Region
The Straits of Mackinac
Two peninsulas, one bridge, and the water that makes Michigan's map dramatic. Ferries, forts, fudge, freighters — and an island where the loudest thing on the road is a horse.
The places
Mackinac Island
No cars since 1898. Bikes, horses, fudge, and the Grand Hotel porch.
Open the place page →St. Ignace
The U.P. side of the bridge, ferry docks, and one of the oldest towns in Michigan.
Open the place page →Cheboygan
Where the Inland Waterway meets Lake Huron — boat country in every direction.
Open the place page →Bois Blanc Island
Mackinac's quiet neighbor: a ferry, a few hundred souls, and almost no pavement.
Open the place page →Browse by county
Every city, township, and village in this corner is reachable through its county page.
Notes from this corner
The small stories and useful rules tied to this part of the state.
Mackinac Island, the island with no cars
Mackinac Island has banned cars since 1898, so residents and visitors get around by foot, bicycle, horse, and winter snowmobile.
Read the note →A short history of Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island's story runs from Anishinaabe sacred ground to Fort Mackinac, Victorian cottages, the Grand Hotel, and island fudge.
Read the note →Bois Blanc, the island time forgot
Bois Blanc Island is a remote, wooded Mackinac County island with dirt roads, state forest, inland lakes, and quiet shoreline.
Read the note →The Inland Waterway
Cheboygan is the Lake Huron doorway to the Inland Waterway, Michigan's longest connected chain of inland lakes and rivers.
Read the note →The Les Cheneaux Islands
Clark Township is the gateway to the Les Cheneaux Islands, a sheltered Lake Huron boating and cottage region.
Read the note →Where to next
See the other corners at Explore Michigan, search every town in the place directory, or start with why Michigan is worth the paperwork.