7 Must do Activities on Mackinac Island

Mackinac Island is a place that will always hold a special place in my heart. My family has been going there on yearly vacations for 19 years, and my grandparents probably went for over 50 years. Everyone knew who they were from the workers, locals, carriage drivers, you name it.

My grandma and grandpa rented a few different cottages over the years on the island, plus many visits to the Grand Hotel each year. The one we spent the most time in was on the East Bluff. I was probably eight or nine when we started staying there, and the last year we rented was when I was either seventeen or eighteen. We spent at minimum ten summers in that house, making memories with every single member of the family.

Here are some oldies to start us off! First, little me living the dream at The Grand Hotel pool with my snow cone, such a classic, and the other photo was in the first cottage we rented which was back in the Annex! The last one is me with my grandma taking the Starline ferry over to the island! I never knew a summer without Mackinac.

Here are some throwbacks of little me at the recent cottage and riding some ponies. Mackinac was the main reason I wanted to ride horses. I wanted to be able to trail ride up there. My mom said not until I take a lesson. That's when my grandpa got searching for barns and I finally was able to ride on the Island.

The two horses I am riding in these pictures are Chiquita & Diamond! I ended up knowing so many of Cindy's horses over the years, I would walk in and ask if any of my favorites were available.

Over the years I was able to bring so many of my close friends to the island and im so grateful for that. Plus we learned the best places to hangout and spend our days for when we take our shorter trips up now. I thought it would be fun to share activities that a frequent visitor, like myself, enjoy doing to get away from all the tourist craziness downtown once in a while. Here are 7 activities you should do before leaving the island!

Did you know there are no cars on Mackinac? One of the main ways of getting around the island is by bike, and the other is horses! My family typically brings our own bikes over, but there are multiple shops where you can rent bikes for a certain amount of time! Personally, I love having one of my own bikes because then you can take them out for a sunrise or sunset ride.

With that being said, two things you should definitely do are ...

Take a bike ride around the whole island! It’s 8.2 miles around, and is a beautiful ride that is actually flat for the most part. Make sure to stop at British Landing, the halfway point, and get a delicious ice cream cone from the Cannonball and enjoy the view of the lake!

If you bring your own bike, take a late night bike ride to British Landing to watch the sunset. It’s a perfect spot to see the bridge and watch the sky turn all its magical colors. Just give yourself enough time to make it back to town before it’s super dark, there’s no streetlights out that way!

This year and last year I brought my rollerblades up to the island and would use them to go out to British Landing. Out hotel, The Pontiac Lodge, is at the end of town so I can sneak out without taking them on Main Street! We stayed in the exact same room the past two years. We love a good Groupon deal!

Another activity you can't leave the island without doing is pay the $10 to take yourself around The Grand Hotel. You can sit on the world famous porch and enjoy a drink with the view that looks like a post card, or my personal favorite is heading up to the Cupola bar which is in the very top of the hotel! The room is all windows giving you a lake view from all angles! It’s like being in the sky, and you gets all overlook the newly remodeled pool, with the lake and famous Mighty Mac bridge in the background.

Most of these are from last year, except the one of the new pool! They put some good money into that renovation.

What I got into a lot this year on our trip was beach glass hunting. My best friend Mel has always been into finding cool rocks and stuff on the beaches, but this year we went pretty hard and brought home a significant amount of beach glass! There are lots of different access points where you can get down to the rocks and the water so the amount you could find I imagine is pretty endless! I brought home over half a mini mason jar!

Arch rock is definitely something you don’t want to skip out on. With a couple ways to get there, you are destined for a great workout and even better scenery. Since my family used to rent a cottage on the East bluff, I’m pretty used to going that way and coming out at the top of the rock. It’s a nice walk that takes you through the woods. If you would rather take a bike, you can take Main Street all the way around for a nice easy bike ride. There are stairs at the bottom that lead you up to the top of the rock and a walkway that goes out so you can see all around the rock and get to see an awesome view of of the lake.

These there photos below are an Arch Rock sunrise! This trip was so chaotic, I got to bring two of my best friends Mel and Emma. I still don’t know how we got Emma up and on a bike at six in the morning.

The East Bluff, as I mentioned, is one way you can get to/from Arch Rock. If you take that way on the way back, you can stop and see the Baby Grand Hotel, some beautiful cottages, and what I would say is one of the best views on the island. When you get to the top of the bluff, make sure to hike up Anne’s Tablet Trail for the view in the third photo! You are right next to Fort Mackinac, looking over all of downtown!

I feel like this is a given, but one thing you must leave time for when visiting the island is making it into every shop in the town, along with getting some fudge to take home! My go to fudge and ice cream stop is usually Rybas.

The shops downtown have so many unique items made by many Michigan artists, along with some pretty cool souvenirs. My first stop is always Poppins & Poppins home, Cattywampus, Little Luxury‘s, and The Pink Pony. If you need a good shop for some souvenirs for your family, The Big Store with Little Prices is always a great option! Flagship is also an awesome place to get stickers!

This was one of my favorite buys from last year, my fuzzy blanket from Threads of Mackinac! I also got a sherpa zip up that is so comfortable too!

I can’t pick a favorite, I am always so excited to see the new stuff all the stores have.

I also recommend getting some pizza at The Island Slice! I would take a pizza combo any time of the day from there.

My last recommendation for you, is to either go parasailing off of the island, or do the kayak tours! I haven’t done the kayak tour myself, but I have gone parasailing three times on the island! All three times were such a blast, one time it was cloudy, one time it was sunny, and another we had a freighter go right under us!

Mackinac Island has so much to offer! I only listed a handful of activity’s there are to do. Out of all the places to visit in Michigan, this is definitely one of the coolest and most rare experiences you can find in the state! You are guaranteed to you have an unforgettable time.