Great Loop: Horsing around on Mackinac Island
The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island
No visit to Michigan would be complete without a stop at Mackinac Island. One of the island's unique attributes is that motorized transportation is not allowed. You can walk, bike, ride a horse, or a horse drawn carriage. If you order something from Amazon, the package will arrive by horse drawn cart. UPS deliveries are by horse drawn cart. If you are nostalgic for the "old days", the island provides a chance to return to the sights, smells and flies, of days gone by.... It was quite an olfactory experience! It was also charming, as the island is replete with well maintained and cute turn of the century Victorian architecture. This had been a vacation destination since the age of steamships.
Something I did not know, was that John Jacob Astor's American Fir Company utilized the island to grow and support the operations of their fir trade business. This trade made John Jacob Astor one of the richest men of his time.
One of the carriages that provides transportation for visitors to the Grand Hotel
A Gazebo at the Mission Point Resort
A stable building on Market Street
Fort Mackinac
Fort Mackinac was originally built by the British to control the Straits of Mackinac, and the fur trade routes, during the American Revolution. It was 13 years following the Revolution before the British relinquished the Fort to the United States. One of the first battles of the war of 1812 was fought here when the British captured the Fort from the small American Garrison. Two years later, the Americans tried unsuccessfully to retake it. The Fort was eventually returned to the US following the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war.
Today the Fort is a Michigan State Park. They have a very active program to help visitors understand what life was like in the late 1800's. Docents conduct many activities depicting actions in the daily routine of the soldiers and their families
A rifle firing demonstration
A view of the Harbor from the ramparts of Fort Mackinac
The Grand Hotel
We visited the Grand Hotel which opened in 1897.
It is now one of the top Summer Vacation destinations in the country.
The hotel boasts the largest sitting and walking porches in the world.
The porch overlooks the Straits of Mackinac
The inside retains much of it's charm of an earlier era
An Ice Cream Shop occupies the east end of the hotel ground floor
The 1984 movie "Somewhere in Time" was filmed on Mackinac Island and at the Grand Hotel
It starred Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeves
Mackinac Island Wildlife
River Otters play around the docks
Fresh water turtles swim by too
Biking the Island
A paved bike and walking path circles the island
Arch Rock is one of the scenic stops on the bike path
The Mackinac Bridge, opened in 1957, connects the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of the State of Michigan. It is the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere.
Island Sights
Whimsical sculpture art
Lighthouse at sunset
Amy Marie at dock
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Berthing Information
- We docked at Mackinac Island State Harbor.
- https://midnrreservations.com/
- 800-447-2757
- Services: Water, electricity, showers, restrooms and pump out
- Conveniently located to the town and many attractions.
- US Customs Entry Point
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