Phew! All throughout the country’s Heartland, it’s hot. The average summer temperature in Nashville is 90. Ditto for St. Louis, Atlanta, Charlotte and Louisville.
In Birmingham, it’s 91. In Little Rock, 93. Oklahoma City is 94. And in Dallas, it’s 96!
If you’re going to beat the heat this summer, you’re going to have to travel. Because the heat where you live isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Just take a look at the extended forecast. There’s no break in sight for your air conditioner.
So why not take a break from the dog days of summer in a place with natural air conditioning?
A place surrounded by water.
A place where people go for a bike ride in the middle of the day to cool off in the lake breeze! Where you can spread out a blanket on an evening stroll and watch a spectacular waterfront sunset without feeling like a muggy, sticky blanket of sweat.
That place is Mackinac Island.
There’s a reason Mackinac Island was ranked No. 2 on a list of 8 U.S. Cities with Perfect Weather in the summer. Summer weather on Mackinac Island is wonderfully comfortable compared to many places in the country.
In fact, the average high temperature in July on Mackinac Island (76) is actually cooler than the nighttime lows in Dallas! Speaking of low temps, how does 57 degrees sound right about now? That’s how pleasant it feels on Mackinac Island after sunset in July.
Beat the Summer Heat with a Visit to Mackinac Island
Why is Mackinac Island such a great place to cool off for a few days? Here are three reasons:
- Summer days on Mackinac Island are comfortably warm, not oppressively hot. Located in the water between Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas, Mackinac Island is actually closer to the North Pole than the equator. In fact, more than half of Canada’s population lives farther south than Mackinac Island! Summer temperatures on Mackinac Island are much more like those in Montreal and Toronto than they are in Indianapolis or Columbus. But you don’t need a passport to get here (however, you will need a passport to get into Michigan and/or the US if traveling from a different country). Here’s how to get to Mackinac Island by car or by plane.
- Mackinac Island experiences the cooling effect of the surrounding lakes. More than 100 million Americans live near an ocean or one of the Great Lakes, but most of us don’t have a big pool of water nearby. As a result, summers are hot in places like Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee. In Michigan, which is surrounded by the Great Lakes, the water moderates the summer heat. That’s especially true on Mackinac Island, which is less than four square-miles with water all around.
- There’s an ever-present lake breeze on Mackinac Island. It’s not windy on Mackinac Island. But in the summer there’s a steady breeze with an average speed of 7 miles per hour. Unlike many places where the summer heat just seems to settle in place like a suffocating blanket of thick air, Mackinac Island gets a breeze off the lake that feels refreshing.
Now that you know why Mackinac Island is the perfect place to escape the unrelenting heat of summer, it’s time to learn about all the things to do on Mackinac Island. To whet your appetite, Mackinac Island is the home of world-famous Mackinac Island Fudge, historic Fort Mackinac and a beautiful state park that originally was the country’s second national park. Mackinac Island also is car free, so horse-drawn carriage rides and bicycles are the primary forms of transportation!
And it’s not just during the heat of July and August that Mackinac Island makes for a great escape. The weather remains temperate after Labor Day as summer on Mackinac Island transitions into the crisp, cool air of fall. The island hosts picturesque road runs, stunning fall colors and a Halloween celebration that is truly unique.
Come see for yourself how cool Mackinac Island is!
RELATED MACKINAC ISLAND BLOGS:
- What summer weather is like on Mackinac Island
- The refreshing beaches of Mackinac Island
- What’s fall weather like on Mackinac Island?
- 8 ways to have a blast on Mackinac Island in the fall
View this post on Instagram
