Belle Isle

**Belle Isle** is a former state park located on the Detroit River and one of the districts of the Motor City Wasteland. Like other districts, it has multiple locations within its boundaries. In 2287, much of the island has been taken back by wildlife, making it prime hunting ground for the Hunters.

## Background

Before the War, the island was a state park run by the Belle Isle Conservation Office. The group owned and operated the historic lighthouse on the northern coast of the island, as well as the Belle Isle Aquarium, and kept track of all the wildlife on Belle Isle. Once a year the island was also the home to the Belle Isle Grand Prix, the closing event of the annual American Auto Show, where auto companies showed off their hottest and fastest cars for the coming year. The Conservation Office disliked the island being used as such and had protested the race for years. They reasoned the wildlife was terrified of the loud engines and fast cars, and the vibrations were actually shaking the tanks at the aquarium. However, local officials turned a blind eye to their pleas, saying the race brought a lot of revenue into the city and was important advertising for local companies like Chryslus.

Belle Isle was also home to a Coast Guard station. Due to food and medicine shortages in Canada, an abundance of smuggling occurred on the Detroit River between Michigan and Ontario. People were smuggled out of Canada as well, some desperate and wanting a fresh start, some affiliated with the Canadian Resistance intent on striking back against America. The Coast Guard station on Belle Isle was investigating the smuggling and was determined to put an end to it. Unknown to the Coast Guard however, Belle Isle was an important way station for the smugglers. A hidden room in the Belle Isle Aquarium served as a meeting place for smugglers, as well as a warehouse for goods destined for Canada and a home for Canadian citizens until papers were forged and they could be moved to the mainland.

On Saturday, October 23, 2077, the day of the Great War, most of the island was shut down to visitors in preparation for the Grand Prix, which was scheduled for the next day. As a result, only a handful of people were on the island when the bombs fell, including the Coast Guard, a skeleton crew working in the Aquarium while it's closed for the Grand Prix, and race teams tuning their cars before the big event. Because of this, mutated animals largely populate the island over 200 years later. This has attracted the Hunters that live on the outskirts of Detroit. Much of the meat and fish harvested from the island makes its way to Eastern Market and is sold to wastelanders, making it an important food source to the people of the Motor City Wasteland.

In 2287, the Prisoner arrives on Belle Isle looking for the Smugglers' keys. All five keys are required to unlock a warehouse in Detroit, full of weapons, medicine, and other supplies the smugglers were dealing.

## Locations

**Belle Isle Aquarium**: A local attraction owned and operated by the Belle Isle Conservation Office. Attendance was down and to avoid closure, the owners accepted money from smugglers who wished to use the building as a front for their activities. Now the once-historic building is in shambles and overrun with mirelurks. A stockpile of supplies can be found in the Smuggler's secret hideout, as well as one of the keys to the Smuggler's Stash.

**Belle Isle Lighthouse**: A historic lighthouse once run by the Belle Isle Conservation Office. The nearby lagoon is full of ships washed ashore since the bombs fell, including one of the smuggling boats containing a Smuggler's key. The lagoon is also a den of mirelurks, including a queen. The remains of a Brotherhood soldier is nearby, who was sent on a food procurement mission. The mirelurk queen's poison ate away his power armor and killed him. At the top of the lighthouse is the remains of a Hunter who became trapped by the mirelurks and died of dehydration.

**Coast Guard Station**: A Coast Guard station tasked with patrolling the river between the U.S. and Canada. After the Canadian Annexation, the station's main mission became arresting those who smuggled goods across the river into Canada, as well as anyone caught trying to swim across and enter the United States. A smuggler was in custody here when the bombs fell, and his key can be found in an investigator's desk.

**Detroit Yacht Club**: Once a place where high society mingled, now it is the main Hunter camp on Belle Isle. The Hunters have built fisheries on the docks and converted the old clubhouse into a Hunter Longhouse. Due to its proximity to downtown Detroit, the Hunters trade much of the meat and fish for supplies at Eastern Market.

## Trivia

* The Belle Isle Grand Prix is based on the real-life Detroit Grand Prix, which takes place on Belle Isle. Conservation groups have tried to get the race relocated.
* The real-life Belle Isle Aquarium contains a secret room that was once a speakeasy during Prohibition. This was the inspiration for making it affiliated with smugglers.