Be My Valentine! 25 Detroit Date Night Ideas

Valentine’s Day: A perfect excuse for a date night. Those mystical few hours where you and your partner get to be KID FREE!  

For many parents it happens so rarely that we’ve forgotten that there is actually more to life than (lovingly) wiping little bottoms or sticky hands and singing nursery rhymes. 

We used to be fun. Right?   

So when the magical unicorn opportunity, otherwise known as “Date Night”, happens…some of us can get a little stuck and lack ideas on what to do, other than the old dinner and a movie standard. 

So here are 25 fun ideas to try with your Valentine, or on your next night out in and around Detroit:

1. Escape Rooms – Use your brains for something other
   than meal planning and juggling schedules.  There are quite a few options around the metro area Breakout, The Great Escape Room, Escape Room,and Trapped in a Room with a Zombie are just a few.
2. Go rock climbing!  Planet Rock has locations in Madison Heights and Ann Arbor.
3. Bowling is a cheap and fun way to spend an evening out, especially with friends.
4. Feather Bowling at the Cadiuex Cafe.  Somewhere between horsehoes and bocci, it’s tons of fun and this is the only place in the U.S. that you can do it.  Plus there’s a fantastic beer selection and great food!
5. Ice Skating, either outdoors at Campus Martius in the winter or at your local indoor rink.
6. Curling.  Channel our neighbors to the North and try this Canadian favorite at the Detroit Curling Club.
7. Live music.  Detroit Rock City always has live music!  From the local corner bar to Cliff Bell’s to big arena acts at DTE or The Palace.  Check the Metro Times calendar to see what’s happening musically around town.
8. Laugh together at a comedy show at one of our local comedy clubs.  Go Comedy! Improv, Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle, Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase, & Joey’s Comedy Shop are a few of the local places to try.
9. Make art together!  Painting classes like Painting with a Twist have locations in Ferndale, Farmington, Shelby Twp, Wixom, Rochester Hills, and Detroit.
10. If you don’t want to make art, look at it.  The Detroit Institute of Arts has evening hours on the weekends and also art films at the Detroit Film Theatre.
11. Enjoy the sweet sounds of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
12. Game Night! Play video games, win tickets, and earn prizes.  Like Chuck E Cheese for grown ups, but with better beer, Dave & Busters has locations in Utica and Livonia.  
13. Punch Bowl Social has craft cocktails and variety of pub games like shuffleboard, Foosball, ping pong, and pinball plus a bowling alley.
14. Go Sporty! This is Hockeytown! We have a wide variety of Professional, Semi-Pro, and college teams to cheer on.  Check out the Red Wings, Pistons, Tigers, or Lions for pro action, the Big House in Ann Arbor to root for the Wolverines or Go Green in East Lansing for the Spartans.  For the soccer fanatic, it doesn’t get much more fun than taking in a Detroit City Football Club (DCFC) game downtown. City or die!
15. Get jazzy at one of the local Jazz venues like Cliff Bell’s, Baker’s Keyboard Lounge, Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe, or Bert’s.
16. Win big at one of the local casinos (Motor City, MGM Grand, or Greektown), go international across the border at Caesars Windsor, or if you can overnight without the kids, head to Mt. Pleasant and Soaring Eagle.
17. Book a couples massage at your local spa.
18. Head to the races!  Bet on the ponies at Northville Downs or the Hazel Park Raceway.
19. Plan a Night In: Send the kids on a sleepover and order takeout and rent movies.  Sometimes it’s nice to have some couple time in your own home.  If that’s not possible, book a hotel and order room service.
20. Take a tour!  There are tons of fun options to sight-see and learn more about the city we love.  Try a Diamond Jack cruise in the summer, Detroit Experience Factory, or a Detroit Bus Tour.
21. Ride a bike.  Wheelhouse Detroit offers bike rentals by
    the hour and also guided tours through the city.  Slow Roll is another fun way to see the city.
22. Target Practice.  Head to a local firing range!  Close Quarters Tactical, Firing Line, and Action Impact are local options.
23. See a show.  There’s always live theater around town, check Ticketmaster for schedules at The Fox, The Detroit Opera House, Macomb Performing Arts, or The Masonic Temple.
24. Go dancing!  Arthur Murray Dance Studio has locations all around the metro area.  Or try the free salsa lessons on Friday nights at Vicente’s.
25. Take a cooking class together.  Sur La Table offers classes at their Somerset Mall location in Troy.

Wishing YOU a wonderful night out with your sweetie!