Belle Isle's Giant Slide will reopen in 2024 with some improvements

BELLE ISLE, Mich. (FOX 2) - Good news for your recreation - but maybe not as good for your neck - the infamous Belle Isle Giant Slide will reopen for business this year.

Answering questions from councilmembers during a formal session on Tuesday, officials with the Department of Natural Resources confirmed the giant slide would return later this season - but with some changes.

Tom Bissett said "we do fully intend to open the giant slide this year."

Bissett, who runs the DNR's Belle Isle operations said they had just received a quote about making the landing surface on the slide safer. In discussions with a playground surfacing company that works with the state who plan to replace the thin rubber matting on the slide's surface.

Last year, the giant slide went viral when kids and adults of all sizes went tumbling down the attraction at dangerous speeds that caused some whiplash along the way.

The fame took videos of the giant slide all the way to the evening talk shows, as well as spurring some slide-inspired music.

Bissett also said rangers with the DNR had improved the side curtain area to keep people from coming into contact with railings.

There is also a plan to have trained staff on site to instruct people how to ride the slide and how to slow it down if it starts getting too high.

Belle Isle, the state's most popular state park, saw a big increase in attendance in 2023 with a 7% bump in people recreating and visiting the park. Part of that boost is the Belle Isle Nature Center's reopening the zoo, which saw 80,000 more guests in 2023 over 2022.