Mackinac Island
Island · Mackinac Island, Michigan
Mackinac Island sits in the Straits of Mackinac between Michigan's two peninsulas, and motor vehicles have been banned on it since 1898, so everything moves by horse, carriage, bicycle or on foot. Most of the island is Mackinac Island State Park, with limestone bluffs, forest trails, Arch Rock and the 18th-century Fort Mackinac above a small downtown of fudge shops, inns and bike rentals. M-185 circles the shore for about 8 miles, flat and easy. It suits families, couples and cyclists who accept crowds and high prices, especially June to August, when day-trip ferries and tour groups fill Main Street. Most businesses run from May to October, and the winter population is tiny. Grand Hotel, Fort Mackinac and the Mackinac Bridge are separate places. Allow a day, or stay a night for the quiet hours. It is overrated if you only see Main Street in the midday crush, and the better half is the bluffs, the loop road and the evening.
Mackinac Island, Mackinac Island, Michigan, 49757, United States
The island is reachable all year in principle, but ferries run on a seasonal schedule from roughly late spring through October, with limited winter service by boat, ice-bridge conditions and air taxi. Most hotels, shops, restaurants, carriage tours and bike rentals open between May and October and close for the cold months, when only a few hundred residents remain. Mackinac Island State Park trails and the shore road stay open in daylight, but services are minimal off season. Fort Mackinac and other historic sites keep seasonal hours, and the Lilac Festival is held in early to mid June, so confirm all dates, ferry times and last departures with the operators before you plan the trip.