Metro Detroit Oakland County City
Pleasant Ridge
A tiny, leafy historic town on both sides of Woodward, next door to the Detroit Zoo
- People (2025 estimate)
- 2,592
- Land area
- 0.6 sq mi · 1.5 km²
- From downtown
- 10.9 miles · 18 km · northwest
- Incorporated
- 1927
Nothing on our calendar here this week yet.
01 / Why it matters
Why Pleasant Ridge matters
Pleasant Ridge is a few-streets-wide little city on both sides of Woodward, just north of Ferndale. I-696 runs along its entire northern edge, and right across the freeway is the Detroit Zoo. The name most likely comes from Ridge Road, which follows an ancient sandy lakeshore ridge.
The first settler was Virgil Rose, who ran a tavern on Woodward from the 1840s until 1880. His land was platted starting in 1906, and between 1910 and 1930 the town you see today filled in: Colonial, Tudor, Dutch Colonial, English cottage and Spanish Colonial homes, with some Craftsman and Prairie School gems mixed in.
Pretty much the whole city is historic: the part west of Woodward has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1992, the east side since 2007. Once a year it gets loud, though, when the Woodward Dream Cruise rumbles through in August.
02 / Known for
What Pleasant Ridge is known for
Two historic districts: the Pleasant Ridge Historic District (1992, expanded in 2010) and the Pleasant Ridge East Historic District (2007).
Hedge's Wigwam (1927–1967) was a Native American-themed restaurant at 24362 Woodward with a giant concrete teepee over the door, a favorite stop for Woodward cruisers for four decades.
I-696 forms the city's entire northern border, with the Detroit Zoo just across it.
One of the nine host communities of the Woodward Dream Cruise.
03 / What’s on
What’s on in Pleasant Ridge
Nothing on our calendar in Pleasant Ridge right now. Try the neighbors:
04 / What to do
If you’re in Pleasant Ridge
Pleasant Ridge Historic District
Stroll Ridge Road and the leafy side streets: the homes built between 1910 and 1930 are nearly all original, like stepping into an old postcard.
Official site ↗Woodward Dream Cruise
Every third Saturday in August, tens of thousands of classic cars cruise Woodward from Ferndale to Pontiac; in 2026 it fell on August 15. Pleasant Ridge comes right after Ferndale at the start of the route.
Official site ↗
05 / History
Pleasant Ridge through the years
- 1906
Alfred F. Wilcox begins platting the farm into lots, starting along what is now Ridge Road.
- 1913
Burt Taylor subdivides the Mayday farm, which the city counts as its beginning.
- 1927
Pleasant Ridge becomes a city, and Hedge's Wigwam opens the same year.
- 1967
Hedge's Wigwam closes.
- 1992
The neighborhood west of Woodward is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 2007
The east side is listed as a historic district too.
Sources
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Pleasant Ridge city).
- 2020 Census, Michigan (PL 94-171)
- Census Bureau population estimates: cities and towns
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleasant_Ridge,_Michigan
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleasant_Ridge_East_Historic_District
- metromodemedia.com/?p=11958
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleasant_Ridge_Historic_District
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedge%27s_Wigwam
- woodwarddreamcruise.com
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodward_Dream_Cruise
- cityofpleasantridge.org
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: −1.6 percent.
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