When you visit the Straits of Mackinac this summer, we invite you to slow down (or even sit down) and ponder the earth beneath your feet. You never know – you may reveal evidence of ancient life which thrived in very different waters, nearly 400 million years ago!
As the calendar flips to 2025, the Mackinac State Historic Parks team is hard at work protecting, preserving, and presenting the rich history of the Straits of Mackinac by creating new exhibits, galleries, and tours, improving visitor experiences, celebrating a major anniversary, expanding our collections area and library, and finishing major infrastructure improvements on Mackinac Island.
As we prepare for the first official day of winter, let’s look at the amazing adaptations animals use to get ready for the long winter.
Our Park Naturalist, Kyle, is ready to set the story straight: Chimney Rock and Sunset Rock are not one and the same. Let’s revisit Chimney Rock:
The millstones currently on display at Historic Mill Creek are the originals, and they had a wild ride to get back to the site. But also – how were they made? And how did those rocks end up here at the Straits?
Mackinac Associates are friends preserving and sharing Mackinac’s heritage, providing crucial support in the development of new MSHP exhibits.
More than 240 years have passed since wooden sloops brought wild hay to the King’s Cattle on Mackinac Island. During your next visit, scan the watery horizon and imagine the scene from a bygone era. Perhaps you’ll glimpse a broad, white sail billowing in the wind. Or listen closely, and just maybe you’ll hear soft, clanking cowbells as supper makes its way across the Straits of Mackinac.
More than 230 species of birds have been recorded on Mackinac Island and in the surrounding straits region. Here, we take a look at some detailed observations that a summer resident and ornithologist made in 1893.
In 2023 we accessioned 643 objects into our collection. Let’s learn about some!
