625 acres (2.5 km2) in size, the park is located 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Mackinaw City, Michigan on U.S. Highway 23.

The Mill Creek sawmill enjoyed a dominant market share of the supply of cut timbers in the Straits of Mackinac during the fur trade era, and a millwright's house was built about 1820 near the sawmill to provide a place for the mill operator to live.

However, global demand for beaver fur declined in the 1830s, and following Dousman's death in 1839 the sawmill and millwright's house were abandoned.

Mill Creek drains the Dingman Marsh, a perched wetland within Mackinaw State Forest in northwest Cheboygan County.

The Discovery Park includes approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) of the eponymous creek's watercourse as it flows downhill toward Lake Huron, but not the wetland.