Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park to close early for season Aug. 14

MACKINAW CITY — Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park will close for the 2022 season on Aug. 14.

This is three weeks earlier than the original date scheduled to close, Sept. 4. The park is located three miles east of Mackinaw City and operated by Mackinac State Historic Parks. 

According to a press release, staffing concerns at Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park, as well as other sites operated by Mackinac State Historic Parks, prompted this decision. Mill Creek staff members who wish to stay with the organization will be deployed at other locations.

“This is a difficult decision to make, and it’s not one we made lightly,” said Steve Brisson, Mackinac State Historic Parks director. “However, this is the correct, prudent decision. We thank our guests and members who visited Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park throughout the 2022 season, and we appreciate our wonderful staff who worked so hard for us this summer.”

All of Mackinac State Historic Parks’ other historic sites will remain open through their original dates. Fort Mackinac and Colonial Michilimackinac will be open through Oct. 23. The Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum, Biddle House, featuring the Mackinac Island Native American Museum, Benjamin Blacksmith Shop, and Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse will remain open through Oct. 9 and the American Fur Co. Store & Dr. Beaumont Museum and McGulpin House will close on Aug. 21.

Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park will open for the 2023 season in early May.

More information on the Mackinac State Historic Parks can be found by calling (231) 436-4100, or online at www.mackinacparks.com.