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Arch Rock, Mackinac Island, MI

Photo: WMrapids, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

SightseeingOutdoor Adventure

Arch Rock

You climb 207 steps or bike Arch Rock Road to see a limestone arch framing Lake Huron far below.

Arch Rock Rd, east side of Mackinac Island State Park · Mackinac Island, MI

About Arch Rock

Arch Rock is a natural limestone arch on the east side of Mackinac Island, standing about 145 feet above Lake Huron. You can reach the overlook by climbing 207 steps from Lakeshore Drive, or by walking or biking Arch Rock Road from the island's interior. Waves hollowed it out during the high-water Nipissing period, and the plaza's Milliken Nature Center has exhibits on how it formed.

  • #natural arch
  • #scenic overlook
  • #mackinac island
  • #state park
  • #hiking

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What's around here?

The closest stops to Arch Rock, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Fort Mackinac

    Under $25

    Explore a hilltop military outpost built during the American Revolution, with costumed interpreters, cannon and rifle firings.

    0.6 mi awayMore like this

  • Stay
    Iconic

    Grand Hotel

    Under $25

    Stroll the 660-foot front porch of this 1887 island resort, tour its gardens, or stay over and arrive by horse-drawn carriage.

    1.0 mi awaySwitch it up: Stay

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    Mackinac Island

    No admission fee

    Ride a ferry to a car-free Lake Huron island of horse-drawn carriages, bicycles, fudge shops and a hilltop fort.

    1.1 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    St. Ignace Mission

    Check prices

    Visit Father Jacques Marquette's grave and the Museum of Ojibwa Culture at the 1671 Jesuit mission site near the Lake Huron shore.

    6.1 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums

    Mackinaw Bridge Museum

    No admission fee

    A free museum above a Mackinaw City pizza restaurant, filled with donated items from the Mackinac Bridge's construction.

    7.8 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Cheboygan State Park

    Under $25

    Hike Lake Huron shoreline trails to the ruins of an 1859 lighthouse, swim at Duncan Bay and stay in a hike-in rustic cabin near the water.

    17 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

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