Ford House's New Shoreline Reaches Its First Fall Still Unfinished, and October Is Planned Around It

"Bird Island is still in the process of being planted and restored," Kevin Drotos, Ford House's Landscape & Natural Areas Manager, told C&G News in July. He said it a week after nearly a mile of restored Lake St. Clair shoreline opened to the public for the first time.

That status still holds as October begins. The berm path, the Bird Island boardwalk and Benson's Backyard are open. The recreated pier, the historic willows and a large second round of planting are still on the way. Ford House has scheduled its fall around that unfinished edge. At the same time, the city of Grosse Pointe Shores is raising money to rebuild Osius Park's pool and community center. Both of the city's main public gathering places are partway through a rebuild this fall.

What opened July 7, and what is still coming

The ribbon cutting on July 7 opened public access to a reopened Bird Island and a new universally accessible path on top of an engineered berm. The path runs along Ford Cove from the Visitor Center to the historic Main Residence. Bird Island now has a boardwalk across restored wetlands and vernal pools. It also has Benson's Backyard, a nature-based play area named for one of Edsel and Eleanor Ford's children.

Most of the work happened in the past year, but Drotos said the project took a decade to come together. A $7 million grant from NOAA Fisheries' Community-based Restoration Program paid for it. The goal reaches past the estate. NOAA estimates that about 99.9 percent of Michigan's Lake St. Clair shoreline is hardened with concrete and rock. Across the lake in Canada, where natural shoreline is still common, a binational survey run with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources found fish catch rates about 10 times higher. In Ford Cove, crews placed felled trees to shelter young fish. Some of those trees came from dead ones removed from the property last winter.

Here is what is still on the way, by the most recent public word:

• Planting. More than 50,000 native perennials and 500 trees and shrubs went in before the opening. Tens of thousands more perennials and hundreds more trees and shrubs were planned for later in 2026.
• The pier. Ford House plans to recreate Edsel Ford's former boat dock as a pier with a new view of the lake. The project timeline listed "Mid-Fall 2026." In July, Ford House's Tommy Karr told C&G it would come "this fall or next spring." Great Lakes Now reported in August that educational fishing programs at the dock were under discussion. No program has been announced.
• The willows. The native willows are grown from the estate's original trees, which are more than 100 years old. Significant planting has to wait until spring 2027.

So a walk along Ford Cove this October covers ground that won't look the same next spring.

An October planned along the berm path

Ford House's fall programs use the new shoreline more than earlier calendars could, because until July the public had no way to reach it. These are the dated listings for the weeks ahead:

1. Saturday, Oct. 10, 8 to 10:30 a.m. Bird Walk. Local birders lead a walk through the estate's shoreline, meadows, woods and gardens, with coffee or tea afterward. Ford House staff told C&G they were already seeing more wildlife along the restored edge.
2. Saturday, Oct. 17, noon to 1 p.m. Autumn Shoreline Guided Tour. This 50-minute guided walk along Ford Cove and Bird Island covers estate history, Jens Jensen's approach to landscape design and shoreline ecology. The listing warns that the woodchip and gravel paths are uneven.
3. Saturday, Oct. 24, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Little Goblins. Details are in the next section.
4. Friday, Oct. 30. Halloween Concert Over the Cove. The Kalkaska Quartet plays Halloween-themed selections in two 75-minute sessions, from 6 to 7:15 p.m. and from 8 to 9:15 p.m. Tickets are $45 for Friends of Ford House and $55 for public adults.

Every Tuesday in October, Storytime: Stumpkin is followed by pumpkin coloring. In November it switches to Click, Clack, Moo, followed by playtime. Both are free for children 7 and under.

The concert and Little Goblins pages currently show both "sold out" and "limited tickets available." Check the event page before planning around either one.

Little Goblins takes a new route

Little Goblins shows most clearly how the fall calendar has shifted. For 2026 Ford House redrew the route so it now reaches the historic pool. It has 13 treat stations, costumed characters, a straw maze and a hayride. Tickets are $7 for Friends adults and $10 for public adults. Children's tickets are $15 for Friends and $20 for the public.

Little Goblins comes three days after the city's own Halloween event. Boo-Fest runs Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Osius Park. It costs $5 per child and is free for children 2 and under. The city flyer lists the event, place, time and price but no activity schedule.

The season gets shorter after Halloween

Seasonal hours change the shoreline walk as much as the planting does. Ford House posts these hours, which apply Tuesday through Sunday. The grounds close at sunset.

Grounds admission is $7 per adult and $5 per child ages 3 to 17. Children 2 and under get in free, and so do Friends of Ford House members. Annual memberships cost $50 for Individual, $75 for Dual and $100 for Family. They include free admission and a three-day presale for events. That presale matters for the holidays. Home for the Holidays tickets go on sale to Friends at 10 a.m. on Oct. 20 and to the public at 10 a.m. on Oct. 23. The event starts Nov. 27 and 28. It combines a walk of roughly one mile around the grounds, a self-paced visit through the Main Residence and the Mistletoe Market. Adult tickets are $18 for Friends and $24 for the public. Tickets for children ages 3 to 17 are $10 and $12. The map posted on the event page is still labeled 2025 and "subject to change."

On a rainy day, the Visitor Center exhibition "Wish You Were Here: Unpacking Ford Family Travel" follows the family's trips from 1915 to 1936. It runs through May 2027 and is included with general admission.

Osius Park's rebuild is just starting

The Ford House shoreline is already open to walk. The city's rebuild at Osius Park is at the fundraising stage. In late summer, city employees hand-delivered a fundraising packet to every household for a new pool and community center. The project costs $14 million, and about $4 million has been donated or committed so far. That total includes a $1.2 million gift from the estate of Carole Ann Williams, which had to go to Osius Park. Her father, Jack G. Williams, was mayor of the Shores from 1954 to 1964. The Grosse Pointe Shores Improvement Foundation has committed to raising $1 million. Its president, Rob Satler, said the campaign will run over a number of years, as reported by Grosse Pointe News.

Satler explained why the timing is now. The current pool closed about six times this summer for mechanical problems. He said it "outlived its design life at least 20 years ago." Its lanes are too short to host the Lakefront Swimming Association finals, and it is too shallow for starting blocks. The plans call for Olympic-standard 25-meter lanes, a recreational diving area, a multispeed lazy river and a fenced children's pool. The community center adds a 2,236-square-foot second level with a food-prep and warming area for family gatherings, game nights, yoga and educational talks. In May, city council voted unanimously to issue a notice of intent for up to $10 million in bonds. Pat McGow of the Miller Canfield law firm told council that was the first step in a multistep process.

City services wrap up the month. The electronic-waste drop-off day is Oct. 10, curbside leaf collection begins Oct. 13, and the Lighting of the Village is listed for Nov. 29.

If you'd like to talk about how projects like the Ford House shoreline and the Osius Park rebuild are shaping the Shores, or want a second opinion on your own fall projects, Megan Ford knows this stretch of Lake Shore Road block by block. Let's Connect.