What Can I Find at the Mackinac Island State Park Visitor’s Center?

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Ready or not the 2021 season is ready to start.

The Mackinac Island State Park Visitor’s Center from Fort Mackinac.

  If you’ve visited Mackinac Island, you probably remember the Mackinac Island State Park Visitor’s Center. It’s the building with the red roof just past the Chippewa Hotel. Today, we would like to share with you what the Mackinac Island State Park Visitor Center on Mackinac Island is all about and what you can find there.

  It’s simple, really: at the Mackinac Island State Park Visitor’s Center you can find out about all things Mackinac Island State Park. Want to know what demonstrations are going on at Fort Mackinac, or are interested in buying a ticket? Wondering what all comes with your Fort Mackinac ticket? We can help! Wondering about special events like Movies in the Fort or Music in the Park? Talk to us! Curious about the juried art exhibition at The Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum, the Artist-in-Residence program, or the new exhibit at the Biddle House? We have the info. Want to know about the Botanical Trail, what’s at British Landing, or the status of M-185? That’s what we’re here for.

  There are some things we cannot help you with, though. Wondering who has the best fudge or how much a taxi ride is up to the Grand Hotel? You’re out of luck. If you’re interested in a Carriage Tour you’ll need to head down to the stand on Main Street. If you’re curious about hotels on the island, or dinner reservations, or who has the best night life, the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau is your best bet, and that building is just down the road.

A new Arch Rock t-shirt available for the 2021 season.

  Starting in 2021, the Mackinac Island State Park Visitor’s Center will also serve as the home to the official Mackinac Island State Park Store. We will have great new souvenirs and merchandise: Arch Rock t-shirts, M-185 mile marker stickers, ornaments, mugs, and magnets, just to name a few. We also have all the Mackinac State Historic Park publications pertaining to Mackinac Island and as well as a few about our Mackinaw City sites.

U.S. Coast Guard Life-Saving Station stamp.

  Did you know that the Mackinac Island State Park Visitor Center was originally the site of the Coast Guard Life-Saving Station?  It was built in 1915, the year the Life-Saving Service and the Revenue Cutter Service were merged to form the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard closed the Mackinac Island Life-Saving Station in 1969, transferring operations to its new base in St. Ignace. In 1970 the Mackinac Island State Park Commission acquired the building, and the Visitor’s Center was born. We have a passport stamp available at the Mackinac Island State Park Visitor’s Center for the Mackinac Island U.S. Coast Guard Life-Saving Station if you would like to stop by and have your book stamped for a donation.

  The Mackinac Island State Park is also home to the Mackinac Island Artist-in-Residence Apartment, on the second floor, as well as the Station 256 Conference Room, also on the second floor. The conference room can be booked for small meetings and gatherings.

  The Mackinac Island State Park Visitor’s Center and official State Park Store open May 7. We hope to see you this summer!

Artist-in-Residence Workshop with Printmaker Nicholas Hill

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2017 Guggenheim Fellow Nicholas Hill will use a small printing press to create printing plates based upon on-sight drawings that he’s created at various sites on the island. His printmaking processes are environmentally-friendly and water-based. He also looks forward to open studio sessions where visitors can come to his studio to see the printing process as he would use hand-made papers and demonstrate a variety of printing techniques with each plate. The press is small enough and portable and he plans to offer these demonstrations at other sites or even out-of-doors in good weather. Printmaking history is rich and complements the historical periods of the history of the island, so he plans to share these parallel histories during his demonstrations.

The primary demonstration will take place at the Station 256 Conference Room, located above the Mackinac Island State Park Visitor’s Center. The entrance is located to the rear of the building. Admission to all events are free.

Artist-in-Residence Workshop with Photographer Raymond Gaynor

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Photographer Raymond Gaynor will lead a presentation/workshop on the images he’s taken while in residence. He’ll provide a detailed explanation on what drove him to take that particular shot, what he saw, and what he felt. Additionally, he will also discuss the technical aspects and processing workflow for each image.

This is a free workshop presented in the Station 256 Conference Room located above the Mackinac Island State Park Visitor’s Center. Entrance is to the rear of the building. #thisismackinac

Artist-in-Residence Workshop with Woodcut Artist and Printmaker Benjamin Bohnsack

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Woodcut artist and printmaker Benjamin Bohnsack will present a continuous demonstration of block printing during his residency, so keep an eye open for him while on the island! For his scheduled workshop, he will showcase a half hour presentation about the story of literacy and printing, with a visual description of what he does to create his art. He’ll also do a brief show and tell of the work he’s done while on the island, leaving time for questions at the end.

This program will be presented in the Station 256 Conference Room, located above the Mackinac Island State Park Visitor’s Center. Entrance is located at the rear of the building. Admission is free. #thisismackinac

Artist-in-Residence Workshop with Constructed Watercolor Artist Elizabeth Spitz

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Constructed watercolor artist Elizabeth Spitz will demonstration how her artwork is made, showing the technique of constructed watercolors. Sheets of solid watercolor paper are painted, then cut and glued in layers to create dimensional images. She will have examples in many stages of completion, to show how the process works from start to finish, because it is a very time consuming series of steps. Having the examples will allow her to talk through the process, illustrating the kinds of questions that arise.

This presentation will take place at the Station 256 Conference Room, located above the Mackinac Island State Park Visitor’s Center. Entrance is to the rear of the building. Admission is free. #thisismackinac

Artist-in-Residence Workshop with Painter Kurt Anderson

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Primarily a plein air artist, Anderson will present his process of creating work, and review the materials he used to create it. He will also do a short painting demonstration. This program will be presented in the Station 256 Conference Room, located above the Mackinac Island State Park Visitor’s Center. This is a free event. #thisismackinac