Mackinac Island actually started life as the country's second national park. But the expense of…read moremaintaining it eventually persuaded the federal government to transfer it to Michigan, where it remains today as one of the state's park crown Jewels. Cars are banned on the island so all transportation is by foot, bike or horse! There are horse tours, and horse taxis, that take you to a specific place (like regular taxis). You can't walk up and summon a horse taxi though, you have to call first. Carriage Tours taxi service is at 906.847.3323.

This is Michigan's 1st state park. The landscape is characterized by high limestone bluffs,…read morebeautiful vistas of sparkling water, vibrant forests & mystical geological formations. Cars have been banned since 1898, this is a a quieter way of life away from interstate noise of cities. Over 80 percent of Mackinac Island is within this park. The island is sacred to the Ojibwa & Odawa Great Lakes Indian tribes.

This is Mackinac Island attraction located at the east of island. This attraction can be reached by…read morehose, bike or walk. Walk is about 30 minutes. I would suggest visit the Mackinac fort then exit at the back to the arch. This is better after the fort because you already went to the elevation of the arch. So the climb is already done. The arch is a natural rock arch overlooking the lake. It is beautiful.

This is one of the most famous geologic formations on the island and is a must-see if you're…read moretouring the perimeter (or crossing the interior).

Perfection in a rock formation! Bike ride to it was easy. Climbed all the steps and was rewarded…read morewith fabulous views.

Whatta sight! On an island full of beautiful geological formations, Arch Rock stands out from the…read moreothers because it overlooks the water and spans at least 50 feet. It's a beautiful rock! You'll want to make the effort to get up the hill to see it. You can walk up to Arch Rock, but keep in mind that it's all uphill! Or you can bike (again, uphill) or do what I did and take a horse-drawn carriage. Arch Rock, and the adjacent Milliken Nature Center are one of the stops on the horse carriage tours. You only get about 15 minutes to check it out, but how much time do you need to look at a rock formation, no matter how pretty it is? There's a deck that takes you out a little closer to Arch Rock, and from here, you can take lots of beautiful photos of the water peeking through Arch Rock.

Fort Mackinac is worth the visit. It is one of the best preserved 19th century military sites in…read morethe country. The fort is staffed by energetic college students and reenactors who are dedicated to educating the public about life at Fort Mackinac. It includes a wash house, a commissary, barracks, a hospital, and officers quarters. Inside the soldier's barrracks there is also a very well done museum dedicated to the early settlers and Anishnaabeck peoples. Its view over the harbor is impressive, and there is a restaurant where you can have lunch if you'd like. It is definitely worth a visit if you are anywhere near Mackinac Island.

This is a historic fort located in the island. I would suggest this is your first attraction. Two…read morereasons to visit first - it has a back gate connect to the remaining attractions and the elevation different for easy climb to remain attractions in the island. The ticket can be purchased at bottom entrance. The elevation different is 150 feet from ticket booth to entrance. From sea level is 320 feet. The fort has 20 point of interest. That includes store house, bathhouse, reading room, block house, old hospital, gun platform and more. The experience includes dress up historic solder uniforms. There are several buildings that can be explored. That includes some film explaining the fort. This historic British military fort is important high point in the island. Now it is important tourists attraction and historic center.

Expect crowds! Everyone was helpful including sanitation employees. Lots of unique items and…read moreprices usually weren't too bad. Recommend renting something for travel outside of downtown area. The only negative was trying to find handicap restrooms. Some indicated handicap but were up 3-4 inches and scooter got stuck.

I absolutely love following the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau social media channels throughout the…read moreyear to get a taste of Mackinac! On the island, the Visitors Center is directly across from Marquette Park. The building is part museum/education on the history of the island and part gift shop. There are free public restrooms as well as a water bottle refill station. The staff at the welcome desk are happy to answer any questions you have about the island. On the day I stopped in, the staff member was a longtime year-round resident, and I enjoyed chatting with her about what it's like to winter on the island.

A hidden oasis with lots of potential! I recently visited on a weekday in late July and despite the…read morerain, there wasn't too much mud to wade through. We had been planning on playing the 9-basket disc golf course when we got to MI, knowing that it was a very low rating on DGCR, but were pleasantly surprised. I am happy to say I've been here, done that, but probably a one-time visit for me. From the pictures, you can see it's obviously a lush and clean park with dozens of activities available for children and adults. Most of these installments are a little run down, even in the middle of summer tourism, particularly the markers that tell you where the tee is (some are in pieces, some are plain missing). Luckily, we had enough service to search it up on a dedicated disc golf site and were well on our way. Main upsides include a clean bathroom, picnic and barbecue area, visible baskets, and beautiful landscaping. Downsides? The overgrowth around the edges of the park, where all 9 tees are situated. I lost my favorite disc in the 8ft shrubs, and some tees were completely in the shrubs. Also, this park was a little difficult to find as there aren't signs for it (unless you're coming up one particular path). So after an afternoon of walking the paths to Arch Rock and Fort Holmes, we struggled to get here without the help of a sometimes spotty Google Maps. Pro tip: download the Google Map of the island before you go walking.

It's cool that mak island put a disc golf park on the island, I have to say that I was so totally…read morestoked to bring my discs. With Michigans wide range and disparate landscapes, I was sure I was gonna get some sweet terrain to challenge my disc golf savvy. What I got at great turtle park was a bit disappointing. This park is good for your mid range or putter but it is flat. I would say you could probably make all the shots without having to bust out the driver, with maybe the exception of one hole. The baskets are not cemented into the ground, there is no tee off sign for any of the pins, and there aren't platforms. Rather, kitchen tiles mark the starting points for all the holes. These disappointments for a serious disc golf fan, make the park a three. The park itself is gorgeous and in the middle to high park of the island away from most of the tourism and people, so that's worth a few stars. Overall, however, the disc golf part of the park really soured my experience as it seemed like an afterthought. I rated this park three stars because: 1star: bathroom on premises. Nice. 1star: park itself is a cool spot, away from tourists. Good family/community area. 1star: disc golf here. Something's better than nothing. 0star: disc golf course missing tee signs and platforms, baskets are free standing, showing the non-commital nature of whoever put them in. 0star: hole nine missing tile that tells you where to start, all disc golf baskets within sight of the starting point, no sweet Michigan terrain involved, flat course.

In all my years visiting Mackinac Island, I never ventured up to Fort Holmes--until now!…read more Fort Holmes is the highest point on Mackinac Island at 325 feet above sea level. Unlike Fort Mackinac, it is unmanned and free to visit. Once you get to Fort Holmes, you are rewarded with amazing views of Lake Huron and the Mackinac Bridge in the distance! Of note, there is a public restroom, bike rack, and picnic table at Fort Holmes, as well as historical signage with more information on the fort. If you're in that area of the island, it's worth including a stop at Point Lookout and Sugarloaf, too. We did Sugarloaf to the stairs to Point Lookout to Fort Holmes Rd to get there, but you could also do Garrison Rd to Fort Holmes Rd for a more gradual incline or Garrison Rd to Rifle Range Rd to Watch-Your-Step Trail (which is a staircase that true to its name was slippery after a misty/rainy day).

This fort is at the highest elevation. It has a good view to warn the fort below if under attack…read more It is final retreat if the fort below was occupied by the enemy. This fort is simple. It is just the wooden fence with 12 feet height. If the enemy surrounded it, it will be invaded probably less than a day. But it does serve the detection system for the island.

We asked a local which bike rental shop they would recommend, and they recommended Mackinac Wheels…read moreBike Store without hesitation. Not only did he recommend it because it's a great company, but also because it is the only locally owned bike rental shop around. We always prefer to shop local! We were so grateful for this advice because it turned out to be an excellent bike rental experience! First, we loved that the shop is a little off the beaten path so that it is not swarming with tourists. As a result, we got immediate and helpful service from the friendly and helpful workers. The staff were super helpful and answered all of our questions. We were so thrilled about how quick it took us from arriving to leaving on bikes. Quick, easy, and welcoming service! One of our favorite parts was the payment plan. The bike rentals with necessities like helmets are $15 per hour. However, they have flexible pricing by up to 15 minutes. As a result, since we only rode for an hour and a half, we only had to pay $45. What an incredible deal! This flexibility in pricing alone is a reason to prefer Mackinac Wheels over other bike rentals. We loved our bikes. I had the bright turquoise blue bike and my spouse had a navy blue bike. These colors made them easy to find when we stopped at popular pull offs, like the Arch overlook. The bikes were comfortable, catered to our heights/needs, and high quality. We could have ridden them all day! And most importantly, the bikes helped us to have a wonderful experience on Mackinac Island! We did the entire perimeter route of the island, stopping at the Arch, the northern most point of the island, the British Landing, Chimney Rock, Devil's Kitchen, and other photo worthy spots. We were able to do it all in an hour and a half! When we got back, the drop-off was as smooth as the pickup. The staff sent us off with a kind word and advice for the rest of the day. All in all, our experience with Mackinac Wheels was extremely positive. If we are ever back on the island, we will definitely do our rentals through Mackinac Wheels again! Don't get stuck in the tourist traps, head over to Mackinac Wheels today!

The bikes weren't all new but they worked. The price was right and the people very friendly.read more

This is one of the many interesting geologic formations on the island that you can easily visit on…read morebicycle (or by hiking).

I hate to sound like a "Subpar Parks" review, but it's a cave, that kind of resembles a skull lol…read more Would be easy to miss if there wasn't a sign.