Mackinac Island State Park, Upper Peninsula: How to Visit and What to Do Nearby

Mackinac Island State Park covers roughly 80 percent of the 3.8-square-mile island in Lake Huron's Straits of Mackinac, Michigan's second state park established in 1895 after transfer from national park status. Motor vehicles have been banned on the island since 1898, leaving transportation to bicycles, horse-drawn carriages, and foot traffic across 70 miles of interior trails. The park holds Fort Mackinac, the Grand Hotel's surrounding landscape, Arch Rock, and Sugar Loaf limestone formations. Ferries reach the island in about 20 minutes from Mackinaw City or St. Ignace during the May-to-October season. If you're making a trip of it, consider other main attractions in Upper Peninsula, like Mackinac Bridge and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.