River Ferry Service Returns To Belle Isle For Grand Prix

If you’ve ever wanted to take a ferry to Belle Isle on the Detroit river, here’s your chance for a picturesque and fun ride before seeing the fast-paced action of the Grand Prix.

The Detroit/ Wayne County Port Authority and the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix will have ferry service return to and from Belle Isle State Park for the 2015 Grand Prix, May 29 to May 31.

“We are extremely excited to bring the ferry back this year,” said John Loftus, Executive Director of the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority.  “This is a great way to showcase the Riverfront, the city skyline, and the Grand Prix while offering people a new way to get on the water and take full advantage of a tremendous resource in our own backyard.”

The Port Authority provided ferry service to and from Belle Isle during the 2012 and 2013 Grand Prix events, but budgetary constraints prevented the ferry service from operating last year. This year that’s not the case.

Here’s how you ride. The Grand Prix Ferry will be operating Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, May 29-31, from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., unless high traffic requires the ferry to extend its hours of operation. The ferry service will run non-stop to and from Belle Isle hourly on Friday, and about every 30 minutes on Saturday and Sunday. The boats run direct to and from the island with an average transit time of 12 minutes.

The ferrys will depart from the Port Authority Public Dock and Terminal, located at 130 Atwater Street in downtown Detroit and drop off passengers at the Harbor Master terminal near the main entrance to the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix on Belle Isle.

It’ll only cost $10 for a round-trip ticket to and from the event, or a three-day Grand Prix Ferry pass can be purchased for just $27. Tickets for the Grand Prix Ferry can be purchased at www.detroitgpferry.com. Ferry tickets will also be available for purchase during the course of race weekend at the Port Authority.

Fans arriving on the ferry can purchase tickets to the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix at the Box Office located right outside the entrance to the venue on the island.

Parking for those taking the ferry service is available at the Miller Parking Garage next to the Port Authority as well as Cobo Center, GM Renaissance Center surface lots and other areas designated on the Transportation page Grand Prix Transportation at the Grand Prix’s official web site.