This Midwest City Near Detroit Is A Vibrant Shopping Hub With River Trails And Family-Friendly Fun

As Michigan's largest city, Detroit is a cultural center that is home to the state's professional sports teams, a growing dining scene, and so much more. Naturally, it also features plenty of charming suburbs stretching into the city limits and surrounding counties. One of those nearby towns is Auburn Hills, which might be recognizable to some because it was home to the Detroit Pistons' stadium for 29 eventful seasons until 2017. But Auburn Hills embodies a lot more than memories of NBA championships; it's a laid-back destination in its own right, boasting some of the best shopping in Michigan, plenty of family-friendly fun, and lots of riverside green spaces.

Auburn Hills is located 30 miles north of Detroit and, with a population of around 26,000, is growing rapidly. Beyond hosting the Pistons for nearly three decades, the town's other claim to fame is the Great Lakes Crossing Outlets. Michigan's biggest indoor mall features hundreds of stores and restaurants, plus plenty of fun attractions for all ages, making it an easy and convenient place to spend the day.

While known as a shopping hub, Auburn Hills also has historic destinations, great community events, and is built around the Clinton River, which flows through the town's parks, offering river trails, paddling opportunities, or the quiet soundtrack to an afternoon picnic. It all makes Auburn Hills worth adding to a Detroit-area itinerary for the chance to get in some retail therapy, take the children for a LEGO-themed adventure, or escape the hustle with a nice bike ride along the river.

The Great Lakes Crossing Outlets (GLCO) in Auburn Hills is a shopping haven with a movie theater and delicious eateries. Spanning 1.3 million square feet, it's the largest indoor shopping center in Michigan and has 185 stores and restaurants. Many of the retail locations there can't be found anywhere else in the state. GLCO also has Michigan's largest food court, so it's easy to grab a meal between retail adventures.

This shopping center features a ton of family fun as well, with four main destinations to enjoy, starting with the LEGOLAND Discovery Center. There you can find all the fun attractions, carefree creativity, and rides one expects from the brand, but you can also combine a ticket with the Sea Life Michigan Aquarium. The aquarium hosts over 5,000 fish, rays, sea horses, and jellies, an interactive touch pool, the only underwater tropical ocean tunnel in Michigan, and more.

For a younger crowd, the Peppa Pig World of Play is a themed indoor playground within the mall that has 14 play areas designed after the world of the popular cartoon. In any season, it offers children the chance to explore the animated world in a variety of ways, like crawling through tunnels, climbing the treehouse, or shopping at Miss Rabbit's Supermarket. Meanwhile, a wider audience will easily find fun at the Round 1 Bowling & Arcade, which has all the classics of traditional bowling lanes, arcade games with prizes, and karaoke. It might not be one of America's 9 best malls for an unforgettable shopping experience, but the Great Lakes Crossing Outlets is reason enough for many to visit Auburn Hills.

Hotels in this suburban area are plentiful, but if you're looking for accommodation in Auburn Hills that's a bit closer to nature, the Hawk Woods Park and Campground is a solid choice. Covering 80 acres of forests, fields, and marshlands, Hawk Woods Park offers six overnight cabins available from June to October and miles of hiking trails, including a boardwalk through the wetlands. Beyond the campground, the town boasts around half a dozen other public green spaces, like Riverside Park (pictured above). It's located downtown and has picnic areas, barbecue grills, quiet walking paths with river access, a splash pad, and the Knight Amphitheater, where you can enjoy outdoor concerts and movies.

The Clinton River meandering through town is a main feature of the community, and visitors and residents alike can enjoy the 2.1-mile Clinton River Trail. It's paved and multi-use, meaning it's great for walking, rollerblading, or biking. The trail is also part of a larger rail-trail that stretches for 12 miles, connecting Auburn Hills to other suburbs like West Bloomfield. If you're looking to get on the river, you can take part in Paddlepalooza, an 8-mile kayak race that starts in Riverside Park (although it's not recommended for beginners).

Auburn Hills' proximity to Detroit, known as the 'Paris of the Midwest' for its French heritage, means there are cultural destinations nearby and family-friendly events throughout the year. The stunning Meadow Brook Hall is less than 10 minutes from downtown Auburn Hills and offers tours of its 88,000-square-foot palatial estate that was once home to Matilda Dodge Wilson, the widow of Dodge Brothers Motor Company co-founder John Dodge. Now it's a National Historic Landmark and hosts events like classic movie nights, Mother's Day Tea, summer concerts, and more.