
There are 11 state parks within about an hour’s drive of metro Detroit. For many people, that may come as a welcoming surprise — which is why Dan Cooke began Expedition Detroit, a one-stop destination for all things outdoors in the state’s southeast region.
The company offers guided adventures as well as advocacy and volunteer programs, and includes content that’s replete with tips and tricks for local enthusiasts.
Launched in 2022, Expedition Detroit provides strategic marketing for organizations, companies, mom-and-pop shops, and larger retailers that are either based within the Detroit region or are trying to market to the region. “We also provide guided hiking, trail running, snowshoeing, backpacking, and night hiking trips,” Cooke says. “Our guided hikes are affiliated with the state parks, so a percentage of the revenue generated directly benefits our state parks, trails, and waterways.”
An avid outdoorsman since his youth, Cooke, a Detroit-based lawyer and native of Washington, D.C., with family roots in Michigan, would often travel with his friends across the country or overseas in search of their next extreme adventure. Then the pandemic hit.
“When COVID happened, we had no idea when our next backpacking trip would be. We had no idea when we’d even be able to leave the country again,” he says. “We just felt like we couldn’t scratch that itch.”
So, Cooke and his friends decided to explore the metro Detroit area’s local state and metro parks. “To our pleasant surprise, they weren’t only very good, they were amazing. I got to explore all these campgrounds, trails, rivers, and new parks that I’d always heard about.”

As the year progressed, Cooke and his friends continued to explore and discover all that the region has to offer. Then, “a light bulb went off,” he says. “If anyone should know that these places exist and how valuable they are, it should have been us — and we had no idea. So, if we didn’t know about these places, we wondered who else didn’t.”
That’s when Expedition Detroit was born, based on Cooke’s belief that most people don’t view Detroit as a gateway to world-class outdoor recreation.
The company offers guided adventures in all four seasons. It has multiple guides, trips for all skill levels, and a passion to spread awareness of the incredible outdoor opportunities in the region.
While Maybury State Park in Northville and Detroit’s Belle Isle are two of Expedition Detroit’s most popular destinations, there are many other not-to-miss locations, such as beginner hikes on the Penosha Trail in Brighton Recreation Area, expert-level mountain biking at a celebrated loop in the Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area, or moderate-level hiking trips to Highland State Recreation Area’s 1,160-foot-tall Mount Kanzer.
Expedition Detroit even offers the ability to conquer one of the Detroit region’s Black Diamond-rated hiking trails: the Highland State Recreation Area’s A-B-C-D Loops.
Dearborn resident Wendy DeLozier, who Cooke calls “our all-star tour participant,” experienced her first trip with Expedition Detroit last winter. In search of a new adventure to try, she stumbled upon the company’s guided tours. “When I read what it was about, I was like, this sounds great because it’s all about taking a tour with somebody who understands or has hiked a trail,” the 54-year-old says.

DeLozier’s first tour was a night hike in Maybury State Park on a cold, snow-covered January evening. Other participants had canceled their reservations due to the weather.
“Being out in the nighttime with the snow was really peaceful,” she says. “I learned a lot about Maybury. I never knew that it was a tuberculosis hospital location. Dan told me a lot about the history of the park.”
Within a few weeks, she joined three more trips at various parks, including a five-hour hike through Pontiac Lake’s MTB trail. “Expedition Detroit brought my attention to how many different trails there are locally,” DeLozier says. “Dan’s just the nicest guy. So, to me, just to spend time in nature and to learn a little bit more about our culture and about Michigan is pretty cool.”
Ross Sandelius agrees. Wanting to get back into fitness and to explore the outdoors, he went on an impromptu hiking trip last year and quickly realized he wanted to do — and learn — more. “I love hiking and I’m discovering biking, but I also eventually aspire to go backpacking and camping, so I was just kind of doing some searching online and ran across Expedition Detroit.”
His first trip also was a night hike at Maybury. “The outing was fantastic and it was a great overview of the park’s extensive history,” the 42-year-old Ferndale resident says. “Dan pointed out a lot of things about wildlife in the park, and what his experiences were and what you could look out for. Plus, it was very cool to be out in the woods at night, hiking.”
Cooke plans to expand the company’s members-only subscription service and offer more guided adventures. “We just (had) our largest group ever — a 20-person trip to Belle Isle. It was amazing to have a group that size and feel like everyone was dialed in.”
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Expedition Detroit
expeditiondetroit.com
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