Bloomfield Hills

Bloomfield Hills appeals to travelers who want to include culture, architecture, and nature in their trip. A distinctive starting point for exploring is Cranbrook: Cranbrook Educational Community was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989. Historic homes, gardens, art, and nature trails add to the cultural landscape.

Art and History at Cranbrook

Cranbrook is located at 39221 Woodward Avenue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Exhibitions of modern and contemporary art and design change throughout the year at Cranbrook Art Museum. Those particularly interested in the collections can choose a tour of the Collections Wing, where nearly 6,000 works of art are on display. This offers a choice between changing exhibitions and an extensive collection as different ways to explore art and design.

Cranbrook Community also welcomes the public to events, programs, and tours, and offers opportunities to volunteer. This gives you different cultural options to consider when planning your trip: you can focus on a museum visit or see which events, programs, and tours match your interests.

Homes, Architecture, and Gardens

Cranbrook House is the oldest surviving mansion in the Detroit metropolitan area and offers guided tours to the public. Surrounding the house, Cranbrook Gardens covers a 40-acre site with more than 15 gardens. The house and gardens thus offer two distinct perspectives: guided tours focus on the historic mansion, while the garden grounds are distinguished by their variety of gardens.

Another architectural experience is Saarinen House, an Art Deco masterpiece by Eliel Saarinen. By contrast, the Smith House in Bloomfield Hills illustrates the Usonian ideal: it aimed to build high-quality homes for the American middle class. Architecture enthusiasts will find both an Art Deco masterpiece and an example of an idea for residential construction. These themes can help you decide on the cultural focus of a trip to Bloomfield Hills.

Landscapes and Nature Experiences

The natural and landscaped grounds of Cranbrook Educational Community include one of the oldest Japanese gardens in the United States. Within the landscapes described here, the garden is a distinctive highlight for anyone interested in Japanese garden design.

For nature trails, Johnson Nature Center offers a different option: it has about 2.0 miles of nature trails. The center is also home to enclosures for orphaned deer and injured hawks and owls, which can be observed up close. If you want to include nature and wildlife viewing among your travel experiences, you can add these features to your plans alongside the cultural offerings. Admission to Cranbrook Institute of Science also includes access to the nature trails.

Bloomfield Historical Society offers a curated collection of photographs, documents, and stories about the people and events that have shaped Bloomfield Hills. This complements the architecture and art themes with a look at the area's history. When choosing a vacation rental in Bloomfield Hills, it may therefore be helpful to first decide whether you want to focus your trip primarily on art, architecture, gardens, nature, or local history.

More places at a glance: Madison Heights, Lake Orion, Walled Lake, Pontiac, Holly, Clawson, Novi, Ferndale.

For the broader travel overview: Oakland.