Mackinac Island

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

Lake Huron, by ferry from Mackinaw City or St. Ignace · Mackinac Island, MI

About Mackinac Island

Mackinac Island has restricted motor vehicles since the end of the nineteenth century, so you get around by horse-drawn carriage, bicycle or on foot. Ferries cross from Mackinaw City and St. Ignace. More than 80 percent of the island is state park, with Arch Rock, a natural limestone arch, and Fort Mackinac, built by the British in 1780. M-185 circles the shore for eight miles as a state highway without cars, and downtown you will find fudge shops and the 1887 Grand Hotel.

#car-free island
#horse-drawn carriages
#fudge
#bike rides
#state park

Printable maps

Michigan map

What's around here?

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

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.
0.7 mi awaySwitch it up: Stay
Sightseeing
History Buff
Fort Mackinac
Under $25
Explore a hilltop military outpost built during the American Revolution, with costumed interpreters, cannon and rifle firings.
0.9 mi awayMore like this
Sightseeing
Outdoor Adventure
Arch Rock
No admission fee
You climb 207 steps or bike Arch Rock Road to see a limestone arch framing Lake Huron far below.
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.
4.9 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.
7.2 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.
18 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors