Ask a longtime Chesterfield Township resident what's happening with the parks right now and you'll likely hear some version of "they're still working on it." The nature preserve isn't done. The paddle park doesn't have its pavilion yet. Even the township's own paperwork describes Webber Paddle Park as being in its "beginning stages of development." Several other local attractions are available while these projects remain in development.
A weekend itinerary can pair outdoor recreation with a museum visit, a festival and nearby dining.
Webber Paddle Park and kayak rentals
Webber Paddle Park sits along the Salt River on Jefferson Avenue, and the township still lists it as a work in progress, with a pavilion and additional launch areas planned for whenever funding allows. The park also offers kayak and paddleboard rentals through a private vendor.
Motor City Paddle Club held its grand opening at Webber Paddle Park on July 20, 2024, adding single and tandem kayaks and stand-up paddleboards for rent. Hourly rates started at $15 for a single kayak and $20 for a tandem or paddleboard, with a 10 percent discount for Chesterfield Township residents, military members and first responders. Rentals offer another reason to visit in the meantime.
The Salt River connects to Anchor Bay, giving paddlers a route beyond the park; rentals have been available for two full summers.
The 33-acre Salt River Nature Preserve
The Salt River Nature Preserve remains under development. Six Rivers Land Conservancy acquired the 33-acre property on the township's behalf back in 2020, with plans for nature trails, boardwalks and a paddle trail connecting to the Lake St. Clair Coastal Water Trail.
A visitor review posted in September 2025 described the preserve as still under active development, with the main entrance tucked well back off Hooker Road, a second entrance under construction off Jefferson kitty-corner from Brandenburg Park, and a separate stretch of trail being built out behind the Kroger on 23 Mile Road. The township's plan is to eventually connect all three into one network. Right now they're three disconnected pieces, and the reviewer's advice to prepare for frequent changes still holds.
The preserve remains under development; visitors seeking water access can use Webber Paddle Park two minutes away.
A free museum with Tuesday hours and monthly Saturdays
If there's one stop in the township that genuinely surprises people who've lived here for years, it's Stahls Motors and Music Experience on North Bay Drive. The collection holds more than 90 vintage vehicles inside a 45,000-square-foot building, most of them from the Art Deco era and the Great Depression, alongside a restored Wurlitzer theater organ and a run of mechanical music machines that most visitors don't expect to find next to the cars.
Admission is free, supported by donation boxes at the door. The catch is the schedule.
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Regular visiting hours | Tuesdays, 1 to 4 p.m. |
| Extended hours | First Saturday of each month, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Annual open house events | Autos for Autism fundraiser and a Veterans Day open house |
That's three open hours in a typical week, with a longer Saturday window once a month, which is exactly why so many residents drive past the building without ever going in. It isn't hidden. It's just open on a schedule that rewards people who plan around it rather than people who happen to notice the sign.
The Cheers to Chesterfield Festival
Every August, Brandenburg Park hosts the Cheers to Chesterfield Festival, scheduled to coincide with a stop of the Bassmaster Elite Series, a national professional fishing tour. The tour brings a weigh-in stage and its crowd to the park, alongside the township's festival programming.
Last year's event ran August 7 through 10 at Brandenburg Park, with pro anglers weighing in each afternoon and the township layering in food trucks, a beer tent, a kids zone with bounce houses, live music and a Friday night fireworks show. The Anchor Bay Chamber of Commerce runs the vendor booths, and admission stays free throughout.
The festival returned again this summer. It's a partnership with a national fishing tour, run in cooperation with a chamber of commerce, staged at a park the township owns.
Where the loop actually ends
After a paddle and a look at pre-war Packards, the natural next stop is dinner, and this is where Chesterfield Township quietly blurs into its neighbor. Feast, the steakhouse at 30400 23 Mile Road, sits solidly inside the township and has built a following on its tomahawk and crab cake offerings. Amore's Grill & Spirits, a few minutes away, has leaned into the same identity, describing itself simply as home to Chesterfield's best libations.
But plenty of the spots residents mentally file under "Chesterfield dining" sit just over the line. The sushi-and-Mexican spot that draws repeat visits for its birria tacos and its Friday-night live music carries a New Baltimore street address, even though it sits along the same stretch of Anchor Bay that Chesterfield residents treat as their own backyard. Nobody paddling out of Webber Park or walking Stahls' showroom floor is thinking in ZIP codes when they decide where to eat afterward. The dining scene here has never respected the township line, and residents plan their nights accordingly.
The loop, once you see it
These stops offer different ways to spend time in the township. The nature preserve remains under development. The paddle park still lacks a pavilion. The museum has Tuesday hours and a longer Saturday window once a month. The festival takes place alongside a fishing tour. Together, these stops offer a paddle, a museum, a festival weekend and nearby dining for a Chesterfield outing.
The township plans to connect the preserve's three trail segments into one network. When completed, that will add to the area's outdoor options; in the meantime, the park, museum, festival and nearby dining offer a weekend itinerary.
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