The Mackinac Bridge, gateway to the U.P.

If you’ve driven into the Upper Peninsula, you’ve crossed the Mackinac Bridge — the “Mighty Mac” — and St. Ignace sits right at its northern end. The bridge stretches about five miles across the Straits of Mackinac, where Lake Michigan meets Lake Huron, connecting St. Ignace in the U.P. with Mackinaw City down in the Lower Peninsula.

For generations, the only way across the straits was by ferry, and the wait could stretch for hours — especially in winter or during hunting season, when the lines of cars backed up for miles. A St. Ignace man, Prentiss Brown, became known as the “father of the bridge” for pushing the project through. Designed by engineer David Steinman and opened on November 1, 1957, the Mighty Mac ended the ferry era overnight: the day the bridge opened, the car ferries made their last runs. When it was built, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world measured between its anchor points, and it remains the longest in the Western Hemisphere.

Building it was dangerous work, and five men lost their lives during construction; a memorial at Bridge View Park in St. Ignace honors them. Today the bridge is best seen from the St. Ignace side, where the park and the waterfront give you the full sweep of it. Once a year, on Labor Day, the bridge opens to people on foot for the Mackinac Bridge Walk — the one day you can cross the Mighty Mac without a car. You can find more at mackinacbridge.org.