Odette Sculpture Park

A wonderful way to spend a sunny day or a moonlight walk. A beautiful view of the sparkling water and Detroit skyline. For the travellers. It is a stop just before the ambassador bridge crossing. Perfect place to grab a picnic and stretch your legs or bike ride. There is a lovey restaurant called the Bistro on the water front farther down from the sculptures. A very enjoyable stop

Great place to walk around on a nice day. Can be a bit nippy since you’re by the water. And there’s always a geocache to find! Great view of Detroit and the art – though modern – is nice to take a peek at. Though go for the walk. I think you can also fish here but don’t quote me on that. I think there’s designated locations. I’ll update.

Lovely park with sculptures not clustered in one area but spread out along the riverside promenade. There’s a Vietnam Memorial, and I think I passed another war memorial. Flags were at half-​mast yesterday, perhaps for the Kenyan Massacre? Try this place at night some time too, the city of Detroit and the bridge look beautiful from the river side. Romantic place for a stroll after a date.
Bonus: Plenty of parking and public restrooms!

I get the suspicion this location is way off base because I remember the sculpture park being adjacent to the Detroit River, visible from the base of the Ambassador Bridge all the way towards the downtown core. You get a great view of the sculptures from the river itself, especially if you take Diamond Jack’s or Princess cruises. A nice hour to two hour long exploration of the waterfront with a narrated guide is a perfect summertime treat, and a good way to be a tourist in your own town. Not enough Detroiters or Windsorians appreciate the waterfront or the beauty of where they live. (Avoid the Downriver trip, though, as Zug Island and the industrial heartland in disrepair is pretty sad.)
Odette Sculpture Park is made up of several different sculptures grouped by location and theme, commemorating the cultural history and civic background of Windsor. This diverse community might bring to mind images of Chrysler minivans, casinos, drinking «underage» if you’re an American 19-​year-​old, and the vilified bridge owned by corrupt mogul Matty Maroun. Windsor also boasts the highest Italian minority population of any major Canadian city, a thriving and diverse ethnic community, and links to the fur trade and French-​Canadian missionaries and explorers who sought a route to the Pacific. The sculptures do a fine job mixing past with present, from the huge train one where rail cars were once loaded to silhouettes of cheeky citizens having fun. Cast in bronze or contemporary materials in styles that range from classic to zany, the statues and shapes are the work of many different artists.
I hope Windsor keeps encouraging this sort of development as it’s a touch to the city that lures tourists and keeps residents appreciating what they have. They are great to explore by bike on the paved pathways, and you can stop for a picnic under a giant apple or beside a bronze horse.

Before you think of disrespecting Windsor, ask yourself how many cities of this size have any outdoor art, let alone a sculpture park? Tourists pass through Windsor on their way west to Detroit or their way east to Toronto. While there may not be reasons to make Windsor a destination, the Odette Sculpture Park on the Detroit River offers a respite and a chance to view a number of outdoor sculptures in a relaxed, almost pastorale, setting.