Things to Do on Mackinac Island, Michigan

The British moved their garrison here from the mainland in 1780, and the fort’s stone ramparts and Officers’ Stone Quarters date from that time. The British captured it in July 1812, in the first land engagement of the War of 1812 in the United States. Fourteen original buildings are restored to the 1880s, with interpreters in period Army uniforms and cannon and rifle firings.

★ Good to know Plan at least one to two hours. The Tea Room, run by Grand Hotel, serves lunch with the best view over the harbor, and the fort is open from early May to late October.

Arch Rock is a limestone arch that rises 146 feet above the water and spans 50 feet at its widest point. It’s one of several formations in the state park, along with 75-foot Sugar Loaf, Skull Cave and Crack-in-the-Island. The park covers more than 80 percent of the island, with more than 70 miles of roads and trails.

★ Good to know You can see the arch from both the shore road and the bluff above; the Milliken Nature Center sits right at the top.

Lake Shore Boulevard, state highway M-185, circles the whole island in 8.2 fairly level miles. Walking it takes 1.5 to 3 hours with stops, and it passes British Landing and the Native American Cultural History Trail turnouts.

★ Good to know Interior roads, like the one up to Fort Holmes at the top of the island, involve real hill climbs, so stick to the shore loop for an easy ride.

Grand Hotel opened in 1887 as a summer retreat for travelers arriving by lake steamer and rail. Its front porch is billed as the longest in the world, and it’s a National Historic Landmark. Mark Twain lectured here in 1895, and the 1980 film Somewhere in Time was shot here.

★ Good to know Non-guests pay an admission fee to walk the porch and public rooms, so decide if you’ll eat or stay there first.

The company’s public tour runs about an hour and 45 minutes by horse-drawn carriage. It stops at Surrey Hills, the Grand Hotel stables, Arch Rock and Fort Mackinac. Carriage drivers pushed for the island’s 1895 car ban in the first place.

★ Good to know Tours leave from 7278 Main St., across from a ferry dock, and pets are welcome on private tours.

Mackinac State Historic Parks runs a cluster of small sites along Market and Main streets. The Biddle House, one of the oldest houses in Michigan, holds the Mackinac Island Native American Museum. The American Fur Co. Store & Dr. Beaumont Museum covers the fur trade and Dr. William Beaumont’s digestion experiments, and the Benjamin Blacksmith Shop has a working smith.

★ Good to know A Fort Mackinac ticket includes Historic Downtown Mackinac; some sites keep a shorter summer season than the fort.

This state park art museum shows fine and decorative arts, Native American art and historic photography from the Straits. It also hosts an annual show of work by current artists.

★ Good to know It’s covered by the same Fort Mackinac and Historic Downtown ticket.

Mackinac Island is known for fudge, and several downtown shops still make it by hand on cold marble slabs.

★ Good to know Buy a slab on the way back to the ferry so it doesn’t melt in your bag.