Detroit Lakes: Beaches, Trails and Polar Fest

When planning your trip to Detroit Lakes, you can focus on different things: time by the water, activities on trails, local art, or seasonal events. Whether you’re mainly planning water activities or want to take a specific festival period into account, the city offers a variety of options. Also consider the time of year, as some offerings are subject to specific conditions or dates.

City Beach: sandy beach and water access

City Beach is a well-maintained sandy beach on the shore of Little Detroit Lake, about one mile long. The beach offers public swimming access; seasonal conditions may vary. If swimming is important to you during your stay, take seasonal conditions into account when planning.

There are two public launch sites for boats and other watercraft. They serve anglers and other water sports enthusiasts. If you’d like to use one of these sites, check the current access conditions in advance. This lets you distinguish between beach and water sports activities: City Beach’s character includes both public swimming access and launch sites for watercraft.

Heartland State Trail and city trails

The Heartland State Trail is a multi-use trail. You can walk your dog, jog, and inline skate there. In winter, the trail is used by skate skiers and snowmobilers. The different uses can help you plan: consider which activity interests you and whether you’d like to use the trail during the winter months. Trail conditions may change seasonally.

East of Detroit Lakes, a 7.5-mile paved section of the Heartland State Trail leads to Frazee. The city trail system also lets you explore the community and its parks. The Heartland State Trail and city trails thus offer different options if you’d like to include activities on foot or on wheels in your trip.

Anniversary art and museum

To mark Detroit Lakes’ 150th anniversary, 150 sailboats were made locally in 2021 based on a design by Hans Gilsdorf. Regional artists painted the boats individually. The project thus connects a city anniversary with locally created art and a precisely specified number of objects. The anniversary project offers a different focus from beaches and trails: it centers on design, production, and individual painting.

The Becker County Museum in Detroit Lakes offers another cultural point of interest. It has 10,500 square feet of exhibit space. If you’d like to include art and exhibitions alongside outdoor activities, the anniversary sailboat project and the museum’s exhibit space offer two different options.

Polar Fest in February, Festival of Birds in spring

Polar Fest is celebrated every year in February and includes activities over two weeks or longer. Exact dates and programming vary from year to year. The festival’s history dates back to 1996; it was revived in 2005 so that it would include several events over more than two weeks in February. Events planned for the 2026 edition included the Poles N’ Holes Fishing Derby, the Polar Fest Plunge, the ULTRA Snowmobile Rally/Swap, and the Frozen Fireworks.

Another seasonal event is the Detroit Lakes Festival of Birds, held every spring. The timing of the two events is therefore clear: Polar Fest takes place in February, while the Festival of Birds takes place in spring. Exact dates and schedules for both may vary. If you choose one of the festivals as the occasion for your trip, check the dates and program for that year.

For an overview of the wider area: Becker County.