2018 Great Lakes Trip – Mackinaw City, Michigan
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Mackinaw Mill Creek Camping, Mackinaw
City, MI
Our next adventure in Michigan took us on a southeasterly drive through the Upper Peninsula. During this drive, we passed through forests and along the north shore of Lake Michigan. Finally we crossed the Mackinaw Bridge and entered the Lower Peninsula. Then we arrived in Mackinaw City, driving south to the campground.
Our next adventure in Michigan took us on a southeasterly drive through the Upper Peninsula. During this drive, we passed through forests and along the north shore of Lake Michigan. Finally we crossed the Mackinaw Bridge and entered the Lower Peninsula. Then we arrived in Mackinaw City, driving south to the campground.
Mackinaw
Mill Creek Camping is probably the largest campground we’ve ever stayed in.
There were over 800 campsites and cabins. Everything that any camper needs exist
in this park. There was a lakefront grassy park, a sandy beach, swimming pool,
camp store, dog park, playgrounds, and nightly fire truck rides. Our site was small
but comfortable with full hookups. Mackinaw City was a short 5 mile drive to
everything else.
We
relaxed for a while and spent some time on the lakefront park. The view from
there included the Mackinaw Bridge and Mackinaw Island. The water was clear and
cold, so we didn’t swim in it. It was a nice place to take our camp chairs and
the dogs down by the water and relax with a cool beverage.
The
next day we drove into town to check out the visitor’s information and the
general area. We had already decided to take the ferry to Mackinaw Island, so
we planned for a later day when the weather was supposed to be perfect. There
is a lot of history in this area, so I took the tour of the historic Michilimackinac
Fort. This 18th century fort was originally built by the French and
later taken over by the British. It was a major village for fur trading. This
fort is reconstructed based on historic maps and more than 50 years of
archaeological excavations that continue today. In 1780 a new fort was rebuilt during
the Revolutionary War on Mackinac Island by the French troops. Both forts are
shown with period furnishings and demonstrations by costumed interpreters on
all the historical daily life. This tour was very interesting and informative
regarding the history of the area.
One day
we took the ferry over to Mackinaw Island along with our bicycles. This Island
does not allow any motorized vehicles, only bikes and horse drawn carriages/carts.
All transportation by the Island merchants and town maintenance are horse drawn
wagons. Arriving off the ferry, the streets were lined with parked bicycles and
many others riding. There are bike trails all over the Island for exploring the
beautiful area. There are also many shops, restaurants, vacation homes, inns
and hotels. The town is very beautiful and definitely caters to tourists. However,
there are some residents that live there all year long, despite the extreme
winters and the lake freezing over. We enjoyed the day exploring the island by
bike and having a great lunch.
We also
rode our bikes around Mackinaw City, where there were paved trails everywhere.
One evening we drove to the west side of the peninsula to the Headlands
International Dark Sky Park, to hopefully view the Perseid Meteor Shower. We
took our chairs and setup ready to view, but the sky was overcast too much to
even see the brightest stars. Bummer, we
were really looking for to this experience. After exploring this nice area, we
were ready to continue our trek south to more sites in Michigan.
