Mackinaw City and Surrounding Areas

Mackinaw City is the northern most city in lower Michigan. It sits on the Straits of Mackinac, where Lake Michigan meets Lake Huron; and is the southern point of the Mackinac Bridge.

Campground

We choose to set up basecamp in Mackinaw Mills Campground because it’s on the edge of Lake Huron with views of the Mackinac Bridge, has easy access to the bike trails, and it’s between Mackinaw City and Cheboygan. In addition it has a shuttle that runs to the Mackinac Island ferry.

Fort Michilimackinac

Our first outing is to Colonial Michilimackinac; which is an 18th-century fort and fur trading village that has been reconstructed based on historic maps and and over 60 years of archaeological excavations. These excavations continue to take place each summer, and the fort has the distinction of being one of the longest running digs in North America. There are employees dressed in period costumes stationed throughout the fort answering questions and providing demonstrations. It’s a great mix of artifacts, history, scenery (it’s right on the water), and amusement to keep everyone interested.

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse

Stop two is the “Castle of the Straits” or Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse. The lighthouse operated from 1892 to 1958 and is now a museum showing the keepers quarters as they appeared in 1910. The fourth order Fresnel lens used in the tower is also on display.

The lighthouse steward we meet here is very passionate about his job and lighthouses in general. In addition to pointing out four other lighthouses that can be seen from the tower today, he also provides a fog signal demonstration; which made everyone on the beach below jump out of their skin.

McGulpin Point Lighthouse

Next we go three miles west to McGulpin Point Lighthouse; which began operation in 1869 and is one of the oldest surviving lighthouses in the straits. Unfortunately, it was unable to be seen from all directions and was eventually replaced by the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse in 1906.

Cheboygan

Our fourth stop is the town of Cheboygan. After doing some necessary shopping, we have a picnic lunch in Gordon Turner Park on the shoreline of Lake Huron where it meets the Cheboygan River. After lunch we go for a walk along the river, stop briefly at the Cheboygan Front Range Light, watch the drawbridge operate, and walk around a local craft fair.

The Northwest Coast of Lower Michigan

Outing five is exploring the Northwest Coast of Lower Michigan; which we keep hearing so much about.

The journey begins with a bike ride along the Little Traverse Wheelway; which runs between Charlevoix and Harbor Springs. We begin the ride in the Susan Creek Nature Preserve and head south toward Charlevoix. The path runs along the Lake Michigan shoreline and a few more nature preserves before finally reaching Charlevoix.

Charlevoix

We spend a few hours exploring Charlevoix and while there we take time to:

• Walk Bridge Street and watch the drawbridge operate.

• Stop at the First Congressional Church. Completed in 1885, the building features a rare Stick style motif. The half-ton, copper and tin bell installed in 1884 is still in the tower.

• Visit one of the Mushroom Houses Charlevoix is known for. This one was built by Earl Young’s daughter vs the architect himself. Earl Young was famous for using his artists eye to fit his structures to the site vs using blueprints. There are enough of these “mushroom” houses around town that there is actually a guided tour you can take.

• Explore the park and Charlevoix Marina

We have a delightful lunch on the patio at the Bridge Street Taproom overlooking Round Lake, then then hop on the bikes and head back up the bike path. The sun is shining and the temps are in the mid-70’s, so it’s a perfect day for a long ride and we are almost sorry to reach the truck.

But there’s still so much to explore, so we load the bikes and drive north to Petoskey where we begin the “Tunnel of Trees”. Which is a 20 mile stretch of canopied road along the Lake Michigan shoreline, going through small towns, beside little parks, and along nature sanctuaries. This stretch of road is famous for it’s fall colors; but it was still beautiful in June.

Tunnel of Trees

We follow the “Tunnel of Trees” stopping to explore several of the small towns along the way, before finally ending up in Wilderness State Park at the northwestern edge of lower Michigan.

Wilderness State Park

Once we reach Wilderness State Park we take a short trail down to the shoreline to view St. Helena Island and attempt to view a few lighthouses that can only be reached via the water. Unfortunately, the smoke from the fires in Canada only allows the shapes of these structures to be seen and not even the camera can pick up any details.

Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park

For our sixth outing we chose to ride our bikes down the bike path from the campground to the Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park; which combines activity, with history and education. It’s the site of the original sawmill that provided much of the wood used to build both Fort Michilimackinac and later Fort Mackinac. The site was rediscovered in 1972 and has been recreated based on archaeological findings. While there we:

• tour a small museum providing a history of the site
• walk through buildings displaying some of the original foundation found during the dig
• meet naturalists providing interactive learning on what’s in the North Woods
• find characters in period costumes demonstrating:
  • pit sawing – which is the original way of turning logs into lumber and likely where the term “it’s the pits” comes from
  • a working 18th century water-powered sawmill
• explore forest trails
• take a guided nature walk that includes crossing a forest canopy bridge, flying down a zip line over the water, and climbing a rock wall on their Treetop Discovery Tower

It’s not a large place; but it’s interesting and a lot of fun.

Cheboygen State Park

It’s our final day in the area before crossing the Mackinac Bridge into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, so we decide to go for a hike through the woods, and along the Lake Huron shoreline in Cheboygen State Park.

Mackinac Bridge

Our final adventure as we leave the area is crossing The Mackinac Bridge; which is a suspension bridge over the Straits of Mackinac. It is one of the longest suspension bridges in the US and the world. The bridge is unique because the trusses are open, one lane in each direction is open (grated), and the railings are low and open; which allows wind to flow through them easily. The original construction of the bridge was said to be able to handle 632 mph winds. In contrast, the Golden Gate Bridge’s design specs only rated it for 40 mph. The highest wind currently on record in the straight is 121 mph.