Mackinac State Historic Parks
Lower Peninsula - Michigan
General information about the Mackinac State Historic Parks
In addition to Fort Colonial Michilimackinac and the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, the Mackinac State Historic Parks also include a few other facilities. We have visited them on Mackinac Island and described in more detail.
Entrance fees and opening hours
- 16$/person (Fort), 10,75€/person (Lighthouse)
- Various seasonal opening hours
For the GPS: 102 W. Straits Ave.
Mackinaw City, Michigan
Our visits: So far 1 visit in October 2024
Colonial Michilimackinac
Description: Around 1715, Le Marchand de Lignery built Fort Michilimackinac for the French on the site of the former Jesuit mission. Over the next fifty years, as France and Britain battled for control of the fur trade in the Great Lakes region, the fort expanded as a trading post and military post. Soon after hostilities ended in the French and Indian War, the British took control of the fort in the fall of 1761. Two years later, local Chippewa (Ojibwa), angered by British policy, conquered the fort as part of the Pontiac Rebellion. The British regained control in 1764. Between 1779 and 1781, during the American Revolution, the British built Fort Mackinac on nearby Mackinac Island and abandoned Fort Michilimackinac. The British military abandoned Michilimackinac in 1781 and burned it to the ground. In 1959, professional archaeologists began investigating the site. Their findings prompted the reconstruction of the fort on the basis of archaeological finds.
Our rating: We really liked the fort. It was very informative and interesting. We learned a lot about life here when it was still an active trading post.
Description: Around 1715, Le Marchand de Lignery built Fort Michilimackinac for the French on the site of the former Jesuit mission. Over the next fifty years, as France and Britain battled for control of the fur trade in the Great Lakes region, the fort expanded as a trading post and military post. Soon after the end of hostilities in the French and Indian War, the British took control of the fort in the fall of 1761.
Our rating: We really liked the fort. It was very informative and interesting. We learned a lot about life here when it was still an active trading post.
Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse
Description: The Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse at the northern tip of the Lower Peninsula. It was built in 1892 on the Straits of Mackinac at the confluence of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron and was decommissioned in 1957. Today the lighthouse is a museum.
Our rating: During our visit in October 2024, we only saw the lighthouse from the outside due to time constraints. Not least because of its great location, directly on Lake Michigan, we also really liked the view from outside.
