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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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