Biking to and from Canada across the Gordie Howe Bridge has quickly become a bucket-list ride around here! As such, we are getting a ton of questions about the experience, and in this post I’ll do my best to answer them and demystify the experience. Questions and answers, commence!

Can I rent a bike from Wheelhouse to bike the Gordie Howe? Absolutely! We recommend a sports hybrid with a minimum of a half-day rental. You can book HERE.

Where should we park? If you are renting at Wheelhouse, we have a lot adjacent to the shop. If it’s full, there is street parking the Rivertown neighborhood and several parking structures within walking distance.

Other options include Clark Park, Riverside Park, Fort Wayne, Delray Public Boat Launch, and Patton Park. More info on each to follow.

How long does it take? Depends on customs, but give yourself a minimum of an hour to go back and forth and get through customs. If you don’t actually enter Canada, you will just have to go through customs once on the US side.

Anything else? It’s quite a climb! I’ve ridden the Mackinac, Ambassador, Golden Gate, Williamsburg, and Verrazzano-Narrows bridges, so I’m quite familiar with a “bridge climb” and this one was no joke! I rode on a weekday morning that was cool enough for me to be wearing a windbreaker and I ripped it off immediately, I got so hot. I can only imagine on a warmer, sunny day, you’ll heat up quite quickly so keep that in mind. Lots of people were walking their bikes, there’s no shame in your game if you need to do that.

Do you do a tour that includes the Gordie Howe? Not yet, but we hope to in 2027.

Here’s some more route and parking details.

Wheelhouse: 6-ish miles

Quicker and dirtier: Riverwalk west through Ralph C. Wilson Centennial Park, Rosa Parks north to Fort Street, Fort west to Clark Street, Clark south to West Jefferson, West Jefferson west to bridge entry.

Nicer ride: Riverwalk west through Ralph C. Wilson Centennial Park, Southwest Greenway northwest to Bagley St, Bagley west (across pedestrian bridge) (jog through Clark Park) to Clark Street, Clark south to Jefferson, head west to bridge entry. Good stops at Honeybee Market, Donovan’s Pub, Los Golanes, La Michoacana, Armando’s, Mexicantown Bakery.

Clark Park: 1.6 miles

Clark south to West Jefferson, West Jefferson west to bridge entry. Start near La Michoacana, Armando’s, Mexicantown Bakery. If small lot on Clark at Porter is full, there is street parking around perimeter of park.

Riverside Park: 2 miles

North on W. Grand Boulevard or Scotten to Fort Street, Fort west to Clark Street, Clark south to West Jefferson, West Jefferson west to bridge entry. Lots of parking options (and bathrooms) at Riverside, but not a lot going on between the park and the bridge entry.

Fort Wayne: across street from entry

You can park at Fort Wayne and the entry to the multi-use pathway is right across the street. If you choose this option, build in some time to ride around the Fort grounds! More info about Historic Fort Wayne HERE.

Delray Public Boat Ramp: <.5 miles

Head east on West Jefferson to bridge entry.

Patton Park: 3 miles

South on Woodmere to Dearborn Street, Dearborn southeast to West Jefferson, West Jefferson east to bridge entry. Good stops include Black Horse Cantina, Carbon AC (become a member!), Woodmere Cemetery.