Crossroads Village & the Huckleberry Railroad: Step Back to the 1800s

Just north of Flint, on the shores of Mott Lake, sits a whole town that time forgot — on purpose. Crossroads Village is a living-history village of 34 authentic 19th-century buildings, where costumed artisans work the trades of the 1800s and you can catch a show at the Colwell Opera House. Genesee County Parks has run it since it opened on the Fourth of July, 1976 — so 2026 marks its 50th year.

The star of the visit is the Huckleberry Railroad, a narrow-gauge steam train pulled by a coal-fired Baldwin locomotive. The roughly 40-minute ride rolls along Mott Lake on a stretch of the old Pere Marquette railroad bed and back into the village. The line’s name is a gentle joke: the original train ran so slowly that people said you could hop off, pick a few huckleberries, and hop back on.

The village really shines for its seasonal events — a family-friendly Halloween of friendly ghosts and pumpkins, and a glowing “Country Christmas” — which draw visitors from across the region every year.