On picturesque Mackinac Island in Michigan, nobody worries about parking tickets — not for their cars, at least. Automobiles have been banned since the turn of the 19th century, so the small locale’s roughly 500 year-round residents rely on bikes, boats, and horse-drawn carriages to get around.
The ban was implemented as the auto industry began taking off, and “horseless carriages” started appearing on the small island. Per the island’s tourism bureau, a group of carriage men petitioned to prohibit these “dangerous” vehicles, and on July 6, 1898, village council leaders put the policy into effect. Three years later, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission followed suit.
Mackinac Island in an undated photo.
Despite Mackinac Island having the only state highway in the country on which motor vehicles are not permitted, the car ban, which became law in 1960, does include an exception for emergency vehicles. That said, there’s only one police car, two fire trucks, and one ambulance.
That old world charm, along with its famous fudge (its downtown shops produce 10,000 pounds a day during peak season!), makes the island a tourist hotspot, attracting upward of 1 million visitors every year.
“I just loved everything about it,” full-time resident Urvana Tracey Morse said in an interview with the tourism bureau last year. “I like being outside and there’s a lot of natural beauty up here.” Morse came to the island in the 1990s to work a summer job, fell in love with it, and eventually made the place her permanent home.
She now owns a gallery featuring jewelry, pottery, glass, scrimshaw, and other forms of art. As Mackinac is such a haven for tourists in the summertime, many of its residents work in industries that cater to those visitors. “We work six months really hard and then we work six months to have our money last,” Morse said.
If as a kid you heard your parents joke that they had to trudge “uphill both ways” to get to school, that story isn’t too far off from the way of life for students on Mackinac. While they may not have to make an impossible trek, they don’t have the luxury of taking the bus — because there aren’t any. If there’s snow on the ground, Morse explained, children will sometimes ride a snowmobile to class. (During the winter months, snowmobiles are also used to cross the frozen lake to the mainland.)
And with only about 70 students in the entire public school district, everyone knows everyone. “They become more of like your sister, brother, or cousin because you’ve basically been in school with them since preschool,” said Morse. “There’s definitely strong bonds that are made there.”
Despite its small size, the island is rich in history and home to several parks. In fact, over 80% of the entire island is state park property. It’s also the site of active archeological projects, with excavations occurring every summer in conjunction with Michigan State University.
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One of its famous landmarks is Fort Mackinac, founded during the American Revolution and seized from the British by the patriots. For nearly a century it served as an active military outpost.
Today, there’s no shortage of culture and things to do on the island, from exploring (or staying in) the 137-year-old Grand Hotel to watching Shakespeare in the Park performances and witnessing historic rifles and cannons being fired off at night in Colonial Michilimackinac. It’s also home to Biddle House, which features a Native American museum, and the Benjamin Blacksmith Shop, where visitors can watch a blacksmith demonstrate traditional techniques.
Adding the island to your dream destinations? You don’t have to wait until next summer to experience the best of Mackinac — per the website Discover Boating, it’s one of the best spots in the country to admire far foliage from the water.
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