Camping is one of our favorite pastimes! This past week we ended up going to our annual family trip of Mackinaw City, MI. This location although severely touristy is one of our yearly trips that we can’t seem to live without! Below you will find our weekly agenda and must sees ! As a mom I always dread going to a new area and not really knowing all the fun things to do because it just gets overwhelming. So this blog is meant to help you find the perfect locations for date nights, little one adventures, and family adventures that you can get into! So sit back and relax and let me do the work for you!
Location where we stayed at for camping:
KOA Campground located off of 75 and 131. This campground has great pull through and patio lots that make camping easy and comfortable!
Activities
Activity #1:
Deer ranch
The deer ranch is acrossed the Mackinaw Bridge in St.Ignace, MI. This location has a live deer attraction. They sell carrots, apples, and grain for you to feed the deer that come up to the fence ( which is all the deer when they see you coming!) This is a super fun, kid friendly activity that my 1 & 3 year old loved this year. They got to giggle and run around with deer within arms reach. In the gift shop they offer pieces of the deers antlers for sale along with moccasins and trinkets for the kids. One of my husbands favorite purchases from this location was a deer hide wallet that had beautiful craftsmanship and design !
Activity #2:
Jack Pines Lumber Jack show
Jack pines lumber Jack show is by far our favorite and even after taking this trip 10 years in a row we still go every single year ( my oldest kid is 3 so yes, this is adult friendly as well as kid friendly ). At the Jack pines lumber Jack show your goal is to root for your lumberjack as he goes through a series of lumberjack events including log rolling, cross cut saw, climbing, axe throwing and a few more fun events throughout the show! This is a must see for the entire family!! For those of you with small Children I did purchase and bring a set of ear muffs if they aren’t a fan of loud noises! However most kids over age of 2 or 3 probably wouldn’t need them.
Activity #3:
Fishing
Got a boat?? Go fishing in French farm Lake. This little shallow inland lake is where we go for all of our fishing days. Mostly is bass, pike, and panfish but the wildlife you see above the water surface is something to admire as well! We usually have 2-3 loons that we see and hear throughout our trip, we have even seen an eagle swoop down and catch his own breakfast right from the lake.
Activity #4:
Old school Park
Need a lazy day while your on vacation but your kids still have a massive amount of energy? This park has you covered, complete with benches for Mom and Dad to be able to watch the little ones burn off that energy. It is between the bridge and downtown Mackinaw City. This park is very well maintained and had some unique playground “equipment” as well which my son was in love with.
Activity #5:
Mystery Spot
Mystery Spot seems to be one of the most well known attraction in the St.igance area. This attraction offers fun for the entire family no matter what the age. They have the most popular which is a guided tour of the mystery spot, ziplines, a maze and golf. Although the attraction is a fun area its always interesting to hear about the story behind the odd things that happen at this location in the 50’s. Three surveyors named Clarence, Fred and McCray came from California to explore the Upper Peninsula. They stumbled across an area of land where their surveying equipment didn’t seem to work properly. They also noticed a constant feeling of being light-headed. Later, realizing their queasiness and problems with the surveying equipment only occurred in an area about 300 feet in diameter which is right where they plated the tour and building so everyone can experience everything for themselves. This location was voted Michigan’s No.1 unusual attraction by readers of Michigan Living Magazine (AAA). You will experience optical contradictions and physical sensations that are hard to believe. These phenomenal “happenings” can be photographed during your tour as well!
Activity #6:
Castle Rock
Athletic or not the views for this attraction are breathtaking, you can see the waters of nearby Lake Huron and miles of forest . In order to see the view though you have to make the Climb up the 171 steps and make it to the top! ( hopefully you can sense the theme of tiring the kids out, but this one also tired us out quite a bit!)
Heroic statues of Paul Bunyan and his sidekick, Babe the blue ox, greet visitors to the base of the rock, and there is a gift shop on site as well.
Activity #7:
Bridge picnic
A bridge picnic is always going to be an essential part of your trip when you are visiting Mackinaw City. Tables are scattered throughout the park with breathtaking views of the Mackinaw Bridge. So bring some sandwiches and snacks for the kids and let them play by the water and look for stones while you take in the view. Whenever we do this trip this event seems to be the most relaxing as there typically isn’t an agenda that the kids have to follow, we have stayed for 30 mins to eat and leave, and have also stayed for a couple hours. Another helpful item is that they do have charcoal grills scattered throughout the park that you can use for your lunches as well.
Activity #8:
Fort Michilimackinac
This attraction is for the many people who enjoy the historic side of Mackinaw City! It is located on the straits of Mackinac with views of the bridge and water. It showcases a 18th century fort with fur trading and what life would have looked like for everyone in that era. Throughout the property they have historical interpreters representing voyagers, British soldiers, French Canadian merchant families, all of which are able to answer any questions you have and provide demonstration
Activity #9:
Cross In the woods
is another one of our staple trips for the week. Wether you are looking for a Sunday service or just to visit at your leisure throughout the week, make sure to stop by and check out the serenity and amazing view of this local attraction.
Activity #10:
Seashell City
Trinkets galore is what your going to get at this souvenir shop. My daughter Norah had fun combing through all of the shells they sell to pick out her favorite! Although not an attraction as far as things to physically do, we usually hit it up on our way back from the cross in the woods as its right off the highway. Another fun purchase item they have at this shop is picking your own clam! they open the clam up in front of you to see what size pearl you got! You can then pick through the jewelry items they have in the glass cases ( necklaces, rings, earrings, and bracelets) and they will drill your pearl into your new jewelry piece. My husband when we were dating got me 3 pearls that I wear proudly in one of their pearl cages.
Activity #11:
Mackinaxe
piggy backs off our favorite activity the lumberjack show, but now instead of watching …. Your throwing the axes!! (they do offer training for those of you concerned you have to be a pro in order to join in on the fun!) This fun event has games that display on a projector in front of the wood board your aiming at and is a hoot for the entire family. The first year we went we brought kids with us and we did struggle a little bit with them being younger and not wanting to sit still. But this year we were able to get it in as a date night while the in laws watched the kids and it was a fun time when your able to complete against your significant other. Also makes for an interesting ride home depending on who wins.
Activity #12:
Mystery town USA
A family walk-through adventure for all ages that brings you to the world’s greatest mysteries, and as per any touristy area, a retail store to go along side of it.
The mysteries that they showcase in your walk through are Aliens, Mermaids, king tut, loch ness monster, Atlantis, Bermuda triangle, Pirates, Unicorns, Dogman, and my personal favorite Sasquatch ( Big foot). When stopping at this attraction you are going to want to make sure you do the walk through with older kids or as adults. May be a little to spooky for little little kids depending on your parenting style haha.
Activity #13:
Cherry picking
Depending on the time of year the cherry picking is great between July and August usually but the 2nd/3rd week is always the best week for sweet cherries which is our favorite! We have went to both Rennie Orchards in Williamsburg, MI or King Orchards in Central lake, MI. Although these two locations are a couple hours away from mackinaw we come from the Grand Haven area so we usually just stop on the way up for the sweet treat.
