They were built for defense. They are beloved for the views.
“The joke is, the British built Fort Mackinac because they realized it would be a tourist attraction in 250 years,” says Dominick Miller, marketing chief for Mackinac State Historic Parks.
Today, the Mackinac Island fort built during the Revolutionary War has drop-dead, gorgeous panoramic views of Lake Huron and beyond, especially from the outdoor tea room with its yellow umbrellas.
“It’s pretty unrivaled anywhere in northern Michigan,” Miller says. “The restaurant closes at 7 p.m., but they serve cocktails after 5, and when the sun is starting to move past the Mackinac Bridge, the light is beautiful.”
Michigan has had many forts in its history. Four forts remain as tourist attractions, in good and bad condition. Three of them, in northern Michigan, have been treated with loving care and honor. Their surroundings retain the loveliness that Mother Nature bestowed.
One, along the Detroit River, survives as a star-fort structure surrounded by its fading buildings and a riverview surprise.
FORT MACKINAC
Mackinac Island
This summer, the fort will be part of America250, the nation’s big birthday celebration. “This is an authentic Revolutionary War fort. People don’t equate the Revolutionary War with anywhere outside the east coast,” Miller says, “but the Straits of Mackinac was the super highway — the water — and it connects to every point in the Great Lakes.”
In the 1770s, the British feared that rebels from the colonies or the Spanish might attack their fort at Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City, so they moved everything to a bluff on tiny Mackinac Island. The limestone walls and ramps were the first things built, and they’re still in use today.
One favorite activity visitors usually do at the top of the fort is stand on the gun platforms to take selfies, with the panoramic water view behind them. Stand by the cannon looking south, and you’ll see the Mackinac Bridge and Mackinaw City. To the west is the island’s downtown. Beyond that? Miles of shimmering Lake Huron.
FORT MICHILIMACKINAC
Mackinaw City
Lesser known than its sister fort — and harder to pronounce (Mich-i-la-Mack-in-aw) — this plucky fort has survived in one form or another since the early 1700s. Built by the French at a spot long used by Native tribes for trade, it became a British fort before the Revolutionary War.
In the 1950s, the Mackinac Bridge was built directly next to the historic fort site, almost over the top. Today, it means visitors have a front-row seat to the action on the Lake Michigan side of the Straits.
One of the coolest views? The fort gift shop is almost directly under the bridge; panoramic windows let you see out and up to the traffic passing above. Other great views can be found inside the fort and along the beach.
“The freighters are right in front of you, the ferries, the bridge traffic, everything. You have the contrast. You have 18th century cannons, but the modern bridge is right there,” Miller says. “In addition, from the old block house you have an absolutely stunningly beautiful view from the portholes framed by the Mackinac Bridge.”
Photo by John Pepin.
FORT WILKINS
Cooper Harbor
Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula might seem like an unlikely spot for a fort, but in the 1840s, America wanted to make sure the Upper Peninsula was secure during the copper mining boom.
The Army fort stayed bucolic, so in the 1920s it was turned over to Michigan as a state park. Today it has 19 restored fort buildings, a living history program, and 165 campsites, hiking, fishing, and a whole lot of quiet. Charming views of mighty Lake Superior and Lake Fanny Hooe are abundant.
Robert Wild, park supervisor at Fort Wilkins, has two favorite views. One is looking north to Lake Superior from the trail. “It’s a really rocky and rugged coastline, and across the bay you can see the Copper Harbor Lighthouse,” he says.
The other notable view is from the fort’s parade grounds: “Stand by the flagpole, look out over Lake Fanny Hooe to a wooded ridge, and that’s a great spot.”
HISTORIC FORT WAYNE
Detroit
The view from here is new and surprising. Just beyond the fort grounds, the new Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor juts up high, its silvery strands reaching across the Detroit River.
Right across the street from the fort’s entrance is the bridge’s imposing customs plaza; its security wall features a star-shaped pattern that honors the fort.
The new bridge is a touch of something new for this old spot. In 1845, Fort Wayne was built on the Detroit River to protect America from British Canada. It had 7-foot-thick perimeter walls and limestone barracks. The fort saw no action, but the site later was used for everything from World War II and Vietnam War inductions to WW II vehicle storage. The fort also has a 1,000-year-old Native American burial mound.
Today, “visitors can experience the tranquility of acres of natural green space combined with the profound historical and cultural significance of the landmark,” says Brennah Grace Donahue, Historic Fort Wayne manager.
Decades of valiant efforts to completely restore Fort Wayne and its buildings have failed, and many are quietly crumbling, but a visit here is poignant.
