't a neighborhood of Dearborn; it's its own city. It was formed in 1960 from two separate, non-touching pieces of Dearborn Township, stitched together by a quarter-mile strip of land taken from Inkster. It's a classic bedroom community, where people come home after working in Detroit or Dearborn.
Its birth wasn't smooth: mostly Black Inkster sued, arguing the new city's shape was a racial gerrymander, and the Michigan Supreme Court dismissed the case. The city has grown more diverse since. In 2014 city officials estimated that about a quarter of residents were Arab American, and many Arab businesses from Dearborn have opened branches here.
For you, the draw is green space. Hines Park, Wayne County's long ribbon of parkland along the Rouge, ends here, and so does Warren Valley, a 1920s course by famed Scottish-born golf architect Donald Ross where the Rouge River comes into play on several holes.
02 / Known for
Pieced together in 1960 from two separate chunks of Dearborn Township and a strip of Inkster.
Warren Valley Golf Course was designed by Donald Ross in 1922; its first nine holes opened on June 30, 1923.
The Wallaceville School site held the first school in Bucklin (later Dearborn) Township, a log building put up as a church in 1824.
The city's two libraries are named for the Kennedy kids: Caroline Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr.
03 / What’s on
Oct 14, 2026, 6:00 PMDearborn Heights Library - John F. Kennedy Jr. Branch · Cate Waldecker, Education & Programs Coordinator at the Detroit Historical Society, gives a talk on Wednesday, October 14, at 6 p.m. at the Dearborn Heights Library – John F. Kennedy Jr. Branch in Dearborn Heights. She’ll trace a century of Detroit on screen—and admission is free.
Nov 12, 2026, 6:00 PMDearborn Heights Library - John F. Kennedy Jr. Branch · Detroit Historical Society presents a lecture on the Detroit Red Wings’ 100 years on Thursday, November 12, at 6 p.m. at the Dearborn Heights Library – John F. Kennedy Jr. Branch in Dearborn Heights. A straight shot into a century of Hockeytown history.
04 / Places
342 Bar & Grill3932 Pelham St, Dearborn Heights, MI 48125
Van Born Tavern & Grill22426 Van Born Rd, Dearborn Heights, MI 4812505 / What to do
Wayne County's 17.5-mile ribbon of parkland along the Middle Rouge, from Northville down to the Dearborn–Dearborn Heights line, with a walking and bike path the whole way.
Official site ↗Donald Ross's 1920s course on the banks of the Rouge. After a renovation, the 18-hole West course reopened on April 29, 2023.
Official site ↗06 / History
A log church went up on today's Gulley Road and became the township's first school; it turned public in 1829 and was later named Wallaceville School after John B. Wallace.
On June 30 the first nine holes of Warren Valley, then called Hawthorne Valley, opened.
On June 20 residents voted to incorporate. Inkster sued, calling the boundaries a racial gerrymander, and the Michigan Supreme Court dismissed the suit.
The city turned the 1876 brick Wallaceville School into a museum.
On April 29 Warren Valley's West course reopened after a full renovation.
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Dearborn Heights city).
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: −4.1 percent.
