Michigan Travel Destinations – Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island – the name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac and “Mitchimakinak” in Ojibwemowin meaning “Big Turtle”. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The island was long home to an Odawa settlement and previous indigenous cultures before European colonization began in the 17th century. It was a strategic center of the fur trade around the Great Lakes. Based on a former trading post, Fort Mackinac was constructed on the island by the British during the American Revolutionary War. It was the site of two battles during the War of 1812 before the northern border was settled and the US gained this island in its territory
In the late 19th century, Mackinac Island became a popular tourist attraction and summer colony. Many of the structures on the island have undergone extensive historical preservation and restoration. Because of its historic significance, the entire island is listed as a National Historic Landmark. It is well known for numerous cultural events; a wide variety of architectural styles, including the Victorian Grand Hotel; and its ban on almost all motor vehicles. More than 80 percent of the island is preserved as Mackinac Island State Park.
Local Restaurants
GREAT TURTLE BREWERY
7452 Main Street, Mackinac Island, MI 49757, 906-422-3200
Riding a bike can burn some serious calories! Great Turtle Brewery & Distillery – Mackinac Island’s first and only craft brewery and distillery. Named after “Mackinac” (which means Great Turtle), it’s the perfect place to slow down, kick back and enjoy a fine meal and refreshing beverage with family and friends. So relax, you’re on “island time.”
PINK PONY
7221 Main St, Mackinac Island, MI 49757, 906-847-3341
Serving Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Late Night menus daily in our Pink Pony Bar, Water View Dining Room and Bar, Outdoor Upper-Deck and Waterfront Patio and Bar with iconic Lake Huron views. Mouthwatering hearty breakfasts to order featuring fresh ground coffee, beautifully prepared Eggs Benedict, Fresh Fruit and a full menu with many more options. Enjoy our famous half-pound Pony burger, Whitefish sandwich, or succulent ribs. Homemade soups, delicious salads and innovative appetizers including our famous Whitefish Dip. Drink Pink and Pony Up at the Pink Pony!
THE CHUCKWAGON OF MACKINAC ISLAND
7400 Main Street, PO Box 512, Mackinac Island, MI 49757, 906-847-0019
Zella Dubois and her husband, Ernest, were the original owners of the Chuckwagon Restaurant from the early 1950s until 1974. During her tenure she rented the building from Bob and Arlene Chambers. Jessie Hart started working for Zella at the age of 18. A year or so before Zella retired, she started grooming Jessie to take over the restaurant. Jessie bought the restaurant from Zella 1974 when she was only 21 and renamed it Jessie’s Chuckwagon. At the time coffee cost a dime and a piece of pie was $.35. Zella Dubois passed away in 1982 at the age of 76 in Iron Mountain, Michigan.
After 38 years of operating the Chuckwagon, Jessie sold it to Sharon Reurink in 2009, and Sharon changed the name back to The Chuckwagon. Sharon and Jessie had worked together at the Omelette Shop in Grand Rapids. Sharon and Donny Keith run the restaurant together, and their daughter Chantel also works with them. The building is now owned by Frank Nephew and Bob Benser. Read about their purchase of the Chuckwagon in the Mackinac Island Town Crier.
Located between the Main Street Inn and the Haunted Theatre, the Chuckwagon remains, after almost sixty years in business, a popular breakfast and lunch destination for locals and visitors. Its unique old-time diner atmosphere encourages social interaction among friends…current and future!
FORT MACKINAC TEA ROOM
7127 Huron Rd, Mackinac Island, MI 49757, (906) 847-6327
hwww.mackinacparks.com/fort-mackinac-tea-room
The Tea Room has been a memorable part of a visit to Fort Mackinac for decades. Located in the historic Officers’ Stone Quarters it provides the best view of any restaurant on the island. A Tea Room was first established in the lower level of Stone Quarters by the Red Cross in 1918 to raise funds to support World War I soldiers. The Tea Room continued to operate as a concession of the state park for periods of time in each decade from the 1920s through the mid-1950s. It has been in continuous operation since the beginning of the professional restoration of Fort Mackinac in 1958. Grand Hotel has been the Tea Room concessionaire since 1988.
YANKEE REBEL TAVERN
1493 Astor St, Mackinac Island, MI 49757, 906-847-6249
The Yankee Rebel Tavern was named after the patriot, Ambrose R. Davenport, who arrived on Mackinac Island as a military enlistee and later became a wealthy fur trader. While a prisoner of war during the War of 1812, Davenport refused allegiance to the British crown and simply, but proudly, declared, “I was born in America and am determined at all hazards, to live and die an American citizen.” Following the recapture of Mackinac Island, Davenport returned home in 1815 and turned to farming since John Jacob Astor now dominated the fur business. He became a charter member of Mission Church in 1823. A veterans land grant for his farm was finally confirmed by Congress in 1830 and his deed signed by Andrew Jackson. Their farm was located in the area now known as Hubbard’s Annex. Ambrose Davenport and his family weathered the failures and fortunes of farming and his homestead remains standing today as an old small house at the back of the property owned by the Chambers Family. At his death at the age of 87, in 1858, he left a large family that has dispersed throughout the United States. Today, the Yankee Rebel Tavern carries on the patriotic theme and strives to serve the finest American cuisine on Mackinac Island and in Northern Michigan.
Accommodations
THE GRAND HOTEL
286 Grand Ave, Mackinac Island, MI 49757, 800-334-7263
Grand Hotel is rich in history and offers exceptional accommodations, with each guest room uniquely decorated. Meals are an event and traditions such as Afternoon Tea in the Parlor and nightly dancing remain a noteworthy part of the guest experience. Named the Best Historic Hotel by USA Today, Travel + Leisure’s Best Hotel in Michigan, and Condé Nast Traveler’s Top 5 Midwest Resorts sit in a rocking chair on the world’s longest porch and experience the excellence of today.
BAY VIEW BED & BREAKFAST
100 Huron St, Mackinac Island, MI 49757, 906-847-3295
BICYCLE STREET INN & WATERFRONT COLLECTION
7416 Main Street, Mackinac Island, MI 49757, 855-560-8005
Bicycle Street Inn and Suites is Mackinac Island’s newest hotel, superbly located on Main Street in the center of downtown, featuring rooms and suites with walkout balconies and beautiful views of Main Street and the Straits of Mackinac. Ideally situated at the water’s edge in downtown Mackinac Island, the brand new Waterfront Collection features balcony rooms with Main Street and waterfront views of our beautiful harbor.
CLOGHAUN BED & BREAKFAST
7504 Market Street, Mackinac Island, Michigan 49757, 906-847-3885
Cloghaun Bed and Breakfast is one of the oldest Victorian homes on Mackinac Island. Thomas and Bridget Donnelly left Ireland in 1848 to settle in the US; they completed Cloghaun (pronounced CLAH HANN) in 1884. Cloghaun has been preserved by their descendants to offer guests a tranquil, romantic interlude from the demands of everyday life. As one of Michigan’s oldest family-owned B&Bs, Cloghaun offers guests a truly unique Mackinac Island experience, close to parks, shops, restaurants, and easy walking distance to ferry docks. Eleven guest rooms are individually decorated with antiques from the late 1800s and evoke a feeling of casual elegance and Victorian charm. A full breakfast is also included in your stay. Experience your dream getaway at Cloghaun Bed and Breakfast.
Area Attractions
ARCH ROCK
6131 Arch Rock Rd, Mackinac Island, MI 49757, 906-847-3328
The most famous of the rock formations on the island, this arch towers above the water and is more than fifty feet wide. It attracts the vast majority of the tourists to the island, and can be reached by foot, taxi, carriage or bike. It can also be viewed from below, on the perimeter tour of the island.
FORT MACKINAC
7127 Huron Rd, Mackinac Island, MI 49757, 906-847-3328
Founded during the American Revolution, the British captured the Fort in the very first engagement on American soil in the War of 1812. Inside, 14 original buildings, cannon salutes, bugle music, daily reenactments, and interactive displays speak of America’s infancy. Located on a bluff that overlooks the entrancing Straits of Mackinac. Tours, exhibits and demonstrations.
ORIGINAL BUTTERFLY HOUSE & INSECT WORLD
6750 McGulpin Street, Mackinac Island, MI 49757, 906-847-3972
The Original Mackinac Island Butterfly House is the 1st of its kind in Michigan, and the 3rd oldest LIVE butterfly exhibit in the United States. The world-renowned facility has 1800 sq ft of tropical garden filled with hundreds of live butterflies from four continents.
Insect World was a part of the building that we renovated in 2006 and turned into an attraction, as an addition to the butterfly exhibit. And with 16″ walking sticks, the worlds heaviest bug, too many species of beetles to name here, walls of insect displays from around the world, educational information and live insects. You’ll want to plan on taking some time to learn about the benefits of insects to the planet we live on.
GRAND HOTEL STABLE & CARRIAGE MUSEUM
Carriage Rd, Mackinac Island, MI 49757, Phone: 906-847-0103
www.grandhotel.com/activities/horses-a-carriage-tours
The Grand Stables, located minutes away from the hotel near Surrey Hill and just across from Wings of Mackinac Butterfly Conservatory, is free of charge and open to all Mackinac Island visitors. At 8,700 square feet and home to 12 horses, this working stable is a great way to see the horses up close. The Grand Stables is also an antique carriage museum with approximately 30 antique carriages and sleighs on display from both Grand Hotel and Mackinac Island Carriage Tours.