I’ve been hearing a lot about this Island from my friends and even before that, I had stumbled upon an Instagram post about how beautiful this Island is. Ever since I’ve been wanting to go. Well, needless to say, I finally got my chance! My girlfriend and I headed up north to Mackinac for a weekend trip and we already wanted to stay there more. Mackinac Island sits on Lake Huron, between Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas. Mackinac Island State Park, with trails, woods, and the limestone Arch Rock formation, covers most of the island. When you’re on the island, it sort of feels like some small European town. There were a couple of things I would change about the trip though but don’t you worry, I’ll go through it and point them out!
Before you go:
- Dates on Mackinac Island
- September 18th, 2019 – September 19th, 2019 (2 nights, 3 days, Friday – Sunday)👉 One thing I would’ve changed: Stayed for a little longer
- There are no cars or any other kind of transportation allowed on the island. So, you will have to take a ferry.
Today I will go through:
1) Hotel
2) Ferry
3) Five things you HAVE to see
4) Food
1. Hotel: Best Western in St. Ignace, Michigan
Since we planned our trip last minute, everything on the island was booked. So, we had to book a place off the island in a nearby city called St. Ignace, Michigan. We stayed at @bestwestern and it was honestly a great stay. The rooms were HUGE and we got our own PRIVATE balcony looking over the beach and the water body. Another great thing they did was, due to COVID, they had to stop their hot breakfast but they were really nice about packing all their guests a to-go bag with breakfast items such as a cereal bar, muffin, milk, boxed cereal and couple other items. If you do decide to stay in St. Ignace, do give them a shot. If you want to stay off the island, another option you have is a city called Mackinaw City, Michigan. There are ferries going from both of these cities all through out the day.
- You can book this hotel here: LINK👉 One thing I would change: Next time I plan a trip to the island, I would for sure stay ON the island. But, in order to do this, you HAVE to book way in advance as everything on the island gets booked
2. Ferry
- For our ferry to the island from St. Ignace, we chose to go with @starlinemackinacislandferry. They were really good about making sure things were done in the right way. Everyone was required to wear a mask on board. They also take the boat under the Mackinac Bridge for viewing before dropping you off at the island. One thing I do want to mention is that although masks were required to be worn on board, there was no social distancing on board. We had random people sitting next to and around us, one thing they could’ve done was maybe keep some seats empty in the middle to maintain the social distance but besides that, great service!
- Parking-wise, they charge for a parking spot really close to the port but they do have FREE parking across the street. (That’s where we parked and it was fine.)
- 🌟 TIP: Buy your tickets online! It’s cheaper than buying them at the counter. It’s $27 per person for a round trip to the island and back.
- You can book your tickets here: LINK
3. Five things you HAVE to see
There are quite a lot of things you can do on this island and honestly, having a weekend is definitely not enough. I recommend staying on the island and spend at least 2 full days. I had a lot of fun in one day but I heard from the locals that its more fascinating to stay on the island and enjoy its beauty when there are no tourists which is usually when the last ferry leaves or before the first ferry arrives.
- Whether you decide to stay for 2 days on the island or you are just there for a day over the weekend, these are some of these things you have to see.
1. Mackinac Island Carriage Tours
$30.50
– The coolest and craziest thing about this island is that there is no type of cars. There are only a couple of ways of transportation. One is horses/carriages and the other is bicycles. After arriving at the island, we know we wanted to take a horse carriage tour of the island and so we decided to go and reserve a spot first. For our tour, we went with @mackinacislandcarriagetours. They’re located right on Lake Shore Dr. Get off the ferry and just look straight to find the ticket booth across the street. They really care about the horses and all the tour guides are well trained. This is a great way to see the island!
– Make sure to go and reserve your spots the first thing you get to the island. Depending on how busy it is that day, you might have to wait a couple of hours. We got to the island around 11:30 AM and reserved spots on the next open slot were at 1 PM. We had about 1.5 hours to just wander around.
– But don’t worry about the access time you might have because there is so much to see and do right on the same street. The island feels like a small European town and so it won’t let you down.
– You can also book your tickets online here: LINK
2. Biddle Point
FREE
– Since we had about an hour and a half left before our carriage tour, we decided to relax at this little beach area. It was so nice that I wanted to actually spend some more time here. It’s sort of like a small beach with picnic tables for you to sit and enjoy your food while soaking in the sun.
– If you’re visiting the island and have some spare time, I would really suggest spending some time here to relax. It’s very peaceful.
3. Little Stone Church
FREE
– From what I could gather on the guided tour, this church was build in 1904, funded by local residents and summer visitors. The stained glass windows which were installed in 1914, tell the story of the Protestant Movement on the island.
– Do you see the exterior of this church? It is beautiful. Sadly, it wasn’t open to the general public due to CVOID-19 so we couldn’t go inside but I’m sure it was just as nice inside. If you can, definitely go in.
4. The Grand Hotel
$10
– At 660 feet long, the hotel holds the title of the world’s longest front porch.
– It’s so grand and fancy that after 6:30 PM, everyone is required to be in formal attire. Men with suit cost, necktie and dress pants while ladies in dresses, shirts, and blouses!
– The hotel has a restaurant on-site and has some great food!
5. The Arch Rock
FREE
– After some more fall tree colors, we arrived at the most famous landmark of Mackinac Island! The Arch Rock.
– It’s a natural limestone arch formed during the postglacial period, a period of high Lake Huron levels following the end of the Wisconsin glaciation. To this day Arch Rock stands on the Lake Huron shoreline 146 feet above the water.
– It is one of the main elements in Mackinac Island’s tourism. There is a small viewing platform that runs right next to the Arch Rock so, swipe to see a video of the Lake Huron from the rock.
5. Food
The island is filled with a number of food and coffee places but since we were only there for a day over the weekend, we weren’t able to try more places but when I’m staying on the island, this is going to be my first goal. TRY AS MANY PLACES AS I CAN.
- The Grand Hotel onsite Bar/Restaurant
- Good for lunch & dinner
- Order: Truffle Fries
- This restaurant has the best view you can ask for a restaurant. There is a number of rocking chairs on the porch and you can enjoy stunning views of Lake Huron! It’s beyond amazing to just relax, enjoy some truffle fires and watch the sun go down.
Below are some of the pictures I took when I was visiting the island. Check it out & follow my journey @mrshutterup on Instagram. Lastly, feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions!
