Photo by the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau
Mackinac Island is filled with two types of history: natural and physical. The geological formations of rocks and caves, wild flowers, and dramatic bluff vistas on Mackinac Island have helped bring visitors to this beautiful place for hundreds of years.
This pristine spot in Lake Huron and the Straits of Mackinac was the country’s second national park created three years after Yellowstone National Park. When the British moved Fort Michilimackinac to Mackinac Island in 1780 where it offered better protection, the purpose of the island changed. Americans took control of the fort in 1796. The first engagement of the War of 1812 took place on Mackinac Island when the British took back the fort. The Americans attempted to retake the fort in 1814 but failed in a bloody battle.
The fort’s soldiers cared for Mackinac Island National Park and when the fort closed in 1895, the country’s first state park was formed: Mackinac Island State Park. Today, the stone ramparts, the south sally port and the Officer’s Stone Quarters are all part of the original fort and look over the harbor and downtown.
Fort Mackinac, part of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, is open from May-October and includes buildings restored to how they looked during the later years of the fort’s occupation. Park interpreters depict US Army soldiers from this same period complete with distinctive Prussian-inspired uniforms.
Visitors can walk through 14 buildings filled with interactive displays and period furnishings while listening to 19th century bugle music, and cannon and rifle firings. A long sidewalk leads visitors up to the Fort from the park below or horse-drawn taxis or tour carriages make stops at the rear entrance of the Fort atop the bluff.
7127 Huron Rd., Mackinac Island, MI, 49757
(906) 847-3328
Advertisement – Please scroll below for more information.
Sailing is a special pastime that often brings friends together in Northern Michigan. And no wonder. The sailing here is wonderful.
The Harbor Springs History Museum offers a unique look at the history of the community, starting with the first Catholic missionaries.
Fisherman’s Island State Park has more than 2,600 acres and miles of gorgeous Lake Michigan beach and is located just south of Charlevoix.
Crooked Tree Arts Center is a place where artists from northern Michigan can display their talents and artwork to the public.
With miles of scenic trails terrain and local snowmobile clubs, Northern Michigan is the place to bring the snow sleds in the winter.
The National Shrine of the Cross in the Woods is a 55′ x 22′ redwood cross cut from one redwood tree and with a 28′ tall bronze crucifix.
This 36 acre, 1.5 mile long Bear River Valley in Petoskey is truly spectacular and filled with natural beauty and things to do.
Travel along the Tunnel of Trees in Northern Michigan and you will pass through Good Hart and see historic Saint Ignatius Catholic Church.
The history of the fur trade in Northern Michigan is captured at Colonial Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City.
The Headlands, just west of Mackinaw City, is one of six International Dark Sky Parks in the U.S. and one of nine in the world.