You can fly to Mackinac Island. You can take a personal boat to Mackinac Island. And at certain times of the year, you may even be able to take the the winter ferry to Mackinac Island. But you can never drive a car to Mackinac Island.
Maybe you’ve heard of the mighty Mackinac Bridge. The longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere actually doesn’t connect to Mackinac Island (although an alternate Mackinac Bridge plan would have). Instead, the Mackinac Bridge connects Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas, just a few miles west of where Mackinac Island rises out of Lake Huron like a great turtle shell.
Since you can't drive to Mackinac Island, the vast majority of visitors take a ferry boat (while some visitors do fly to Mackinac Island). The ferries depart from both Mackinaw City, at the northern tip of the Lower Peninsula, and St. Ignace, at the southern tip of the Upper Peninsula.
It’s there where visitors typically leave their cars for the length of their stay on Mackinac Island with Shepler’s Mackinac Island Ferry or Arnold Transit Company out of both Mackinaw City and St. Ignace. Both ferry companies offer daytime and overnight parking for customers, with different options and pricing depending on the kind of parking you prefer.
Here’s a rundown of basic parking options for Mackinac Island visitors:
There are a variety of parking options to choose from at both ferry companies. These options include day parking, overnight parking, dockside parking, valet parking, and RV parking. These parking options are all on the mainland in both Mackinaw City and St. Ignace.
For current details and directions, check the parking information pages for Arnold Transit Company and Shepler’s Mackinac Island Ferry.
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History of cars, er, ‘horseless carriages,’ on Mackinac Island
Once you arrive on Mackinac Island without a car, then what?
Well, that’s part of the charm! Horses are king on Mackinac Island, and visitors love the clip-clop of hooves on the pavement. Horse-drawn carriage tours and taxi rides are popular ways to see Mackinac Island and travel from here to there.
RELATED: 7 sights to see on a horse-drawn carriage tour of Mackinac Island.
Mackinac Island also is home to tons of bicycles. You can take your own along on the ferry or rent from one of the many fine bike rental shops on Mackinac Island. Many visitors enjoy riding a bicycle all the way around Mackinac Island on M-185, the only state highway in the country that prohibits automobiles.
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Of course, everyone’s a pedestrian while visiting Mackinac Island, too. People walk to Mackinac Island's bars and restaurants. They walk to Fort Mackinac and other historic Mackinac Island attractions. Some visitors even hike up into the interior of Mackinac Island and explore some of the 70-plus miles of trails through Mackinac Island State Park.
RELATED: 10 'supernatural' sights to see in Mackinac Island State Park
However long you stay on Mackinac Island and however you choose to get around while you’re here, you can rest assured that your car will be safe back on the mainland. You might even like being apart from it for a while!
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