Things to Do in Saint Clair Shores

Since May 2008, Wheelhouse Detroit has been offering its customers a healthy and highly efficient new way to see Motown, with guided bike tours traversing the terrains and trails of Detroit. More than 80 bicycle tours are scheduled for the upcoming months, with new tours regularly added. On the Belle Isle tour on Saturday, May 21, pedaling explorers will cruise around Detroit's famed architectural archipelago, surveying sights such as the aquarium and Livingstone Memorial Lighthouse. Guides will discuss the history behind the area's famous statues, such as Alpheus Starkey Williams, who served as a Union general in the Civil War before tragically being turned to stone.

The year was 1975, and Wayne State University's David Mackenzie House was facing imminent destruction to make way for a new sewer line. Two university students rallied their peers to halt the demolition, simultaneously planting the seed that bloomed, like a flower bulb planted in radioactive dirt, into Preservation Detroit. Over the past three decades, the architectural preservation organization has become a leading advocate for the protection and rehabilitation of Detroit's historic abodes, skyscrapers, and culturally rich sites. Preservation Detroit's staff, composed primarily of volunteers, continues to nurture their community's passion for historical treasures through lectures, seasonal newsletters, and tours.

From May to September, tour guides usher pedestrians through the bustling streets of Detroit, weaving narrative tapestries about the century-old cultural center and, on the Auto Heritage tour, Henry Ford's flagship factory, birthplace of the Model T and the concept that assembly lines are useful for more than just completing the Sunday crossword. During a special yearly boat tour, guides unravel the Detroit River's seedy past as a conduit for Prohibition-era bootlegging while passengers dig into dinner.

• For $15, you get two general-admission tickets for either Memorial Annex Park or Henderson Park for all three days (a $30 value). Children 12 and under gain free admittance. • For $45, you get two grandstand tickets for Saturday and Sunday (a $90 value).

The sage-like city prowlers of Inside Detroit lead groups of tourists and natives through Detroit's history-rich hubs, charming watering holes, and evolving cultural centers. Walking tours bring urban nomads through the major landmarks of Detroit's downtown, such as the underground railroad's Second Baptist Church and the 40-story Guardian Building, an Aztec-inspired architectural masterpiece built during the 1920s, when it was thought to guard the city from hay fever.

Zap Zone's seven locations in Michigan and two locations in Canada each feature a unique combination of attractions—anything from bumper cars to the Jump Zone's cushioned obstacle course—but each one involves dodging laser blasts. In the laser-tag arena, both kids and adults demonstrate their teamwork skills by outscoring opponents in fast-paced games that take place inside black-lit mazes of neon-tinged hallways. Arcades also round out every location’s attractions, tempting passersby to drop a few tokens on racing games and skee-ball, or a lot of tokens on the claw game filled with Fabergé eggs.

At Benthic Scuba Center, a PADI Five-Star Development Center, a knowledgeable staff draws on more than 40 years of collective experience as they unlock the ocean's depths for seafaring visitors. Certified instructors lead all levels in dive courses such as Open Water Diver, Rescue Diver, and Air Diver Specialty. In addition to instructing divers, the centre also houses a vast selection of diving gear from top brands including Sherwood Scuba, Poseidon, and Oceanic, and loans rental equipment ranging from wetsuits and hoods to gauges and rubber duckies. The staff can also repair and maintain equipment to ensure safe aqueous excursions.