Mackinac Island Information

  • Mackinac Island is located in Michigan in the County of Mackinac.
  • Land area is 4.4 square miles.
  • Mackinac Island is 3 miles long and 2 miles wide. The distance around Mackinac Island at its base is 8 miles.
  • You can only get to Mackinac Island by ferry.
  • Ferry Lines are:
    • Arnold Line
    • Shepler's
    • Star Line

Mackinac Island Facts

  • Mackinac Island is only accessible by boat or plane. Ferries depart from St. Ignace and Mackinac City. Personal boats are also welcomed at the Mackinac Island Harbor.
  • Mackinac Island has an airport with a 3,500 foot runway. There is no plane refueling on the Mackinac Island.
  • The only forms of transportation Mackinac Island allows is bike, horse drawn carriage, horseback riding and walking. No cars are allowed on Mackinac Island since 1898.
  • The Grand Hotel opened in 1887. The Grand has over 350 rooms and two are decorated the same. Five US Presidents have stayed here. The movie Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour was filmed at the Grand.
  • The Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse is one of 18 Lighthouses in only a 25 mile radius. This area has the highest concentration of Lighthouse's anywhere in the US.

Mackinac Island Tourism Draws

  • Horse Drawn Carriage Rides
  • Bicycling
  • Hiking
  • Main Street Fudge Tasting
  • Sailing Cruises
  • Fishing Charters
  • Hayrides
  • Golfing - The Jewel and Wawashkamo Golf Course

Mackinac Island History

  • 1670 French explorer Father Marquette settled in St. Ignace. At this time he began his preaching to the Native Americans.
  • 1759 the British conquered Canada at the Battle of Quebec on the Heights of Abraham. At this time Mackinac Island and the surrounding came under the British Flag.
  • 1780 The British paid 5000 pounds to the Chippewa Tribe for permission to build a Fort on Mackinac Island.
  • 1783 the Fort was completed. At the end of the Revolutionary War the Mackinac Island Fort was ceded to the Americas.
  • 1812 The War of 1812 was first fought on Mackinac Island. The British came up what is now called Britishlanding Road with a canon. The British place the canon on top of what is now called Fort Holmes. The canon faced the back of the Fort and the British made the Fort's US Commander to surrender without firing a shot. After the War the British had returned the Fort back to the US.
  • 1887 The Grand Hotel opens
  • 1895 After the Civil War 60 soldiers served at the Fort until 1895. The United States then abandoned the Fort and gave it to the state of Michigan.
  • 1957 The Mackinac Bridge was completed.
Mackinac Island, MI
27°
Snow Shower
7:41 am7:50 pm EDT
Feels like: 27°F
Wind: 2mph SW
Humidity: 81%
Pressure: 29.86"Hg
UV index: 0
2 am3 am4 am5 am6 am
27°F
28°F
30°F
30°F
30°F
WedThuFriSatSun
28°F / 16°F
27°F / 19°F
32°F / 21°F
27°F / 18°F
28°F / 25°F