Straits of Mackinac

In the 1600s and 1700s the Straits became the epicenter of the Great Lakes fur trade. French traders established Fort Michilimackinac on the south shore, at present-day Mackinaw City, as a military post and trading hub, and it passed to the British after their victory in the Seven Years War. During the American Revolution the British judged the mainland fort too exposed and moved their stronghold across the water to Mackinac Island, burning the old fort behind them.

Today Colonial Michilimackinac stands reconstructed on its original ground as a living-history state park, a palisaded 1700s fort and fur-trading community where costumed interpreters, ongoing archaeology, and cannon firings recreate frontier life at the Straits. It is one of the most vivid windows into eighteenth-century Great Lakes history anywhere, built right where the real events happened.

The Straits were as treacherous as they were important, and the shore holds two historic lighthouses that once guided ships through. The Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, with its distinctive twin-towered look, went into service in 1889 and steered vessels through the channel until the Mackinac Bridge opened in 1957 and made it obsolete. It is preserved today as a state historic park you can tour and climb.

A few miles west, the older McGulpin Point Lighthouse first lit in 1869 to guide ships entering the Straits from the west, and after it was retired it was eventually restored and reopened. Climbing either tower puts the whole sweep of the Straits below you, the open water, the passing freighters, and the great bridge, and drives home just how central this narrow channel has always been to Great Lakes shipping.

Arching over the whole scene is the Mackinac Bridge, the Mighty Mac, a five-mile suspension span that has linked Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas since 1957. With towers rising more than five hundred feet, it was for years among the longest suspension bridges in the world, and it remains one of the most spectacular drives in the Midwest, a slender ribbon of steel over deep blue water.

You do not have to drive it to enjoy it. Shore parks on both the Mackinaw City and St. Ignace sides give sweeping views of the span and the freighters passing beneath, and it is a fine place to simply pull off, watch the big water and the big bridge for a while, and feel the pull of a place that has been a gateway for as long as people have traveled the Great Lakes.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

The Straits of Mackinac are the narrow waters where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet, separating Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. For centuries this scenic crossroads has been a vital passage for Native peoples, fur traders, and Great Lakes shipping, and today it is spanned by the iconic Mackinac Bridge. Rich in maritime history, dotted with lighthouses, and framed by charming towns and historic Mackinac Island, the straits are one of the most storied and beautiful settings in the Great Lakes.

You can take a ferry across the straits to Mackinac Island, view or drive the mighty Mackinac Bridge, explore historic sites like Fort Michilimackinac and the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse in Mackinaw City, and enjoy the waterfront towns of Mackinaw City and St. Ignace. The area is also known for shipwreck diving in its underwater preserve, lighthouse touring, and simply savoring the meeting of two Great Lakes. History, scenery, and classic northern Michigan charm abound.

The straits have been a strategic crossroads for thousands of years, first for Native American peoples and later as a key hub of the French and British fur trade, guarded by forts whose history is preserved at sites like Fort Michilimackinac. As the link between two Great Lakes, the waters carried enormous shipping traffic, and many vessels wrecked here, leaving an underwater heritage. This deep layering of Native, colonial, and maritime history makes the straits a place of real significance.

Late spring through fall is ideal, when ferries to Mackinac Island run frequently, historic sites and lighthouses are open, and the weather is pleasant, with fall adding beautiful foliage along the shores. Summer is the busiest and liveliest season. Because many attractions are seasonal, the warm-weather months offer the fullest experience of the straits' ferries, forts, and waterfront towns, so plan a visit between late spring and autumn for the most to see and do.

The straits are anchored by Mackinaw City on the Lower Peninsula and St. Ignace on the Upper Peninsula, both ferry gateways to Mackinac Island, and crossed by the Mackinac Bridge. The Lower Peninsula's northern resort country and the Upper Peninsula's forests, waterfalls, and Lake Superior coast spread out on either side. That makes the Straits of Mackinac a natural hub for exploring the very heart of northern Michigan and both of its peninsulas.