Community Events

Elmwood Cemetery and Arboretum, the Historic Elmwood Foundation, and students from Martin Luther King Jr. High School celebrate Detroit trees on Arbor Day, Friday, April 25 at 1:30 p.m. The event will begin with a student tree planting near our gatehouse, followed by an educational walk through or Arboretum and a student seedling giveaway. Open to the public! 

Join us for a tour of our gorgeous and historic certified Arboretum! You'll learn more about the history of Elmwood, its landscape (Frederick Law Olmsted was here), and the 90+ species of trees in our serene, green oasis in the heart of the city. We're hopeful you'll see some trees in peak bloom.

Certified master arborist Todd Fleishans co-leads this tour to share information about Elmwood's notable trees and teach some tree care and tree ID basics. Sunday, April 27 at 10 a.m. Learn more and register here.

Extended hours for grounds access beginning May 1 are through September 15, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Detroit, once known by the code name “Midnight,” was one of the last and most important stops on the Underground Railroad and home to a robust Black-led community of anti-slavery activists, many of whom are buried at Elmwood. Join Jamon Jordan, Official Historian of the City of Detroit, for a tour exploring the history and context of the Underground Railroad in Detroit and Michigan. Elmwood is proud to be a significant site on the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. May 10 at 11 a.m. The tour is free, but registration is required; sign up here. 

Join the Detroit Bird Alliance and the Historic Elmwood Foundation for a birding walk at the cemetery! This is a great field trip for birders of all ages and experience levels during spring migration. We will walk the grounds to identify the species we see throughout the cemetery and discuss bird migration, habitats and a few Elmwood history highlights. Tours begin at 8:30 a.m. Bring your own binoculars, or Detroit Bird Alliance will have some on-hand to borrow. We will gather in the chapel following the walk for refreshments and discussion.

To register, visit the Detroit Bird Alliance's Eventbrite or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more details.

Get to know Elmwood's history, art, nature and landscape from the comfort of a charming vintage trolley! We've partnered with Detroit's own Grand Trolley to bring you a delightful ride through our beautiful and historic 86-acre cemetery led by an expert guide. Tours will last about two hours. There will be some hop-off stops with a little bit of walking, but all stops are optional; just cruise and enjoy the scenery if you prefer! Tickets are $20 with a limited capacity of 24 people per tour. Sign up here for the trolley tour on Thursday, May 22 at 11 a.m. 

Thousands of service members are buried at Elmwood going all the way back to the Revolutionary War. Elmwood is also the site of a Firemen's Fund Memorial and burial lot, established in 1872, where the Detroit Firemen's Fund hosts a biannual Memorial Day remembrance event.

On this tour, we'll visit the graves of service members, firefighters and police officers who died in the line of duty and share stories about the history of Detroit's police and fire departments and the origin and evolution of Memorial Day. Co-leading this tour is Bill McGraw, a journalist in Detroit for more than 50 years, mainly at the Free Press. He is the creator of The Detroit Almanac and "The Quotations of Mayor Coleman A. Young" and covered the fire department when he worked at the Freep.   

This free tour will last about 2 hours, mostly on paved roads, but there will be some gentle hills and ventures into the grass. Sunday, May 25 at 10 a.m. Learn more and register here.

The Detroit Firemen's Fund hosts its annual Memorial Day Ceremony at Elmwood this year. The procession, led by a historic 1937 Seagrave Safety Sedan, begins at the Engine 9, located at 3787 E. Lafayette St., at 8 a.m., and proceeds to the Firemen's Fund Memorial on Section 1. 

We also welcome Memorial Day visitors to stop outside the office and take a carnation or a flag for your loved one's grave. Our office is closed in observance of the holiday, but our gates will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.  

Get to know Elmwood's history, art, nature and landscape from the comfort of a charming vintage trolley! We've partnered with Detroit's own Grand Trolley to bring you a delightful ride through our beautiful and historic 86-acre cemetery led by an expert guide. Tours will last about two hours. There will be some hop-off stops with a little bit of walking, but all stops are optional; just cruise and enjoy the scenery if you prefer! Tickets are $20 with a limited capacity of 24 people per tour. Sign up here for the trolley tour on Sunday, June 8 at 10 a.m.