Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
9:30am-7pm Jun-Aug, to 5pm May & Sep-mid-Oct)
. This National Historic Landmark features
a reconstructed stockade first built in 1715 by the French. Some 3 miles southeast of the
$8/4.75; 9am-5pm Jun-Aug, to 4pm May & Sep-mid-Oct)
, which has an 18th-century saw-
mill, historic displays and nature trails. A combination ticket for both sights, along with
Fort Mackinac, is available at a discount.
If you can't find lodging on Mackinac Island - which should be your first choice -
motels line I-75 and US 23 in Mackinaw City. Most cost $100-plus per night. Try
Days
Inn
(
231-436-8961;
www.daysinn.com
;
206 N Nicolet St; r incl breakfast $115-170;
)
.
St Ignace
At the north end of Mackinac Bridge is St Ignace, the other departure point for Mackinac
Island and the second-oldest settlement in Michigan - Père Jacques Marquette founded a
mission here in 1671. As soon as you've paid your bridge toll, you'll pass a huge
visitor
center
( 906-643-6979; I-75N; 9am-5:30pm daily summer, Thu-Mon rest of year)
which
has racks of statewide information.
Mackinac Island
From either Mackinaw City or St Ignace you can catch a ferry to Mackinac Island. The
island's location in the straits between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron made it a prized
port in the North American fur trade, and a site the British and Americans battled over
many times.
The most important date on this 3.8-sq-mile island was 1898 - the year cars were
banned in order to encourage tourism. Today all travel is by horse or bicycle; even the
police use bikes to patrol the town. The crowds of tourists - called Fudgies by the is-
landers - can be crushing at times, particularly during summer weekends. But when the
last ferry leaves in the evening and clears out the day-trippers, Mackinac's real charm
emerges and you drift back into another, slower era.
the Arnold Line ferry dock, has maps for hiking and cycling. Eighty percent of the island
is state parkland. Not much stays open between November and April.
Sights & Activities
