Mackinac Island is home to two historic forts: Fort Mackinac and Fort Holmes. A visit to these extraordinarily well-preserved sites is about as close to a marching order as you’ll get during your vacation. Before you head over to the island, you’ll also want to explore Colonial Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City.
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Photo by Tim Hussey
Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island
Founded in 1780, Fort Mackinac sits on a limestone bluff overlooking the island’s downtown and the wild waters of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. Its sweeping views made it a strategic outpost for the British and United States armies for 115 years. Though the real action here ceased in 1885, the fort’s 14 original historic buildings still echo with the sounds of military pomp thanks to costumed interpreters. Hear the wicked crack of a rifle fired by a 19th-century American soldier and quick-step to the parade grounds, where you’re likely to catch a cannon-firing demonstration or a court-martial reenactment. Bagpipes, fifes, bugles and drums play in the background as you make your way through the fort’s exhibits. At the Post Headquarters, visitors can search a computer database containing birth dates, physical descriptions, marital status and other information about the American soldiers who served here. Visit the barracks to see the way soldiers lived, then head to the hospital and follow a 19th-century physician on his rounds.
Tip: Beat the day-tripper crowds by arriving early at the ferry docks, then sit back and watch the island’s slim profile slowly emerge as your boat motors across the water. Once you’ve landed, march up Fort Street to Fort Mackinac’s South Sally entrance and get ready to enter another era. Arrive early to watch local scout troops slowly raise the American flag to signal the fort’s opening. Grab lunch at the Fort Mackinac Tea Room, which is run by Grand Hotel.
Fire the Fort Mackinac Cannon | Reserve (at least three days in advance) your chance to clean, load and fire the fort cannon. The experience is open to one person every morning.
Read Next: 10 Family-Friendly Activities in the Straits of Mackinac
Photo by Kelly Rewa
Fort Mackinac + Missionary Bark Chapel can be accessed off Fort Street.
Fort Holmes on Mackinac Island
Fort Holmes was built by British soldiers in 1814 during the War of 1812 to protect Fort Mackinac against an attack. When United States soldiers peacefully reoccupied the island after the War of 1812, the fort was renamed Fort Holmes in honor of American Major Andrew Hunter Holmes, who was killed in the 1814 battle of Mackinac Island. Fort Holmes was eventually abandoned.
Visitors on Mackinac Island can now visit the recently reconstructed fort, which can be found one mile north of downtown on Fort Holmes Road. Admission is free and the fort is open to the public during normal operating hours May through October.
The fort sits at the highest point on Mackinac Island—the views of neighboring Round Island and the Straits are absolutely incredible.
Photo by Mackinac State Historic Parks
Colonial Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City
It’s called Colonial Michilimackinac, but this hub of Great Lakes history (tucked on the Straits of Mackinac in the shadow of the Mackinac Bridge) is all about Fort Michilimackinac. Constructed in 1715 by French soldiers and fur traders, the fort fell into British hands in 1761. It was abandoned during the American Revolution when British troops built and occupied Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island.
Nowadays, the grounds within the stockades are abuzz with costumed interpreters. See British soldiers giving rifle demonstrations, firing the fort cannon and other costumed interpreters offering craft and wood-fire cooking demonstrations. Visitors can even watch the ongoing archeological dig that goes on each summer within the fort walls.
Guns Across the Straits | In this special program, visitors at least 13 years old can reserve a chance to fire two kinds of muskets, a mortar and the fort cannon. The experience is only open to one person a day.
Read Next: The Incredibly Cool Excavation of Colonial Michilimackinac
More Things to Do on Mackinac Island
- 8 Things to do on Mackinac Island this Summer
- 10 Must-Do Insider Tips for Petoskey & Mackinac Straits
- How to Sip Like a Local: Petoskey Region Wine, Beer & Spirits
- Biking on Mackinac Island
- The Best of Mackinac Island in Two Great Days
- Go on a Mackinac Island Winter Vacation, You’ll Thank Us
- Meet Carleton Varney, the Decorator Behind Mackinac Island’s Iconic Grand Hotel
- The Gruesome Medical Breakthrough of Dr. William Beaumont on Mackinac Island
Article contributors: Emily Bingham, Carly Simpson