- Where
- Lake Huron, Straits of Mackinac
Mackinac County, Michigan - Coordinates
- 45.85° N
84.62° W - Size
- About 4 sq mi;
8-mile shore road - Population
- 583 (2020 census)
- No cars
- Banned by the city since 1898
- Protected
- National park 1875–1895
then Michigan’s first state park - Getting there
- Ferry from Mackinaw City or St. Ignace;
small airport - Best visited
- Late spring to early autumn
- Advisory
- United States
(no State Department level)
No engines anywhere, only hooves, bicycle bells and the ferry horn now and again. The whole street smelled of sugar being worked on cold stone. I hired a bicycle and circled the island by the water, which was so wide and so fresh I kept forgetting it was not the sea, and got back long after the horses had gone home.
The short answer
Mackinac Island lies in Lake Huron at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas, in Mackinac County. It has 4.35 square miles of land by Wikipedia’s infobox (3.8 square miles in its geography section), about 9.6 miles of coastline, and rises to 890 feet at Fort Holmes; 583 people lived there at the 2020 census. More than 80 per cent of the island is Mackinac Island State Park. The City of Mackinac Island banned motor vehicles in 1898 and the state park commission followed in 1901, Wikipedia records; emergency, city service and park vehicles are the exceptions, with snowmobiles in winter. Visitors arrive by ferry from Mackinaw City or St. Ignace, and get about by horse, carriage or bicycle.
Why it's worth knowing
A road with no cars. Restrictions began in the late 1800s, when carriage drivers complained that automobiles startled their horses; Wikipedia’s article on the island’s highway says the first city ordinances of 1898 followed a doctor’s car spooking horses and causing carriage accidents, and the ban was extended to motor bicycles in 1907. The road that circles the island, 8.004 miles of narrow paved loop numbered M-185 since 1933, is, in the Michigan Department of Transportation’s words, “the only state highway in the nation where motor vehicles are banned”. It was surfaced in asphalt in 1960, replacing what Wikipedia describes as limestone and manure. Cars have appeared only by exception: one for a film in 1979, a motorcade in 2019.
The second national park. In 1875, three years after Yellowstone, Congress made most of the island Mackinac National Park, the country’s second, at the urging of Dr. John R. Bailey, Wikipedia records. When it withdrew in 1895 the federal government handed the land, Fort Mackinac included, to Michigan as its first state park. The fort itself was built by the British in 1780 on the bluff above the harbour; they took it in the first battle of the War of 1812, held it against an American attack in 1814, and returned it under the Treaty of Ghent. After the war John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company made the island its centre, exporting beaver pelts for thirty years.
The island the summer built. The Grand Hotel opened in 1887, and the 1980 film Somewhere in Time was shot at the hotel and at Mission Point. Visitors who come for the island’s fudge are known locally as “fudgies”, and Wikipedia traces the trade to the Murdick family’s candy store. The Ojibwe name, Mishimikinaak, is usually glossed as “Great Turtle”, for the island’s shape.
The field notes
A town of horses
The island’s tourism bureau says as many as 600 horses live and work on it at the peak of summer; the American Farriers Journal gives about 500, and a Michigan State University article says most of the island’s 400 horses belong to the carriage tour company (all indexed). The farriers’ journal says a handful of farriers re-shoe them every four to six weeks, many with urethane or rubber shoes for the paved streets. Most of the horses leave for the mainland in winter; 16 to 18 stay to haul freight and carry residents, a Michigan radio report says (indexed).
Arch Rock
Arch Rock, a natural limestone arch about 146 feet above the ground, stands beside M-185, with a viewing area just past the first mile marker (Wikipedia). In winter, when the lake freezes hard, islanders cross to the mainland by snowmobile over an ice bridge.
A horse-drawn carriage passing the Little Stone Church, October 2025.
Photograph: Barnabas Piper via Unsplash · Unsplash licence
Arch Rock framing the lake, June 2026.
Fort Mackinac on its bluff above the town, 2018.
A ferry passing the Round Island Lighthouse, off Mackinac Island.
Photograph: Martin Makaryan via Unsplash · Unsplash licence
A wagon lettered with the island name, loaded on Main Street.
Photograph: Martin Makaryan via Unsplash · Unsplash licence
Three draught horses in harness at a carriage stand, 2021.
Photograph: Emily Studer via Unsplash · Unsplash licence · cropped
A bicycle on the shore of Mackinac Island, with the Round Island Lighthouse offshore.
Photograph: Vincent Y via Unsplash · Unsplash licence
- Take an early boat and climb to the white fort before the main street wakes.
- Go right round the shore road by bicycle. Keep to the right, and give way to the horses, who have more important appointments.
- Buy one slab of fudge. (Bought one. Was handed a taste of another, which counted, and every page since has been slightly sticky.)
- Stay over at least once. The island changes completely once the last boat has gone.
- Remember that this is a town as well as a sight. Walk your bicycle through the busy street, and wish the people sweeping it a good morning.
A horseshoe. With motor vehicles banned since 1898, Mackinac Island moves by horse: the island’s tourism bureau counts as many as 600 at the summer peak. A few farriers keep them shod, re-shoeing each horse every four to six weeks, and many of the shoes are urethane with steel inserts, or rubber, for the paved streets rather than plain iron, the American Farriers Journal reports (indexed). Saddle horses and carriages can be hired on the island (Wikipedia).
Tally, in the marginA horseshoe partly made of rubber, for a road with no cars on it. I had expected iron and a clang; what I heard all day was a soft clop, like a very polite knock, and I liked the island a little more at every one.
Getting there
How to get there. By ferry from Mackinaw City, at the top of the Lower Peninsula, or from St. Ignace, across the Mackinac Bridge in the Upper Peninsula; there is no road or bridge to the island. Wikipedia names the operators as Shepler’s Ferry and the Mackinac Island Ferry Company, formerly Star Line; 2026 reporting names Shepler’s and Arnold Transit, both now controlled by Hoffman Marine (indexed). The island’s airport has a paved runway of 3,500 feet and daily charter flights (Wikipedia). On the island: walk, rent a bicycle or saddle horse, or take a carriage.
When to go. Late spring to early autumn is the season the island is built for; some of the state parks’ museum houses close when it ends (Mackinac State Historic Parks, indexed). In winter, access is by air, or by snowmobile over the ice bridge when the lake freezes (Wikipedia). Check ferry timetables with the operators outside summer.
What to arrange ahead. Ferry fares are a live issue: on 3 June 2026 Michigan’s governor signed Public Act 17, which lets the island’s voters amend the city charter so the city can regulate ferry fares and charges for baggage, parking and priority boarding, after supporters said the cost of a crossing had risen from about $34 to about $51; the change needs a majority of island voters, and no vote date had been reported when this entry was checked (Michigan Advance, Michigan Public and WILX, indexed). Book ferry tickets with the operator and lodging well ahead for summer weekends; an overnight stay lets you see the island after the last boats leave. Fort Mackinac, run by Mackinac State Historic Parks, charges admission, $17.50 for an adult in 2026 by the parks’ listing (indexed).
Safety. The State Department’s travel advisories cover other countries, so none applies here. The hazards are small ones: busy streets shared by horses, carriages, bicycles and walkers, and lake weather that can cancel crossings. Horses, carriages, bicycles and walkers share the same streets.
Mark this place
Common questions
Why are there no cars on Mackinac Island?
The City of Mackinac Island, Michigan, banned motor vehicles in 1898, after carriage drivers complained that cars frightened their horses, and the state park commission followed in 1901, Wikipedia records. Emergency and service vehicles are the exceptions, with snowmobiles in winter.
How do you get to Mackinac Island?
Mackinac Island, in Lake Huron, is reached by passenger ferry from Mackinaw City or St. Ignace, Michigan, or by charter flight to its small airport. Shepler’s runs ferries; 2026 reports name Arnold Transit as the second operator, and Wikipedia names the Mackinac Island Ferry Company, formerly Star Line.
What is M-185?
M-185 is the 8-mile road around Mackinac Island, Michigan, numbered as a state highway in 1933. The Michigan Department of Transportation calls it the only state highway in the nation where motor vehicles are banned; it is used by bicycles, horses, carriages and walkers.
Was Mackinac Island a national park?
Yes. Congress made most of Mackinac Island, Michigan, the second US national park in 1875, three years after Yellowstone, Wikipedia records. In 1895 the federal government transferred the land, including Fort Mackinac, to Michigan as its first state park.
How many horses are on Mackinac Island?
The island’s tourism bureau says as many as 600 horses work on Mackinac Island, Michigan, at the peak of summer; the American Farriers Journal puts it at about 500. Most go to the mainland for the winter.
Who built Fort Mackinac?
The British built Fort Mackinac on the bluff of Mackinac Island, Michigan, in 1780. They captured it from the Americans in the first battle of the War of 1812 and returned it under the Treaty of Ghent, Wikipedia records.
Why is Mackinac Island known for fudge?
Mackinac Island, Michigan, sells fudge to its summer visitors, who are nicknamed “fudgies” for it; Wikipedia traces the trade to the Murdick family’s candy store and its marketing.
Can you visit Mackinac Island in winter?
Yes. When Lake Huron freezes, islanders cross to the mainland by snowmobile over an ice bridge, and the island’s airport takes daily charter flights, Wikipedia records. The ferry operators publish their own timetables for crossings outside summer.