Mackinac Island and Pictured Rocks Trip Report

Question

My husband, our 15-year-old daughter and I just returned from our first visit to Michigan. We had 5 days over the 4th of July holiday weekend, and we chose to visit Pictured Lake National Lakeshore and Mackinac Island. Reading the experience of other travelers on this site is always so helpful to me in planning, I want to share some details of our trip in hopes it will be helpful to others.

Day 1:

We flew into Detroit from the East Coast. I had investigated other airport options but by the time connecting flights were considered it was just as quick to rent a car and drive North and it was also cheaper. Our flight arrived around 10PM and we drove an hour north before staying overnight at a Hampton Inn along the highway. We slept in a little the next day and grabbed breakfast at a nearby Starbucks before heading North to Munising. It was about a 5-hour drive including going over the Mackinac Bridge to enter the Upper Peninsula. We arrived around 4:30 PM and checked into The Beach Inn Motel. This place was very cute with a great location right on the lake and close to the Marina and Visitor Center. We had a second-floor room with 2 queen beds and a lovely view of the lake. We dropped off our things and headed into town to find some food. We decided to try our first Pasties from Miner’s Pasties. We tried 2 different types including their “original Yooper” and both were delicious. We checked out the Pictured Rocks Interpretation Center before walking down to the dock to get in line for our sunset Pictured Rocks cruise. I had booked the tickets via their website a few weeks earlier. We had planned to get there at 6:30 which was an hour before our scheduled tour but ended up arriving at about 6:10. We were one of 3 groups who showed up at that same time and the staff opened the line for us. We were the second family in line. By 6:30 there were about 20 people in line and by 7 there were probably 75 or so. They started boarding the boat at 7:15 and we grabbed seats on the upper deck, right hand side, back row. I was very happy with these seats as you get the best views of the rocks on the slower trip out and the sunset on the faster trip back. Sitting in the back row allowed us to take pictures of sights we passed without people behind us. I booked the “Classic Sunset Tour” which lasts 2hr 40 minutes. It used a smaller, slower boat than the 2-hour tour that left at 8pm. The tour was wonderful! The cliffs are beautiful, and the guide is informative. It did get cold on the top deck. I wore a heavy fleece and long pants. We all wished we had brought gloves. We arrived back at the dock around 10pm and had hoped to get some ice cream but everything in town was closed so we headed back to our room and went to bed.

Day 2: Arriving at Mackinac Island

The next morning, we got up and enjoyed the continental breakfast which was included with our hotel stay. It was limited but adequate. We took the short drive to the Munising Falls Visitor Center parking lot. The visitor center is under construction, but the rangers are available in a temporary trailer. We got our stamps for our national park passports and took the short (0.4 mi) walk to see the Munising Falls. We thought about taking the scenic H-58 route through the park but decided we had seen the best of it from the boat and headed out of town on our way to Mackinac Island. We stopped at Oswald Bear Ranch about an hour from Munising on our way East. I’m not sure what I was expecting from this attraction, but I left with mixed feelings. They advertise themselves as a rescue organization. We paid $25 to enter. You can buy apple slices to feed to the bears for $4 per bag. You can also pay $10 to take pictures with a bear cub. They have large fenced in areas containing multiple bears, one for adult males, one for adult females and one for yearlings. The bears are extremely adorable and looked to be well fed and cared for. The yearlings were swimming around in their small pond. The female bears were lined up along the fence and appeared to be begging for apples by sitting up on their hind legs. The male bears seemed less interested in people and were wandering deeper in their enclosure. To me, the place felt more like roadside zoo than rescue. There was nothing about education or conservation in the experience. I felt bothered by the cub pictures as the babies looked so small and I wondered where their mothers were. Anyway, you definitely get to see bears up close and they are very cute. I didn’t see any bears appear to be mistreated and their enclosures appear to be large and well kept. I don’t think I would go back again or necessarily recommend it but your feelings may be different.

After another 1.5 hours in the car we drove back over the Mackinac Bridge and headed to the ferry dock. I had booked tickets with the Star Line via their website. You drive up and give your luggage to a porter before proceeding to the parking lot. We decided to pay $30 per day for the dock side parking as we knew we would be on a tight schedule to the airport on the way home. There is a free lot available, but you must take a shuttle there and their website says to allow 45minutes for this. Since I had not paid for parking in advance, I had to wait in line at the ticket counter to pay for this. There was a ferry ready to board when we walked up. I had hoped to take a ferry that went under the bridge but those were only offered in the AM so it didn’t work for us. The ferry ride only took about 20 minutes. We disembarked right in downtown. While walking off the dock the porter from our hotel, Mission Point, was there and had already pulled our bags to take to the resort. He missed one of them, so we were glad we caught him and checked they were all accounted for. We walked a bit down the main street and went to the Pink Pony for lunch. There was a 30-minute wait for inside tables and an hour for outside. My family was getting hangry, so we opted for inside and browsed in their gift shop until our name was called. Our table was in front of large windows, so we still had a nice view of the lake. Whitefish is the local specialty, and I had the whitefish sandwich which was excellent! After lunch we got ticket for the island carriage tour from the kiosk directly across from dock 1. They were able to take us right away. The tour gave a nice overview of the island. We rode in a smaller carriage up through some of the downtown historic sites and past the Grand Hotel then changed into a larger carriage to ride through the State Park. We saw the historic cemeteries and skull rock from the carriage then made a quick 8-minute stop at Arch Rock. The carriage then stops at Fort Mackinac, and you have the option to get off there and buy tickets to tour the Fort. The next stop is at a pathway near the Governor’s Mansion which is a quick 5-minute walk down a steep hill into town. Alternatively, you can ride the carriage back to the Grand then to the transfer point and switch back to a smaller carriage to go back to town. We got off at the path and walked back to town. We poked around some of the souvenir shops and purchased some fudge. We then walked about 10 minutes to our hotel, Mission Point. They offer a shuttle for $8pp each way but we never used it. The walk is short, flat, and pleasant so I can’t see spending the money unless you have mobility issues.

Arriving at the hotel was a little confusing as you enter the resort grounds well before you come to the building with the main lobby. We eventually figured it out and there was no line to check in. We had a family suite in the Straights Lodge. One room had a king bed and the other 2 twin beds. There is a small vestibule between the 2 rooms where the bathroom is located. The rooms were very comfortable and looked to be recently renovated. Each room had its own air conditioning unit. The bathroom was small with older fixtures, but it served its purpose. There is no view from this room but there is beautiful view as soon as you exit the building. We were very happy with this resort. The price was less than half of what we would have paid for a much smaller room with only 1 queen bed at the Grand so we felt it was an excellent value. After settling in we walked down to the Bistro on the Green for dinner. This is an outdoor casual restaurant adjacent to the resort’s “executive putt putt” course. There was no wait to be seated and we had a lovely view of the lake. I had a lamb gyro which was good but not particularly exceptional. My husband had the whitefish sandwich which was good but not as good as the one at the Pink Pony and my daughter had the burger which she said was tasty. There was live music, and the cocktails were delicious. After dinner we played a round of putt putt which also has beautiful views of the lake. It was light until after 9:30 at which time they set up for “glow” putt putt which utilized a glowing ball. By the 18th hole we were more than ready to head up to bed and got a good night’s sleep.

Day 3:

The following AM we set off to rent bikes to ride around the 8.2 mile perimeter loop. We could have rented from the resort but wanted to end downtown, so we walked into town to rent the bikes. On the way we stopped for breakfast at the Watercolor Café. This place has a delicious variety of healthy foods, breakfast sandwiches, smoothies, and lattes. The little indoor café has a lovely view of the marina and lake. The line to rent bikes was short in the AM but got quite long in the afternoon. We were quickly set up with our bikes for $16/hr prorated in 10-minute increments after the first hour. They included helmets and water bottles. We road the perimeter loop counterclockwise which seemed to be the less popular direction and less crowded than that clockwise side of the road. The road is mostly flat and goes by Devil’s Kitchen and British Landing as well as a couple of small nature trail heads and large homes overlooking the lake. It took us about 1hr 45 minutes to complete the loop including stops. We did not ride up into the state park as we had seen much of that area on the horse tour the day prior and we were not eager to tackle the hilly terrain on bikes. After returning the bikes we walked up to see the Grand Hotel. The exterior of the building is impressive, and the pool complex looks very nice. The pool is much larger and more inviting looking than the one at mission point. We got ice cream at Sadie’s Ice Cream Parlor which is part of the hotel. The ice cream was tasty on a hot day but not a good as the ice cream we got at Moomers on Main St. later in the week. Next, we walked about 0.4 miles to the back entrance to Fort Mackinac. Tickets were $15per person. We toured some of the exhibits and then watched the 4PM dress parade demonstration. We then went to the Tea Room at the Fort which has the best view overlooking the entire downtown area and lake. We were able to get a table right away and ordered some beer and lemonades. Although the signs said they were open until 6 they were only serving appetizers at this time and shortly after we ordered I heard our waiter tell others that only drinks were available. It seemed like only 1 waiter was staffing the whole place and he was very busy. We enjoyed the view and our drinks and then we were able to catch the 5pm cannon firing demonstration before walking back to town and then on to our hotel. It had been a long day so we decided to eat at another of the resort restaurants, The Round Island Kitchen. Only inside tables were available. The menu was nearly identical to the Bistro on the Green we had eaten at the night before. The food and service were not great, and I wouldn’t recommend eating here unless you are too tired to leave the resort to go somewhere better. We were too tired to care much and were off to bed right after dinner.

Day 4:

While exploring the island we had learned that one can rent a horse and buggy to self-drive a tour of the island. We got an early start and walked to Jack’s livery stable where the friendly attendants oriented us to the buggy and our horse, Jake. We had never driven a buggy before, but Jake was a pro. They provided a map and suggestions on routes with estimated times. Rental was $120/hr and the wagon could hold up to 4 people. It was a hot day, so we let Jake take his time meandering along the lake side road and up into the State Park. We took a route through one of the residential areas on the island which we would not have otherwise seen. The whole family agreed this was great fun and I would definitely do it again. We were out for about 2 hours. Next, we walked back toward downtown and stopped for lunch at The Great Turtle Brewery and Distillery. I had the Painted Turtle Flight which gave small portions of 4 of their signature cocktails. I also enjoyed their grilled cheese and short rib sandwich. My husband and daughter had burgers which they said were very good but were notably overpriced at over $20 each. My husband picked up some merchandise from here before we walked back to our hotel. We picked up some lemonades from the stand on the great lawn and rested for a bit enjoying the view. Then we spent a couple of hours by the pool. The pool complex here is relatively small and there were lots of families sharing the space. There is not a view of the lake from the pool. Overall, I found the great lawn to be more relaxing and comfortable than the pool area. We got cleaned up for dinner and walked into downtown. We decided to try Millies on Main and were very pleased that we did. I had the whitefish, my husband had perch and my daughter had another burger. Everyone agreed the food was delicious. The service was also excellent. The only downside is they do not have a view of the lake or outside dining. After dinner we stopped at Moomers for ice cream. Their ice cream was exceptionally good, and I wish I had tried it sooner in our trip so I could have returned for seconds! We walked back to our room with full bellies. We had to pack up in anticipation of departing the following morning.

Day 5:

I woke up early the next AM and walked down to the beach to see the sun rise. Sunrise was expected at 5:43 and I had a wonderful colorful show from about 5:20 until 6AM. I returned to the room to finish getting ready to depart. Our flight home was from Detroit at 4pm. To make the 4-hour drive and return the rental car we needed to be on the earliest ferry off the island which is at 8AM. The bell hop opens at 6:45 and we had checked the day prior that they could have our bags on the ferry if we dropped them off as soon as they opened. After dropping our bags off we walked into town and grabbed a quick breakfast from Starbucks. There was almost nothing open at 7AM except the Chuck Wagon which already had a line. Our bags didn’t show up until 7:58 which was stressful. In the future I would just take my own bag to the dock as we only pack carry on size anyway. The ferry ride was otherwise uneventful, and we were on the road to the airport by 9AM arriving at DTW with plenty of time to spare. We really enjoyed our time on the Upper Peninsula and particularly on Mackinac Island and I hope to return someday.

Happy travels everyone! I hope some of our experiences can be useful to you.

Answer

Thank you for sharing your detailed trip report! Your experience provides a fantastic outline for anyone planning a visit to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and Mackinac Island. Your itinerary highlights transportation logistics, accommodations, dining, activities, and tips for a smooth visit.

Here are some key takeaways and tips based on your report:

Travel Planning: Flying into Detroit and driving north can be cost-effective and time-saving, even with a rental car. The drive through the Mackinac Bridge offers scenic views and is a key part of the experience.
Accommodation Choices: Staying at The Beach Inn Motel in Munising offers lakefront views and convenient access to Pictured Rocks and the marina. On Mackinac Island, Mission Point Resort provides family suites with lake views, good value, and easy access to downtown.
Pictured Rocks Experience: Booking the Classic Sunset Cruise early is essential. Arriving ahead of schedule helps secure optimal seating. Layered clothing and gloves are recommended for upper deck seating as it can get chilly on the water.
Munising Dining: Miner’s Pasties is highly recommended for a local specialty. They offer a variety of delicious pasties, giving travelers a true “Yooper” experience.
Oswald Bear Ranch: While bears are well cared for, visitors may have mixed feelings about the cub photo experience. Consider personal comfort with animal interactions when deciding to visit.
Ferry Logistics: Paying for dockside parking can save time and stress, especially with a tight schedule. Star Line ferries are efficient, and luggage porters can assist, though double-check bags before departure.

Mackinac Island Highlights:

Dining: Pink Pony and Millie’s on Main offer excellent local cuisine. Whitefish sandwiches are a must-try, and Moomers ice cream is highly recommended for a sweet treat.
Activities: Carriage tours provide an efficient and scenic overview of the island, including historic sites, Arch Rock, and Fort Mackinac. Renting bikes to loop the island is a great way to see the perimeter and enjoy light exercise. Horse-drawn buggy rentals provide a unique self-driven experience through scenic and residential areas.
Resort Amenities: Mission Point offers multiple dining options, pool and lawn areas, and beautiful views. The Great Lawn is preferable to the pool area for relaxation.
Fort Mackinac: Touring the fort, watching the dress parade, and visiting the Tea Room offers historical context with excellent views of the downtown and lake.

Additional Tips:

Plan meals and snacks around ferry schedules to avoid waiting when few places are open early in the morning.
Book popular tours, such as the sunset cruise or carriage tours, in advance to secure desired times.
Consider the flow of activities to minimize backtracking and maximize sightseeing, particularly on Mackinac Island where walking or biking is common.
Be prepared for variable weather, especially on boat tours and island activities. Layered clothing is advised.

Overall, your trip demonstrates a well-balanced mix of natural beauty, historic sites, local cuisine, and family-friendly activities. Anyone following a similar itinerary can expect a rich and memorable experience, especially with early planning and careful attention to reservations and timing.

Thank you again for the detailed account — it will be very helpful for others planning a similar trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Mackinac Island.