This is Michigan's 1st state park. The landscape is characterized by high limestone bluffs,…read morebeautiful vistas of sparkling water, vibrant forests & mystical geological formations. Cars have been banned since 1898, this is a a quieter way of life away from interstate noise of cities. Over 80 percent of Mackinac Island is within this park. The island is sacred to the Ojibwa & Odawa Great Lakes Indian tribes.

It is definitely worth spending at least several hours if not half a day at Fort Mackinac. You can…read moretake your time to leisurely look about or you can take the period-dressed docent led tours and educational talks. There are rifle shooting displays as well as cannon loading & firing displays. You can stop in the restaurant for lunch and a beverage while enjoying fantastic views of the island.

Why not have a butterfly greenhouse on an island that's only accessible to visitors for half of the…read moreyear? You might as well. I'm kind of jealous of these butterflies and insects that live at The Original Butterfly House. They get to flit and walk about, undisturbed, from November through April. But come May, they have to dust themselves off and fluff their hair, because visitors are coming. Mackinac Island's busy times are late spring through fall (late October), and I imagine that's when the butterfly house is also busy. We visited in fall, the week before the island started closing up. We got to see lots of butterflies in the greenhouse (apparently, there are hundreds!), plus the resident insects and even a hedgehog. At certain times of the day, some of the animals and insects will be taken out of their containers, and a docent will display them and talk about them. The hedgehog was super cute, but we didn't get to touch him -- just look at him. You experience lots of live butterflies flying and landing on you in the greenhouse. Some people (me) think that it's cool to have a butterfly land on you. Other people (my youngest child) do not think it's cool, and they are grossed out and it makes them scream. Your mileage may vary! Fortunately, if you ain't about those winged insects, you can keep it moving and just visit the other exhibits, which feature insects that live safely behind glass. But if you ask me, the greenhouse is a nice, peaceful place to sit and enjoy looking at butterflies and tropical plants. This is a small attraction, but your admission price grants you access all day. So, come and go as you please!

Oh my goodness--all the butterflies!…read more We absolutely adored our visit to The Original Butterfly House. We came here after finding them on Yelp and really on a bit of a whim and then ended up spending more time than we had intended as we got so completely lost in the butterfly magic. After purchasing your tickets, when you first walk in, you can stop first and see a collection of live chrysalis, some with butterflies beginning to emerge and some butterflies having just emerged. It was magical and we were completely mesmerized. Then you enter the butterfly sanctuary that's rich, green, and teeming with butterfly life, It's relatively small but we so enjoyed wandering through and then eventually found a seat (careful not to disturb any butterflies, of course!) on one of their benches and just sat and enjoyed the fluttering scenery. Amazing! Get to it!

This museum is impressive. It is free, the lay out makes sense...and the items they have collected…read moreare really something. The proprietors are gracious people. This little place is worth your time. I love museums and this place had things I had never even seen, save but in a picture.

Fort de Baude Museum is a really cool place to check out when in St. Ignace. It sits in the middle…read moreof the downtown strip along State Street and could easily be overlooked when just passing by. Just look for the flags hanging off the side of the building over the walkway. One of the flags is the tribal flag of the four sacred directions, can't miss it. Once inside you are treated to a free tour of the local history complete with relics and maps. Even though it never changes we still go back every year and look at the same stuff again just because it is so interesting.

If you were at all interested naval history are you just love seeing ships? This is a must see…read more Completely worth the money.

We had a wonderful visit and tour. The guides were helpful and kind. The history behind the ship…read morewas intriguing. My 15 yr old and 11 yr old both loved it. Well worth the price of admission. We spent about an hour on the self guided tour.

This museum is inside of a pizza place and is completely free! We just got cheese bread because we…read moredidn't know it was a pizza place and ate beforehand. The cheese bread was good and we will eat dinner here next time. They probably had the friendliest staff we encountered while in town.

A Must "Bookmark" in Mackinaw City, before or after Pizza!…read more After many annual October Fall visits to Mackinaw City, I was pleased to have visited this Michigan Historical Museum on October 19, 2019. It is located upstairs above the pizza business MaMa Mia's therefore my idea was to walk off my delicious pizza lunch, read and learn about the history in the building of the Mighty Mackinaw Bridge. This museum is phenomenal about the history in the building of the Mackinaw Bridge 1954-1958. When walking upstairs there are walls and walls of photos naming the many dedicated, skilled, talented iron workers. Their used equipment of helmets, work gear, tools and details is emotional too at the same time to see and read. They faced their dangerous jobs daily before, during and after the completion plus a few deaths did occurr throughout the construction. Free Admission Free Movie is played for your history lesson while relaxing in comfortable chairs as well. I wrote down facts and information last year to help my review.. :-) There was 11,000 International Iron Workers, other tradesmen, and engineers that were dedicated, hard working and skilled employees to start the construction ground breaking on May 7, 1954. They all risked their lives daily, weekly and monthly for three years on the job before opening the bridge to traffic on November 1, 1957. (During the construction in the 1950's five men died) The Mackinaw Bridge construction went on into 1958 with 3,500 workers, 895,000 structural and blueprint drawings. They used: 71,300 tons of steel 42,000 miles of cable wire 931,000 tons of concrete 4,851,700 steel rivets 1,016,600 steel bolts and over 90,000,00 dollars The metal structure is one of eight land based survey towers, which were used along with six water based towers. My review plus photos, describes only half of this business. A guest needs to make a trip to Michigan and put on your list of places to visit this "Mackinaw Bridge Museum" for yourself. Then afterwards take a drive over the Mackinaw Bridge to see, feel and understand the history of how the bridge was built. I enjoy it yearly in the Summer or Fall! :-) I will always look forward to visiting this museum when in Mackinaw City, in case I missed a part of the history story. Then to remember, reflect, honor those past brave and talented Iron Workers that dedicated their lives to build The Mighty Mackinaw Bridge!

Besides being in desperate need of repair, overpriced and the stale popcorn being served,…read more the theater is not handicapped friendly at all .starting with the entrance, to seating, and space for wheelchairs in general. iNo elevator to access the uostairs theater. We have been in theater 4 many times. This time movie volume excessively loud and when i addressed it, employee told me I needed to contact Disney to lower it.. My usual disappointment with this theater was amplified times 10 with this ridiculous statement. I'd love to boycott this whole theater group but no others around eastern lower michigan.

The pop corn was cold and the butter did not taste good but the plus was very nice employees and…read moreclean theaters

Super cute maritime museum! Great volunteer showed us around. Loved the room upstairs with all the…read moreold boat motors!

This is a great little museum full of local artifacts, with a friendly staff…read more They're seasonally open, so be sure to stop in during the summer months.