Born and raised on the Tip of the Mitt (Michigan’s lower peninsula), I’m a Michigander through and through. Since my childhood, a favorite travel destination for family and friends has been Mackinac Island (pronounced Mackinaw). Over scores of visits, I’ve come to appreciate this gem nestled in the far northwestern reaches of Lake Huron.
More than 200 years ago, Mackinac Island was coveted—and fought over—by the Americans, British, and French for its strategic military and economic location. Today, the island is still crowned by the original Fort Mackinac where “soldiers” in period dress conduct drills and fire cannons to the delighted squeals of the current engine of the island’s economy—tourists. In 2018, Conde Nast Traveler bestowed its Readers’ Choice Award on the island and Expedia calls it one of the most tourist-friendly cities in the country, while TripAdvisor has included the island on its list of 10 Hottest U.S. Destinations for Summer. All these accolades underscore the popularity of the 125-plus-year-old Mackinac Island State Park, encompassing more than 80 percent of the limestone bluff encircled, four-square-mile island. Scenery is extraordinary, especially the iconic Arch Rock.
The island is readily accessible from the mainland—two mainland spots, in fact. Jumping-off points are Mackinaw City on the northern tip of Michigan’s lower peninsula and St. Ignace, near the eastern end of its upper peninsula. Two ferry companies transit the straits from these towns, Shepler’s and Star Line. The island also features a small airport for private planes and charter flights. During non-COVID times, small cruise ships like the Victory I occasionally visit the island. But by far, the best way to come is on your own boat, as my husband and I did aboard our trawler Monarch on our third Great Loop adventure (see sidebar for dockage options).
So Many Things to Do
One of the main reasons this is such a tourist-friendly spot is that while vacationers are welcome, cars are not. Automobiles have been banned from the island since 1898. Bikes, horses, and your own feet are the only way to go. For four-footed conveyance, choose horse-drawn taxis, self-drive carriages, or horseback exploration; I recommend a guided horse-drawn tour where the driver will regale you with a wealth of local knowledge. Make sure to stop and visit the Michigan governor’s summer residence which perches on the hill; free tours are offered every Wednesday during season.
And what a season! The Mackinac Island Lilac Festival, held in early June each year, starts off the summer with the largest event on the island. Join the thousands of visitors for 10 days of celebration that culminates with the Lilac Parade featuring the Lilac Queen and her court.
The two epic sailing races which use the island as one end of the finish line are the Bayview Mackinac Race and the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, both a major claim to fame for the island. Held on successive weekends in July, the races bring hordes of sailors to the island after 40 or more (or less) hours of nonstop navigation through two of the world’s largest and most challenging freshwater lakes, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. Most years, the boats make it safely to Mackinac Island, but not always. Media mogul and ocean racer Ted Turner once called Lake Michigan a “mill pond,” but when he joined the race in 1970, 60-mph winds forced more than half of the boats to withdraw and Turner to famously and publicly retract his statement.
On land, Mackinac Island is home to the oldest golf course in Michigan, Wawashkamo, which Golf Digest calls one of the most picturesque yet playable resort courses anywhere. Next, tee off at the Grand Hotel’s 18-hole Jewel golf course or the Greens of Mackinac at Mission Point Resort.
For more than 130 years, Mackinac Island’s fudge has been an institution on the island. In 1887, the year the Grand Hotel was built, the hotel hired Henry Murdick, a canvas sailmaker, to create awnings for the building. That same year, Henry’s oldest son, Jerome, opened the first fudge shop downtown, using his mom’s recipes. Murdick’s Fudge still has a shop on Main Street. The Mackinac Island fudge is famous worldwide, with sister shops as far away as the one I visited in Daytona Beach, Florida. Fudge devotees, actually all tourists here, are known as “fudgies.” There are seven fudge shops on the island, two per square mile, that make creamy, decadent, fresh fudge right before your eyes each day during season. Watch the fudge masters pour copper kettles full of hot fudge onto marble slabs and turn with wooden paddles until just the right consistency is achieved. Aficionados mark their calendars for the Mackinac Island Fudge Festival which celebrates all things fudge.
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Live Like a Local
Daytrippers throng to the island, so one of the best times to get a true feeling for the place is when you’re able to spend a night or more. Crowds dwindle as dusk falls, and you share a quiet island with other overnight guests and locals. More than 40 hotels and bed-and-breakfasts are available, mostly Victorian in design. You won’t find any hotel chains here. My personal favorites include the Hotel Iroquois, The Inn at Stonecliffe, Island House Hotel, Chippewa Hotel, Inn on Mackinac, Mission Point Resort, and of course, the iconic Grand Hotel. The Grand is the premier place to stay; its “World’s Longest Front Porch” is the spot to stake out a rocking chair and gaze out over planters full of the Grand’s signature red geraniums across the sparkling water of the Straits of Mackinac and the Mackinac Bridge. The palatial dining room features some of my favorite menu items including the freshest parmesan-crusted whitefish right out of the lake. Dinner must be capped off with the Grand Pecan Ball, a perfectly round scoop of Michigan-made Hudsonville vanilla ice cream rolled in pecans and floating on a sea of Grand Hotel fudge sauce. Sweetening your stay is the recently completed $10 million renovation of the expansive outdoor pool complex, made famous on film by the late competitive swimmer and MGM star Esther Williams.
The island’s scores of eateries provide something for every palate. In addition to the Grand Hotel, my favorites include Hotel Iroquois, where the outdoor patio features the best blueberry daquiri ever. For elegant dining directly overlooking the harbor, visit the 1852 Grill Room inside the Island House Hotel, with a menu spotlighting pan-seared walleye or 1852 slow-roasted prime rib. Recent additions to the island’s eateries include Winchester’s Whiskey and Bourbon Room with top-shelf brown spirits and the Great Turtle Brewery. If you want to stay on the Topsiders-and-Dockers casual side, the Mustang Lounge features live music and pub fare. A mandatory stop is the Pink Pony bar at the Chippewa, the favorite haunt for sailors post-Mackinac Race or just in the harbor for the night. Or hike two miles out to the Lawn at Stonecliffe for picnic options for less than $20 and a dessert of firepit-roasted s’mores complete with a breathtaking panoramic view of the Mackinac Bridge.
For an especially quiet, secluded, and picturesque getaway, try a winter visit to the island. I’ve spent a New Year’s Eve vacation at Stonecliffe on the western bluffs, with horse-drawn sleigh rides and cross-country skiing junkets to downtown’s Mustang Bar for a warm-up, followed by nightcaps by the lodge’s roaring fireplace. If the ice is thick enough, snowmobiles can get you to the island; if not, freight ferries will find room for you on the upper deck for the ride across the straits. Or hop a five-minute flight from St. Ignace, but make sure they have room for your skis. No matter the season, Mackinac Island draws visitors back again—and again.
By Marty Richardson
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Watch the Winds
The Straits of Mackinac are wide and deep as long as you watch the charts. There isn’t much current between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron as they are the exact same “pool height” and are a combined single basin. Any substantial current is wind driven. The prevailing wind over the Great Lakes is westerly.
Summer (June-mid September) is the best weather. Except when it’s not! Nasty winds can come from any direction. I’ve raced July Mackinacs where we have been becalmed one year and blown away the next, so check the weather reports on both sides of the border.
The Port Huron Mackinac race requires going north of Bois Blanc, though it’s navigable on both sides. When the weather turns rough, Cheboygan is a good hideout along the Lake Huron coast as are anchorages in the North Channel. Beaver Island, Leland, and Charlevoix are good waiting spots on Lake Michigan side.
Marinas
Marinas are open mid-May to mid-October. All feature restrooms, showers, pump-out, water, electricity, and more.
Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island State Harbor serves as a U.S. Customs check-in location and has 76 slips; however, no fuel.
Mackinaw City
Straits State Harbor has 136 slips, gas and diesel, and is walking distance from the downtown district which hosts summer car shows, craft fairs, and outdoor concerts.
Mackinaw City Municipal Marina, adjacent to and north of the Straits State Harbor, features a travel lift and 104 slips.
St. Ignace
St. Ignace City Marina offers gasoline and diesel and can accommodate boats up to 150 feet in length with drafts of 18 feet in 136 slips.
For all harbors, contact the central reservation system at (800) 447-2757 or midnrreservations.com. For more information on the island, visit mackinacisland.org.
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