The City of Royal Oak is a dynamic place to live, work and play. Its central location, multitude of amenities, continued investment in the community and rich cultural and commercial tradition, make Royal Oak a premier community in southeastern Michigan. Royal Oak is located about 10 minutes from a revitalized Detroit, 20 minutes from Canada, and 45 minutes from Ann Arbor. The city enjoys easy access to the surrounding areas due to its position at the crossroads of the world's first concrete highway, historic Woodward Avenue, I-696 and I-75.

One of our favorite parts of Royal Oak is that it has the appeal of a small town while featuring many of the amenities of a large city. Residents enjoy walking from their tree-lined residential neighborhoods to our bustling downtown where they can enjoy a myriad of award winning restaurants. In the summer, you’ll find many people enjoying the sidewalk cafes at one of our many restaurants and bars or kicking back to local music with our annual Summer Concert Series.  Residents can also sample a craft beer at one of Royal Oaks numerous local breweries or enjoy an ice cream as they view our ever expanding installations of public art.

Families can enjoy playing ball in one of our 50 parks, or make a quick hop over to the Detroit Zoo where they can visit the award-winning Arctic Ring of Life and the world’s largest Polk Penguin Conservation Center where penguins swim directly past the over 1.6 million visitors annually. A point of pride is our Royal Oak Farmer’s Market. It is one of the oldest ongoing markets in the state, and hosts weekly farm and flea markets, as well as many other events such as Burgers & Brews Bash, Bacon Bash, and the Food Truck Rally.

Royal Oak is also home to several premier metro Detroit events. Arts, Beats and Eats, which draws over 400,000 visitors each year, brings artists, musicians and food exhibits to our downtown. Woodward Dream Cruise brings in 1.5 million visitors and 40,000 classic cars from around the globe each fall, and is a must see for any classic car aficionados. Over the years it has also been a draw for many other types of unique and exotic vehicles.  With the city being only 11 square miles in size, it is easy for residents to spend the day at one of these events, before returning home for rest and relaxation.

The state of Michigan is known as the Great Lakes State for a reason. Four out of five Great Lakes prefer Michigan. With the longest freshwater coastline in the US (3,288 miles!) and the numerous lakes (over 11,000!) and rivers, you are never more than six miles away from a natural water source or more than 85 miles from a Great Lakes shoreline. The state also enjoys 4 million acres of managed forest land that provides beautiful outdoor spaces for a variety of outdoor recreation activities. Since Michigan experiences all four seasons there’s something for every outdoor enthusiast.