Stepping off the ferry on Mackinac Island is like stepping back in time. I’m sure that line has been used a million times, but it’s true. Way back in 1898 the city council banned “horseless carriages” from the entire island and that ban remains in effect today. Everything on the island is delivered and transported by horse-drawn cart or bicycle. This alone makes Mackinac Island special, but there’s so much more to this little corner of the world than its lack of cars.

Native Americans traveled back and forth to Mackinac Island for hundreds of years, by canoe in the warmer months and over the ice when the lake froze over. It became an outpost for the French fur trade in the 1700s and remained under French control until the end of the French and Indian War, at which time the British flag was raised on the island. During the American Revolution, the British moved Fort Michilimackinac from its former position on the mainland to a bluff high on top of Mackinac island. After the war, American troops occupied the fort, but a surprise attack during the opening days of the War of 1812 put it back in British hands. The Treaty of Ghent would return Mackinac Island to the Americans in 1815 and John Jacob Astor would soon set up his American Fur Company on the island.

After the Civil War, tourism boomed on Mackinac Island and it was named America’s second National Park with the army unit at the fort charged with the park’s protection. To accommodate the new influx of tourism, hotels were built including the incredible Grand Hotel which still sits high on a hill overlooking Lake Huron. Mackinac Island remained a National Park for twenty years, after which time it was turned back over to the state of Michigan and became Michigan’s first state park.

Today, Mackinac Island is one of Michigan’s top tourist destinations. While the population of the island is less than 500, as many as 15,000 visitors a day descend on the island in the middle of summer. I can certainly understand why as it is a truly beautiful and unique place. I arrived on the first ferry of the day and left on the last, so I did get to see the island in a fairly quiet state. The weather and photography conditions weren’t the best when I was there, but Mackinac Island is so photogenic that I took hundreds of photos anyway and included some of my favorites in this post. I haven’t captioned them all, because many are just of Main Street with horses and carriages but that was such a wonderful scene that I couldn’t help myself. I hope you enjoy these photos from beautiful Mackinac Island, definitely one of my favorite places I visited in my two months in Michigan.

The Coach for the Grand Hotel

Dusk at the Chippewa Hotel

Father Marquette Statue

In Front of the Old Fort

Delivery Cart

Delivery Cart

View from the Fort

View from the Fort

Post Cemetery

Shooting Pool at the Fort

The Ferry Dock from the Fort

In Front of the Windermere Hotel

View from the Fort

A Quiet Dusk Settling on Main Street

Huron Road House

Huron Road House

Cruising Up the Hill on Huron Road

Dusk from the Ferry - Headed Home

One of the Lighthouses

Marquette Park and the Fort Behind It

The Marina

The Courthouse

Carriage Ride

Bicycles in front of St Anne Church

Strolling Out of Town

Grand Hotel Coach

Horse and Carriage Waiting at the Pink Pony

Checking in at the Grand Hotel

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