You may have heard that 600 horses come to work on car-free Mackinac Island each year. Or that it’s 8.2 miles around Mackinac Island on M-185, the only state highway in the country that prohibits motor vehicles. Maybe you know that Grand Hotel’s front porch, the longest in the world, measures 660 feet in length. And perhaps you remember from history class that one of the many battles of the War of 1812 took place on Mackinac Island…and that it actually happened in 1814.
Mackinac Island is home to a lot of history. A lot of charm. A lot of unique sights to see and things to do. And people use a wide variety of words to describe Mackinac Island.
But numbers also capture the essence of Michigan’s Crown Jewel. And there’s no shortage of amazing numbers to share!
Mackinac Island, By The Numbers
600 horses come to work on Mackinac Island each year
Mackinac Island has been car-free for over 100 years. Instead, Mackinac Island runs on authentic horsepower. Each spring, some 600 horses come to Mackinac Island to take visitors on carriage tours, taxi guests to and from various points of interest and pull drays to deliver luggage and everything else that needs to move around.
7 sights to see on a horse-drawn carriage tour
3.8 square-miles of land area on Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island isn’t very big. In fact, you could fit about 37 Mackinac Islands within the city limits of Detroit. But for such a relatively small place, Mackinac Island is big on personality, character and historic charm. Surprisingly, it also has lots of uncrowded space. Mackinac Island State Park makes up more than 80% of the island!
5 things you have to see in Michigan’s original national park
70-plus miles of trails in Mackinac Island State Park
Speaking of the state park, you can spend a lot of time exploring on Mackinac Island. The trails crisscross the forest and take you past 200-year-old cemeteries, legendary caves and incredible Mackinac Island rock formations you have to see to believe.
4 hiking and biking trails to explore on Mackinac Island
120-140 active geocaches hidden around Mackinac Island
If you’ve never gone geocaching, you’ll never even know that you’re walking by scores of little treasures hidden amid the unique geography of Mackinac Island. Mackinac Island geocaching is a blast.
See Mackinac Island like never before through geocaching
16-minute ferry ride to Mackinac Island from the mainland
Most people travel to Mackinac Island on a ferry boat departing from either Mackinaw City at the northern tip of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula or from St. Ignace at the southern tip of the Upper Peninsula. From either location, it’s about a 16-minute ride to the ferry docks on Mackinac Island.
Tips for Getting to Mackinac Island
30 planes arriving at or departing from Mackinac Island Airport each day
As an alternative to taking a ferry boat or taking your own boat to Mackinac Island is flying to Mackinac Island on a private plane or charter flight. Mackinac Island Airport has a 3,500-foot runway that operates year-round and is the only way to reach Mackinac Island at times in the winter when the lake is frozen.
Tips for flying to Mackinac Island
76 degrees is the average high temperature on Mackinac Island in July
It can get really cold on Mackinac Island in the winter and summer temps can get quite hot. But, on average, Mackinac Island has some of the most pleasant summer weather in the country. Instead of sweating through muggy summer nights, you can enjoy low temps in July in the 50s.
What summer weather is like on Mackinac Island
24 restaurants with outdoor seating
Pleasant summer weather brings blissful opportunities to dine outdoors in the fresh air of Mackinac Island. Many settings offer a waterfront patio or view, while others feature seating tucked into cozy gardens with the sweet fragrance of lilacs.
Where to eat lunch and dinner on Mackinac Island
76 years that Mackinac Island has celebrated the Lilac Festival
The presence of some of the country’s oldest lilac stems make Mackinac Island the perfect place to celebrate the pleasing flower. As a result, the Mackinac Island Lilac Festival has been an annual tradition since 1949. The 10-day celebration takes place each June.
A look at Mackinac Island’s annual events
1780 is the year Fort Mackinac was established
Some traditions go back even farther than Mackinac Island’s lilacs. Michigan hadn’t yet become part of the United States when the British relocated Fort Michilimackinac from the mainland to Mackinac Island. Eventually, the fort became known simply as Fort Mackinac and it remains open for tours and demonstrations.
Things to do at Mackinac Island’s historic Fort Mackinac
14 original buildings have been restored at Fort Mackinac
Featuring the oldest public building in Michigan, Fort Mackinac gives visitors a glimpse of life for both soldiers and civilians during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Q&A with a Fort Mackinac interpretive soldier
1898 is the year Wawashkamo Golf Course was built
Compared to Fort Mackinac, the historic 9-hole golf course designed by two-time U.S. Open champion Alex Smith is a relative newcomer. Yet, Mackinac Island’s Wawashkamo Golf Club is the oldest continuously played golf course in all of Michigan. It’s also the site of the 1814 Battle of Mackinac.
6 fascinating historical facts about Mackinac Island’s Wawashkamo Golf Club
15 minutes is the length of the horse-drawn carriage ride between two holes at The Jewel Golf Course
While Wawashkamo Golf Club is older and full of interesting features, The Jewel at Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel has something that’s truly one-of-a-kind: When traveling between the golf course’s two nines, players take their clubs on a horse-drawn carriage ride.
Mackinac Island’s one-of-a-kind golf courses
1869 is the year Mackinac Island issued its first horse-drawn carriage license
Three decades later, carriage operators were instrumental in banning “horseless carriages” on Mackinac Island. As a result, horse-drawn carriage tours remain a popular Mackinac Island activity because motor vehicles are not allowed. It’s been that way now for over 125 years!
Why there are no cars on Mackinac Island
1,489 bicycles for rent on Mackinac Island
In addition to horse-drawn carriages, bicycles populate the streets of Mackinac Island. There are several bike rental shops on Mackinac Island offering single bikes, tandem bikes, tagalongs, e-scooters and more.
How Mackinac Island became bicycle capital of the world
75 feet is the height of Mackinac Island’s Sugar Loaf
The towering limestone stack in the middle of Mackinac Island is one of many impressive rock formations located within Mackinac Island State Park. The origin of Mackinac Island’s Sugar Loaf is the stuff of legend.
10 ‘supernatural’ sights to see in Mackinac Island State Park
This list of Mackinac Island numbers could go on infinitely. For now, here are 16 more…
- 1,600-plus unique rooms in delightful Mackinac Island hotels, resorts, B&Bs, condos and cottages
- 63 wedding vendors to help plan and pull off incredible destination weddings on Mackinac Island
- 4 unique Run Mackinac events each year on Mackinac Island
- 10 tons of sugar imported weekly in peak season to make world-famous Mackinac Island fudge
- 145 feet from Mackinac Island’s picturesque Arch Rock down to Lake Huron below
- 46 years that Margaret Doud has served as mayor of Mackinac Island
- 120-foot depth of the water surrounding Mackinac Island
- 100-foot drop at Mackinac Falls, an ancient waterfall that has been submerged for thousands of years
- 4 colored balls for each team in a game of bocce on Mackinac Island
- 26,372 feet across the nearby mighty Mackinac Bridge
- 500 year-round residents on Mackinac Island
- $5.1 million budget for cult favorite “Somewhere in Time” movie filmed on Mackinac Island
- 7 suites named for First Ladies at Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel
- 88 is the world-record number of skips for Mackinac Island champion stone skipper Kurt Steiner
- 8 scoops of ice cream in the Grand Sundae at Sadie’s Ice Cream Parlor on Mackinac Island
- 60 Boy Scouts per week visit Mackinac Island to conduct flag ceremonies
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