Part of you wants to check another experience off your bucket list this year. But most of you just wants to unwind and relax. Hey, it’s okay to embrace the “Joy of Missing Out!” And when it comes to traveling, there’s even a term for it: The calmcation. What’s a calmcation, you ask? It’s the kind of…
Read More
It begins as a trickle in late April, then swells to a flood come May. Just as sure as April showers bring May flowers, so the return of Mackinac Island’s daily ferry service leads to the reopening of places to stay and visitor attractions including restaurants, shops and more. Want to know exactly…
Read More
Good news! One of the busiest airports in the world is adding direct flights to northern Michigan. Starting on May 8, one United Express flight each day will travel from O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Pellston Regional Airport (PLN), just 15 miles south of the Mackinac Island ferry docks in…
Read More
The official Opening Day for the new Mackinac Island visitor season is the first Friday of May, when prominent attractions such as Fort Mackinac open. Yet, if you come a little earlier during the last week of April, you’ll have a great opportunity to get an early spring experience before the crowds…
Read More
Robert De Niro may be an Oscar-winning actor, but he wasn’t the biggest celebrity on Mackinac Island during his visit—at least not to one woman at Grand Hotel. The famed actor was in Michigan filming a movie when he made a trip to Mackinac Island, as longtime Grand Hotel concierge Bob Tagatz…
Read More
More than six decades after the Battle of Mackinac Island, American soldiers were still stationed at Fort Mackinac. Their continued presence made it possible for the country’s second national park to be established in 1875. What is now known as Mackinac Island State Park originally was protected as…
Read More
A half-century ago, Mackinac Island’s Main Street witnessed an unusual parade: horse-drawn drays carrying spooky creatures designed by a Hollywood special effects artist. These eerie figures made their way from the ferry docks to a historic downtown building, where they’ve stayed ever since. The…
Read More
As you can tell by watching the daily reenactments at Fort Mackinac, there’s a lot of military history on Mackinac Island. Either British or American soldiers were stationed there for more than 100 years, in fact. While that history for the most part was peaceful, Mackinac Island was the site of one…
Read More
Under the cover of night on Nov. 4, 1888, a cunning scheme unfolded at Fort Mackinac. A rubber hose was slipped through the barred window of a jail cell, delivering an intoxicating stream of Duffy’s Malt Whiskey to two imprisoned soldiers. Inside, the privates eagerly gulped the liquid contraband…
Read More
In most places around Michigan and other areas of the country that get snow, too much of the white stuff can force schools to close for the day. Icy, windswept roads present a hazardous challenge for school buses and other vehicles, after all. But on car-free Mackinac Island, ironically, lots of…
Read More
