We just got back from three days on Mackinac Island, and I’m already planning to go again next year.
We went at the very end of August with our group, and the weather was cooler than I expected… overcast most of the trip, breezy off the water. It didn’t matter one bit. If anything it made the island feel like fall was about to happen.
Here’s the thing about Mackinac: you step off the ferry and you are immediately in it. No parking lot, no shuttle, no twenty-minute drive to your hotel. You walk. That’s the whole personality of the place, and it’s why I loved it.
We finished the trip in Frankenmuth on the way home, which I’ll get to at the bottom.
So: my favorites, what I wore, and the stuff I’d tell you on the phone before you went.
First, a warning about the boat ride
We took the ferry across to the island and you get a choice: the open top deck or the enclosed part below.
The top deck is beautiful. The top deck is also extremely windy.
If you care what your hair looks like when you get off that boat, sit inside. If you don’t, go up top — the view of the island coming toward you is worth it. I am telling you this as someone who arrived looking like she’d been through a wind tunnel.
Where we stayed: Bicycle Street Inn
The location is the entire point, and it could not have been better.
You get off the boat, you walk over, and you’re there. And the hotel sits right on the main strip with all the restaurants and shops — so you’re never more than a few minutes from dinner, fudge, or your own bed.
That matters more on Mackinac than it does anywhere else, because there are no cars. You’re not hopping in a taxi at the end of a long day. Your feet are the transportation. Being right in the middle of everything is worth paying for here.
We had a hot breakfast at Winchester’s before heading out each morning (it’s part of the hotel), which meant nobody in our group was hunting for coffee at 8 a.m.
A little history: why there are no cars
I love this story.
Motor vehicles were banned on Mackinac Island on July 6, 1898 — and not by the government deciding to be charming about it. The horse-drawn carriage drivers petitioned the village council to prohibit what they called “dangerous horseless carriages,” because the cars were spooking their horses.
The ban has now held for more than 125 years. The road that circles the island, M-185, is the only state highway in the country where motor vehicles aren’t allowed.
So it’s horses, bikes, and feet. Which is magical.
It also means there is a lot of horse poop. Watch your step when you cross the street. I’m serious. This is the least glamorous tip in this entire post and it may be the most useful.
My favorite restaurants
Two stood out, and both had menus I wanted to eat straight through.
Pink Pony. This was my favorite. Great food, and the energy you want on a vacation night. And can we talk about the gift shop? Best gift shop on the island. I’m not exaggerating. Give yourself extra time in there, because you will not be walking out with nothing.
Seabiscuit Café. Another excellent menu, a little more low-key, and exactly the kind of place I want to end up in when I don’t feel like deciding.
Fudge is not optional
The island is known for its fudge. Tourists have literally been nicknamed “fudgies” — that’s how central it is.
There are several shops and they’re all good. We went to Ryba’s, which has been making it on the island since 1945, and the smell coming out the door does most of the selling for them.
My advice: buy your box on the last day so it’s fresh for the ride home.
The Grand Hotel: go for lunch, stay for the porch
Wow.
We had lunch at the Grand Hotel and it was one of the most beautiful dining rooms I’ve ever sat in — green and yellow and floral, white linens, windows all the way down one side looking out over the porch.
But the porch. The porch is the thing.
It runs 660 feet and the hotel bills it as the longest in the world. There are 1,375 geraniums in 147 planting boxes along it, and rocking chairs the whole way down.
Schedule time to just sit there and rock. Not “walk the porch and take a picture.” Sit. Do nothing. Look at the water. This was one of my favorite twenty minutes of the trip and it cost nothing and involved no plan whatsoever.
A few things worth knowing before you go:
- There’s an admission fee to visit if you’re not staying or dining there. You can’t just wander up and look around — they charge for access to the grounds and porch (complimentary for kids 5 and under). Check grandhotel.com for the current rate. If you’re having lunch or tea, that’s your way in.
- Visiting hours are shorter in fall. September through October it’s 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- There’s a dress code, and it changes at 6:30 p.m. During the day it’s casual resort wear — they ask you to skip midriff-baring tops, cutoffs, sweatpants and sleeveless shirts in the interior public spaces. After 6:30 p.m. it goes formal: no denim, no shorts, no flip-flops. Women in dresses, skirts, blouses, dress sweaters or dress slacks; men in a suit or sport coat with a necktie and dress pants. Kids 12 and up are expected to dress the part too.
I had lunch in jeans and sneakers and was perfectly fine. If we’d been going back for dinner, I’d have packed differently — so if an evening at the Grand is on your list, plan an outfit for it before you leave home.
Rent a bike and ride around the island
This was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip.
The road around the island is 8.2 miles, it’s flat, and you have water on one side of you the entire way. You cannot get lost. There’s one road. That’s it.
It took us about an hour and a half with stops for pictures. There are several rental places near the docks and prices run roughly $16 to $18 an hour, so it’s genuinely cheap for what it gives you…. and it’s the only way to see the parts of the island that aren’t Main Street.
If you do one thing besides sit on that porch, do this.
The horse-drawn carriage tour was fantastic
I want to be clear that this was a highlight, not a filler activity.
Our guide was wonderful — funny, full of history, clearly in love with the island and you see corners of the place you’d never find on your own. The carriage company here is the oldest and largest horse-and-buggy livery in the world, and it shows.
If you’re on the fence because it sounds touristy: do it anyway.
What I wore
Cool, overcast, breezy off the lake, lots of walking, one nice lunch. Here’s how I actually dressed for it.
[Affiliate disclosure: Some links below are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no cost to you. I only link things I actually wore and loved.]
Arrival day on Main Street
A white tee, a light distressed denim jacket, travel pants, and a leopard ball cap with a my brown medium Longchamp bag.
The denim jacket did all the work on this trip. It was chilly enough in the mornings and evenings that I wanted sleeves, but not cold enough for a real coat. And the hat solved the wind situation, which — see the ferry warning above — is real.
I also brought along my new Free People Khaki jacket that I fell in LOVE with that is just perfect for fall and spring, oversized look, and great for everday wear.
Lunch at the Grand Hotel
A cropped white short-sleeve button-down, light straight-leg jeans, and cream sneakers, with a khaki bomber jacket and a burgundy tote for walking up the hill.
This is my formula for a nice lunch when I still have to walk a mile and get on a bike later. A crisp white button-down makes jeans and sneakers look intentional instead of lazy — and it’s exactly within the daytime dress code.
Bike day
A Mackinac Island crewneck sweatshirt I bought right there on the island, the same leopard cap, and a beaded necklace to make a sweatshirt feel like an outfit.
Zero regrets. Buy the souvenir sweatshirt and wear it the same day. That’s what it’s for.
Shop the look here
Shoes, cause that’s important 🙂
Tennis shoes. All day, every day. This island is horses and uneven pavement and 8 miles of bike road. Bring your sandals as extra in my opinion… unless they’re great for walking.
These are my favorite travel shoes and I wore them again and again on trips: BEST TRAVEL Tennis Shoes!
And the short packing list
- Layers. Even at the end of August, I wanted a jacket morning and night.
- A jacket you can push up your sleeves in — a denim jacket and a lightweight bomber covered everything.
- A hat. Wind off the lake is constant.
- A bag that goes hands-free if you’re biking.
- One nicer outfit if you’re doing dinner at the Grand — no denim after 6:30.
And I always leave all new destinations with one this… an ornament for my Christmas tree 🙂
And then: Frankenmuth
On the way home we stopped in Frankenmuth, and it’s such a cute little town. We’ve even done overnight trips there, which tells you it’s more than a rest stop.
Bavarian Inn is my favorite. Family-style chicken dinner, generous servings, the whole Bavarian thing done properly. If you eat one meal in Frankenmuth, eat it here.
Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland is the other must. It bills itself as the world’s largest Christmas store, and when you walk in you understand immediately that they’re not overselling it. Even in August. Especially in August, honestly… no crowds, and you leave with a new ornament I’m sure.
If you’re driving through Michigan, build in a few hours for this town.
The tips, all in one place
- Sit in the enclosed part of the ferry if you care about your hair. Top deck if you care about the view.
- Stay on or near Main Street. There are no cars — your legs are the transportation.
- Watch your step crossing the street. Horses.
- Tennis shoes, not sandals.
- Pack layers and a hat, even in August.
- Rent a bike and ride the 8.2 miles around the island. Best money you’ll spend.
- Do the horse-drawn carriage tour. Not touristy — genuinely great.
- Book lunch at the Grand Hotel, and know there’s a fee to visit if you’re not eating or staying there.
- Leave unscheduled time to sit on that porch and rock.
- Buy your fudge on the last day. Then buy more than you think you need.
- Save room in your suitcase. The gift shops here will get you.
We’re going back next year
I mean it. This was one of those trips where the group was still talking about it on the bus home, and I’ve already got Mackinac on my list for next year.
If you want to come with us, get on the list — that’s where these trips get announced first, and our departures fill up from the list before they go anywhere else.
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And if you’ve been to Mackinac, tell me what I missed, because I’m going back and would love to hear!
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