American Inn & Suites Waterford7076 Highland Rd, Waterford, MI 48327
Metro Detroit Oakland County Charter township
Waterford
Thirty-four lakes, a sandy beach on Cass Lake and the county airport next to Pontiac
- People (2025 estimate)
- 69,922
- Land area
- 30.6 sq mi · 79.3 km²
- From downtown
- 28.7 miles · 46 km · northwest
- Incorporated
- 1961
Nothing on our calendar here this week yet.
01 / Why it matters
Why Waterford matters
Waterford got its name from its lakes, and it still fits: 34 named lakes dot the township. It also has a stretch of Cass Lake, which the Michigan DNR calls the largest inland lake in southeast Michigan.
Oliver Williams started the first farm on Silver Lake in 1818, and a year later the first dam and sawmill went up where the old Saginaw Trail, today's Dixie Highway, crossed the Clinton River. That became Waterford Village. Once the railroad arrived, hotels and cottages lined the lakes, and people rode the train out from Detroit and Lansing for the summer.
Today Waterford is Pontiac's big, green neighbor to the west, a charter township since 1961. It's home to the county airport and to Waterford Oaks, the headquarters park of Oakland County Parks, with a BMX track and wooded trails.
02 / Known for
What Waterford is known for
Thirty-four named lakes within the township
The sandy beach at Dodge #4 State Park on Cass Lake, land donated to the state by the Dodge Brothers company in 1922
Oakland County International Airport, which opened on November 27, 1928, as Pontiac Municipal Airport
The Pontiac Mall, later Summit Place Mall: Michigan's first enclosed mall when it opened in 1962, and empty by 2009
03 / What’s on
What’s on in Waterford
Nothing on our calendar in Waterford right now. Try the neighbors:
04 / Places
13 places on our site in Waterford
American Inn & Suites Waterford7076 Highland Rd, Waterford, MI 48327
Big Shots Karaoke & Sports Bar3870 Elizabeth Lake Rd, Waterford, MI 48328
CJ's Upper Deck3270 W Huron St, Waterford, MI 48328
Detroit Seadoo AdventuresDodge #4 State Park, 4250 Parkway Dr, Waterford, MI 4832705 / What to do
If you’re in Waterford
Dodge #4 State Park
A state park on the north shore of Cass Lake with a mile of shoreline, a sandy beach, a fishing pier and a boat launch.
Official site ↗Drayton Plains Nature Center
A 138-acre nature preserve where the Clinton River splits into two channels, with about 4 miles of trails on the grounds of a state fish hatchery founded in 1904; two of its ponds are still used for restocking.
Official site ↗Waterford Oaks County Park
The 199-acre headquarters park of Oakland County Parks, with a BMX track, more than three miles of trails and an accessible playscape.
Official site ↗
06 / History
Waterford through the years
- 1818
Oliver Williams settles on the south shore of Silver Lake, starting the county's first farm.
- 1834
Waterford Township is organized and its first post office opens.
- 1922
Dodge Brothers donates lakefront land on Cass Lake to the state, today's Dodge #4 State Park.
- 1928
Pontiac Airport, today's Oakland County International Airport, opens on November 27.
- 1961
Waterford becomes a charter township, and Kettering High School opens.
- 1962
The Pontiac Mall, Michigan's first enclosed shopping center, opens on May 10; renamed Summit Place Mall, it closed its concourses in 2009.
07 / Born here
3 people in our lexicon were born here
08 / People
Famous names from here
- Kirk Gibson born in Pontiac, grew up in Waterford and graduated from Waterford Kettering High School in 1975 before starring for the Detroit Tigers
- Tim Robinson comedian and former Saturday Night Live writer and cast member, grew up in Waterford Township
Sources
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Waterford charter township).
- 2020 Census, Michigan (PL 94-171)
- Census Bureau population estimates: cities and towns
- waterfordmi.gov/824/Waterford-Township-Historical-Timeline
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterford_Township,_Michigan
- michigan.gov/recsearch/parks/dodge4
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_No._4_State_Park
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_County_International_Airport
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summit_Place_Mall
- waterfordmi.gov/1401/Drayton-Plains-Nature-Center
- oaklandcountymi.gov/community/oakland-county-parks/parks-trails/waterford-oaks
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirk_Gibson
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Robinson
- waterfordmi.gov
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: −0.9 percent.
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