Fort Michilimackinac

Fort Michilimackinac is a reconstructed French fortification made of wooden palisades at the strait between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan in Mackinaw City. The buildings include barracks, trading posts, a chapel, and gun platforms based on archaeological findings.

France established the trading post in 1715 to secure fur trade and military control over the strait. After the Seven Years' War ended, Britain took over the facility and later moved it to nearby Mackinac Island.

The name comes from the Odawa people and refers to the strait as a place of the great turtle, a reference visitors can still connect to the waterway that surrounds the site. Inside the walls, interpreters recreate trades and crafts that both French soldiers and local Anishinaabe communities practiced during the 18th century.

The site sits right next to the Mackinac Bridge and opens during warm months when demonstrations and guided tours take place. Sturdy footwear helps, as the ground is unpaved and some paths may be uneven.

Ongoing excavations have uncovered more than one million objects and form one of the longest-running archaeological programs on the continent. Visitors can often watch archaeologists at work during summer months.

Location: Mackinaw City

Website: https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=444&type=SPRK

GPS coordinates: 45.78667,-84.73598

Latest update: December 20, 2025 11:55