One Day on Mackinac Island, Michigan

Before visiting Michigan, I was unaware of how beautiful this state is! All I was really familiar with was Detroit (which I ended up really liking!) and the Great Lakes. I was fortunate on this trip to be introduced to Michigan by one of my best friends who is a native of the state, and I came away longing to see and do more! Easily my favorite part of this trip was visiting Mackinac Island, which felt like a perfect end to the summer before I headed back to school!

While one day may be enough to see the sights on Mackinac, it was not enough for me! Part of the appeal here is the laid back lifestyle and all the gorgeous places to stay for a weekend or longer. Although, you can take the advice of this particular guide and see it all in a day, I would really recommend allowing at least 2-3 days to just take it slow and enjoy the island. However much time you have though, if you’re visiting Michigan, you have to add Mackinac Island to your itinerary!

About Mackinac Island

Michigan is well-known for the Great Lakes, and it is bordered by four out of the five. Technically speaking though, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are hydrologically the same lake.   They’re divided for a few reasons but mostly because of how they narrow at the Straits of Mackinac between regular Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.  The Mackinac Bridge, built in 1954 and opened in 1957, is today pretty much the only way of crossing between them (except in winter).  This bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere.  However, the main draw for tourism in Mackinaw City and St. Ignace (the cities on either side of the bridge) is Mackinac Island.

One thing that is a bit confusing: Mackinac Island vs. Mackinaw City. Both Mackinac and Mackinaw are pronounced the same (ma-kuh-naa) and come from the Ojibwe name “Michilimackinac.” The current split between names dates to the French and English territory disputes that resulted in a lot of Michigan names. For a time, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Mackinac Island were French territory and used the French spelling of the Ojibwe name, while Mackinaw City and everything south were English and used Anglicized versions of the French names. This is also why another island in the Straits of Mackinac was previously called Bois-Blanc but became Boblo Island when the French lost the land.

Exploring Mackinac Island

Although you can take the famous bridge to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from Mackinaw City, to reach the island itself, you have to take the passenger ferry. Ticket prices and ferry schedules vary depending on which company you book with, and since I did not book this trip, I honestly don’t remember enough to give a particular recommendation. To decide which one to take, I suggest reading this article. If you are only staying for a day, be sure to check the schedule to make sure you get back on the ferry before it shuts down for the night!

The Town on Mackinac Island

I loved riding the ferry, even if it was a bit chilly! There are beautiful views of the bridge as well as other islands within the Straits of Mackinac, and it’s a wonderful way to start and end the day’s adventure! Mackinac Island does not allow any cars, so you’ll see a lot of horses and bikes.  Docking on Mackinac, I definitely felt like I should have been wearing a long skirt and hat like a vacationing Victorian lady.  The town on Mackinac is really comprised of two streets that, combined with the horses and horse excrement, really make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time.  Except everyone has smart-phones.

The town itself is full of cute shops with art, souvenirs, amazing fudge, and more! You can also find a few bed-and-breakfasts and hotels in this area that are a good bit cheaper than The Grand Hotel (more on that soon). On my day on Mackinac Island, we spent about half the day in the park and half the day in town. I loved just taking a rambling walking tour to see what there was to see before stopping in at all the little shops. And, by the way, you have to buy fudge while on Mackinac Island; it’s something they’re known for! Possibly my favorite stop in the town, however, was the Butterfly House. This is an indoor nature center full or vibrant butterflies (and other insects) that is a magical place to stop while on the island!

The Grand Hotel

Built in 1887, The Grand Hotel is the real Victorian getaway on the island with a manicured lawn, über-expensive rooms, and a dress code.  While approaching the island, you can see this long before you can see anything else, so it certainly lives up to the “grand” in its name.  Various presidents (Truman, Kennedy, Ford…) have visited the hotel, but its most interesting guest, to me, is Mark Twain. Twain made regular stops at The Grand Hotel when he went on speaking tours through the Midwest, and though it’s a bit of a change in pace from the Mississippi River, I can easily picture him in one of those famous white suits standing on the lawn.

You can actually book a room at The Grand Hotel, just like one of the vacationers from the Victorian Era, but this is by far the most expensive place to stay on the island. If you would like to visit the hotel without staying in a room, you have a few options. Golf or a visit to Sadie’s Ice Cream Parlor are both open to the public. To actually enter the hotel, visit its art gallery, and explore the grounds you can purchase admission for $12 per adult. Probably the best option, however, is to dine at one of the hotel restaurants. All of these are open to the public, though some of them still require the admission fee to access, depending on both the restaurant and time of day. One popular choice is the “Grand Luncheon Experience” in the Main Dining Room, though at over $70 per person, I’m not sure this will make it onto my personal itinerary anytime soon. And, of course, if visiting after 6pm, be sure to follow the dress code while on the grounds!

anytime soon

The State Park

To see the rest of the island, you have a few options including walking and biking, but I really enjoyed the carriage ride, which took us through town, past the Grand Hotel, and into the forest. There are again a few different options, and you can compare them on the park’s website. 

One of the main things to see in the park is Fort Mackinac. The fall of Mackinac to British forces in 1812 was one of the first events of the War of 1812, and for two years, there was continual struggle to control the tiny island (and the much larger Great Lakes fur trade).  In  1814, American troops reclaimed the garrison, and reenactments of this event occur every day at the fort.  If you’re short on time and prefer to skip the reenactment, you can still visit one of my favorite spots nearby: Arch Rock, which is a National Historic Landmark.

The forest here is beautiful – part of Hiawatha National Forest in fact – but it’s not quite as wild as it may appear.  Forest fires are part of nature, and in recent years the park service has learned to do controlled burning to put nutrients back in the soil and  eliminate the danger of a massive brush build-up while not burning too much land.  However, on Mackinac, a fire could destroy the island in a day, so park rangers have to be careful that in taking care of the forest, they also protect the town.

Final Thoughts

We had great weather for Mackinac, and I loved the tiny stores, the fudge, and all the beautiful flowers.  This was a wonderful end-of-summer trip, and I fell in love with the relaxed feel of the US’s unsalted third coast.  Mackinac Island is a place of contrasts with the old-money wealth of the Grand Hotel juxtaposed against undeveloped forest and the historical reenactments watched by hundreds of people with their iPhone cameras.  I was tempted to write this whole post like an essay for one of my classes in which I could ponder the role of tourism and development in state and national parks.  This is certainly something to be considered as Mackinac preserves its car-less history and protects both the forest and the town, but I think that what we cannot overlook when questioning  the governance and organization of places like this is that we are fortunate to face this problem.   It’s good that people want to travel to see and learn about history and nature, and because people visit, we have to ask questions, and that inspires us to be good stewards of such beautiful places.