Hi, I'm james. And I'm laurent. And today, we are in beautiful Mackinac Island.
Or as I like to call it, Macki-NAC! No. I grew up in Michigan. And as a true Michigander,
I spent all my summers up north, in Traverse City, Petoskey, Charlevoix.
But we also love to visit Northern Michigan in the fall, and enjoy the beautiful fall colors.
But Mackinac holds a special place in my heart. To me, it's the gem of Northern Michigan.
And in this video, we're going to show you
our favorite 10 things to do on Mackinac Island. So, let's go!
Mackinac Island is located in the Strait of Mackinac,
a 3-mile wide strait, that connects Lake Michigan to Lake Huron.
And the strait also separates the Upper Peninsula from the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. And Mackinac
Island is on the Lake Huron side of the strait. And since 1957, there's been a 5-mile long bridge,
over the strait, the Mackinac Bridge, which at the time of its construction,
was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Unless you can afford a charter flight
to the island's small airport, the only way to Mackinac Island, is to take the ferry.
From the mainland, there are two different ferry companies: Star Line and Shepler's.
We've used both in the past, and to be honest, we don't think there's much of a difference between
the two. Both companies offer hourly rides, from Mackinaw City, on the Lower Peninsula,
and from St Ignace, on the Upper Peninsula. For most people driving from down south,
Mackinaw City will be more convenient. But catching the ferry from St Ignace,
will give you the opportunity to drive over the bridge. The ferry ride normally takes 20 minutes,
but some of the ferries take a detour, to go under the bridge. And if you have an extra 10
minutes to spare on your vacation, we strongly recommend you choose one of these ferries.
We were able to take really cool shots, from underneath the bridge.
But if you're going to sit on the upper deck,
be sure to bundle up. The ferries are super fast, and it gets pretty windy up there.
Once you get off of the ferry, you'll have to travel around the island. And one of the best
features of Mackinac Island, is that cars have been banned since 1898. And the best way to move
around, is to take a horse-drawn carriage. It might look a little bit cheesy at first,
but it's actually a lot of fun. There are several different horse-drawn carriage options.
If you're staying on the island overnight, most hotels will provide a shuttle,
from the ferry dock to the hotel. If not, you have the option to take
a taxi. They are available 24-hours a day, and they charge by the distance.
The Carriage Tours company also offers narrated tours of the island. It's Mackinac Island's
version of the double-decker red bus, that you find in larger cities. The tour lasts around 2
hours and takes you to some of the islands hotspots, that will be featured throughout
this video. You also have the option to rent your own carriage by the hour. In that case,
you'll have to drive the buggy yourself. It's a lot more expensive than a taxi,
but it provides a lot more freedom. And finally, you can also ride a horse. It's just that you're
not allowed on the Main Street on a saddled horse. But you can always walk down Main Street,
and that's actually the 3rd activity on our list. Both ferry companies will drop you off
in the heart of Main Street. And the minute you get off the boat, you'll be surrounded by hotels,
bars, restaurants, and tons of souvenir stores. Mackinac Island started becoming
a tourist destination in the mid-1800s, when the development of railroads made it easier for rich
people from Chicago, Detroit, and the East Coast, to travel to Northern Michigan. And even though
Main Street has a bit of a Disneyland feel to it, it's actually been like that from Day 1.
And all the buildings are authentic. But if you keep walking past Marquette Park, you end up in
a much quieter part of Lakeshore Drive. You can see some of the beautiful Victorian houses, as
well as quaint wooden churches. And we like to go all the way to Mission Point, at the edge of town,
and sit down, relax, and stare at the lake. Another quaint street to explore is Market Street.
It's just one street over, parallel to Main Street. It has some of the oldest buildings
in the city, and lots of little shops, and bed and breakfasts. It's really cute. It is!
And number 4 on our list, is walking the deck of the Grand Hotel. The Grand Hotel
was built in 1887, and is the most recognizable building on the island. It's a huge building,
with 400 rooms, and the 660-foot long deck. It's the longest in the world.
That's longer than 2 football fields. When the railroads started expanding in the 1800's,
railroad companies needed destinations, to attract tourists, and give them reasons to
ride their train. So they started building hotels, like the Grand Hotel in Mackinac. But very few of
them survived, because lots of them were made of wood, and were not built to last. That's what's
so amazing about the Grand Hotel. It's still here, 130 years later. And it hasn't burned down.
Knock on wood! We also enjoyed walking inside the hotel, and going up to the bar in the cupola,
at the very top of the hotel. But to me, the most spectacular, was the main dining room.
It really felt like nothing had changed since the hotel opened, in 1887. And you
could almost expect to see Jackie Kennedy or Esther Williams, enjoying dinner alongside us.
In addition to horse-drawn carriages, bikes are also a main form of transportation on Mackinac
Island. And biking around the island is number 5 on our list. Lakeshore Drive,
the circular loop around the island, is only 8-mile long. So, biking around the island should
only take you a couple of hours, depending on how many stops you want to make along the way.
You can rent a bike pretty much anywhere in town. There are lots of different bike rental stores,
but they all charge more or less the same price for the same bike. Your decision is really about
which type of bike you want to rent. If you are going to stay on Lakeshore Drive,
where it's all flat, you don't need a bike with a lot of gears. But if you're going to
bike on the trails, inside the island, a mountain bike is probably better. We
really wanted to try a tandem bike, but it just looked too complicated for us. Yeah!
More than 80% of Mackinac Island is a state park. So, once you leave town,
you're pretty much in the wilderness. But British Landing, which is almost the halfway point,
is a good place to stop and grab a bite. And, apparently, some of the tourists engage in
reckless biking, if we believe all the signs we saw on the side of the road.
And number 6 on our list is visiting Fort Mackinac. Because of its strategic location,
at the junctions of Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Superior,
Mackinac Island has always had a military significance. The British built Fort Mackinac
in 1780, during the American Revolutionary War. And they didn't relinquish the fort, until 15
years after the American Independence. It then became an American fort, until Congress closed
it in 1895. Today Fort Mackinac is a museum, that tourists can access from Marquette Park,
at the end of Main Street. Because the fort is on top of a hill, it's somewhat of a climb to
get up there. But from the fort, you have beautiful views of the city and the lake.
Inside the fort, you can visit the barracks, where the soldiers used to live;
as well as the officers' quarters. There are also several cannons pointed at the lake.
And costumed employees reenact war scenes, including firing the cannon several times a day.
Back on main street, after visiting the fort, you'll probably want to grab a bite to eat. And
while you're on Main Street, you'll quickly notice that every other store front is a fudge store.
Mackinac is famous for its fudge. You cannot leave the island, without trying it at least once.
All the stores claim they were voted the best fudge on the island. So, we're not gonna recommend
any particular brand. We tasted several over the years, and they've always been delicious. And low
calorie too! Yeah! Fudge has been a tradition on Mackinac Island, since the late 1800's. As tourism
developed, people on the island were looking for items to sell to tourists. And early on,
fudge was the one that caught on. What's fun about it, is that the stores don't just
sell fudge. They also show you how fudge is being made. You cannot watch them make fudge,
experience that delicious smell, and then leave the store empty-handed after that.
And number 8 on our list is Arch Rock. If you're looking for the best selfie spot on the island,
then Arch Rock is the place to go. As the name indicates,
Arch Rock is a see-through rock formation, right on the shore of Lake Huron. 4,000 years ago,
the water level was a lot higher than it is today. The waves from the lake eroded the base of the
cliff. And parts of the cliff collapsed, to create the arch we see today. Arch Rock is not very far
from town. And you can easily walk there. You can also see Arch Rock from underneath, when biking on
Lakeshore Drive. But if you want to go on top of the rock from the shore, you'll have to climb more
than 200 steps. The best time to go see Arch Rock is early in the morning, at sunrise. There will
be a lot fewer tourists at that time. If you go there in the middle of the day, once the narrated
tours start dropping large crowds of tourists, you'll have to wait your turn to take a selfie.
Another popular selfie spot is Sunset Rock, on the complete opposite end of the island,
just behind the Inn at Stonecliff. Of course, Sunset Rock is much nicer at sunset.
But even during the day, it offers some of the best views of the Mackinac Bridge.
Although biking around the island is much easier, because it's all flat, exploring the inside of
the island is also something we recommend you do. And that's why it's number 9 on our list.
If you like hiking, Mackinac Island is small enough, that you can do it by foot. But it will
take you several hours to do that. If you choose to explore the inside of the island on a bike,
you should get one with multiple gears; If you don't want to walk your bike, when it gets too
steep. The island is pretty woodsy. And there is a nice nature trail, with signs with the names of
all the trees along the way. Another interesting rock formation is Sugar Loaf. It's a weird rock
that sticks out, in the middle of the woods. And the best view of Sugar Loaf is from a vantage
point called point Lookout Point. Lookout Point is also the best place to see the fall colors.
In addition to Fort Mackinac, there is a 2nd fort on the island, called Fort Holmes. It was built
by the British, during the War of 1812, on the highest point of the island, and was named Fort
George, at the time. The Americans later renamed it Fort Holmes. But it was quickly abandoned.
And the fort you can visit today, is not the original one, but a reconstruction from 2014.
And 10th on our list, is to walk past the Victorian mansions. Mackinac Island has always
attracted rich vacationers, from all over the Midwest, and beyond. And in the spirit of keeping
up with the Joneses, they all tried to outdo their neighbors. Whenever one built a new tower on their
house, the next year, their neighbor would build an even higher one. But the result is that there
are now these magnificent summer homes. And we love walking past them, and just looking
at them. Some of the most spectacular mansions are on Bluff Road, right past the Grand Hotel.
But if you don't want to walk that far, there are also some beautiful mansions, right at the
end of Main Street. But, Victorian or not, there's plenty of beautiful houses throughout the island.
So, we hope you enjoyed this video. If you did, give it a big thumbs up! And put your comments,
in the comment section below. And if you want to subscribe to our channel,
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Bye! Bye!