View from highway View from highway looking at Fort Michilimackinac. In 1770, Michilimackinac was the first stop for voyagers, and still is. This complete working colonial village is less than a mile from Mackinaw City. A fiddler leads you on a tour of the grounds. Excavations are ongoing within the stockade, as archaeologists uncover artifacts from the original trading hub. Interpreters serve as guides for this 1700's reconstructed fur-trading village and military outpost.