Fudge, Fossils and the Mighty Mac: A Straits of Mackinac Run

Mackinac Island is a place that refuses to modernize, and that stubbornness is exactly the point. No cars. Horses on Main Street. Lilacs in June, fudge year-round, and Victorian cottages lined up along a bluff like a row of wedding cakes. But the mistake most people make is treating the island as the whole trip. The real prize is the Straits of Mackinac themselves — the sunken freighters, the fossil beaches, the 18th-century fort still being dug up by archaeologists, and the suspension bridge that stitches two peninsulas together. Do it properly and you get a trip that feels far bigger than its price tag.

Getting there

Fly into MBS International, the Saginaw–Bay City–Midland gateway. It is not the closest airport to the Straits — you will drive north — but it is the one that lets you land calm, collect a car in ten minutes instead of an hour, and set off through the pines without a terminal scrum. This is a trip where the ground portion is long enough that arriving frayed ruins day one, so book premium economy: the wider seat, the early boarding, the checked bag included, and a glass of something before descent. You will step off, walk to the rental counter, and be northbound within half an hour. Treat the drive as part of the holiday — northern Michigan does not disappoint through a windshield.

Day 1 — Mackinaw City, forts and the Mighty Mac

Base yourself on the mainland for night one; it saves you a ferry crossing with luggage and puts the best mainland sights on your doorstep. Start at McGulpin's Teahouse & Pastry Shop on Langlade Street — a fourth-generation scratch bakery where the morning haul of pastries and breads is the correct fuel for a fort day (~$8–$18 per person, verify when booking).

Walk to Mackinac State Historic Parks – Colonial Michilimackinac, the reconstructed 18th-century fur-trading fort and village built from historic maps and sixty-plus years of excavation. Time your visit with the Fort Mackinac Archaeology & Interpretation Program and you can watch the dig happening in real time, with interpreters explaining what has just come out of the sand (admission typically ~$15–$30 per adult, verify when booking).

Afternoon: the Mackinaw City Waterfront & Straits of Mackinac Museum, which handles the maritime side — shipwreck artifacts, navigation technology, the brutal arithmetic of these waters (~$10–$20, verify when booking). Then drive the Mackinac Bridge (Managed Crossing Experience) north to St Ignace and back at golden hour. Five miles of suspension over open water; the toll is modest (~$4–$10 per crossing, verify when booking). If you have children or want a genuinely charming mainland night, Mackinaw Mill Creek Enchanted Forest sits on a mile of Lake Huron lakefront with cabins and a lit forest trail (~$10–$25 entry; cabins vary, verify when booking).

Day 2 — Waterfalls, fossils and the underwater museum

Cross the bridge early and drive into the Upper Peninsula for Tahquamenon Falls State Park — nearly 50,000 acres, and an Upper Falls that is one of the largest east of the Mississippi, root-beer coloured from cedar tannins. Budget a Michigan Recreation Passport for the vehicle (~$10–$40 depending on residency and duration, verify when booking) and give it four hours minimum including the Lower Falls loop.

Heading back, book the Petoskey Stones Geological Tour with a local guide — expert-led identification and collection of the fossilized coral that only turns up here, plus the geological backstory of the whole basin (~$40–$100 per person, verify when booking). It genuinely changes how you look at every beach for the rest of the trip.

For divers and strong swimmers, the M-33 Shipwreck Dive & Snorkel Tour is the standout: guided access to preserved 19th-century wrecks in the Straits, including the SS America, in water cold and clear enough to see rigging (snorkel ~$75–$150; guided dives ~$150–$300 with gear, verify when booking). Wetsuit provided — take it.

Day 3 — The island proper

Ferry across in the morning and leave the car at the mainland lot. Walk the Cottage Row Self-Guided Walking Tour through the East and West Bluff neighbourhoods: 150 years of Victorian summer architecture, porches and gardens, entirely free apart from your legs. Fold in The Governor's Residence Tour — the three-storey 1901 Arts and Crafts mansion that serves as the Michigan governor's summer home, open on limited days at no charge; check the schedule before you go.

Lunch on the water, then Mackinac Island Fudge at Ryba's, which is not a tourist trap so much as a local institution — handcrafted slabs, Michigan confections, and yes, they ship (~$10–$30 per box, verify when booking). Finish with a slow lap of the shoreline road as the day-trippers queue for the last ferries and the island goes quiet.

Where to stay

The Grand Hotel is the reason people come — the world's longest front porch, jacket-and-tie evenings, rates typically ~$400–$700+ per night with meals included, verify when booking. The Hotel Iroquois is the connoisseur's choice: right on the water, smaller, superb dining, ~$300–$600. The Island House Hotel is the island's oldest and the best value of the three at roughly ~$200–$400. All three run seasonally.

Getting around

Rent a car at MBS and keep it for the whole trip. You will need it for the drive north, for Tahquamenon, for the bridge crossing and the Petoskey stone beaches — expect ~$45–$90 per day, verify when booking. On Mackinac Island itself there are no cars at all: leave the vehicle in a mainland ferry lot (~$10–$20 per day) and travel by foot, bicycle or horse-drawn taxi.

What to skip, and when to go

Skip the carriage tours if you are reasonably mobile — the island is eight miles around and walking it is better. Skip a day-trip-only island visit; the magic starts after 5pm. Go in June for lilacs, September for empty trails and warm water, and avoid mid-July weekends unless crowds are part of your idea of fun. Most of the island shuts down from November to April.