Roads and Trails

Easily accessible roads and trails adjacent to downtown include strolls down the West and East Bluffs, Huron Road and Arch Rock Road. Various loops off these routes will take you to numerous other sights and monuments.

Lake Shore Boulevard, State Highway M-185, wraps 8.2 miles around the entire island. It is fairly level, with only a few hills. A runner can make it in 45 minutes, but walking can take 1.5 to 3 hours including stops to take in the many sights.

Interior routes on the island will always involve some hill climbing. But once you go up, you always come down! Garrison and British Landing Road cut down the center of the island from Fort Mackinac to British Landing.

Fort Holmes Road will take you to the very top of the turtle’s back.

Popular hiking and biking trails include Tranquil Bluff Trail, Pontiac’s Trail, Leslie Avenue, North Bicycle Trail, Allouez Trail, Crack-in-the-Island Trail. In total, there are more than 70 miles of roads and trails on Mackinac Island.

Interpretive panels provide information at most of the island’s historic and natural monuments. In addition there are five interpreted nature trail loops:

• Native American Cultural History Trail: Featured along M-185, this trail features six turnouts with interpretive panels sharing the rich Native American
  history of Mackinac Island, from earliest settlement through today.
• Mackinac Island Botanical Trail: Weaving along the Arch Rock Bicycle Trail, the trail features seven turnouts with plantings and interpretive signs about the floral life on Mackinac Island.
• British Landing Nature Trail: Twenty nature displays and nineteen identified trees will give you a greater appreciation of Mackinac’s rich natural heritage. This trail will loop by the Friendship’s Altar, a lesser known rock formation. Trail begins behind the British Landing Nature Center. 
• Brown’s Brook on the west off M-185: A short trail with nature notes that runs next to Mackinac Island’s only year-’round stream.
• Hardwood Nature Trail: A three quarter mile loop of Cliffview Trail, Morning Snack Trail and Beechwood Trail provides an excellent tour of the northern hardwoods. In addition to interpreting invasive species and future changes in this ecosystem, MSHP uses this opportunity to connect these themes to stories of past environmental preservation and recovery on Mackinac Island. Trail starts on Beechwood Trail where it meets Garrison Road. 

The Historic Mackinac Island Visitor’s Guide, available at the Mackinac Island State Park Visitor’s Center, Fort Mackinac, and both ferry lines, provides seven themed tours that cover the entire state park. It sells for just $2.

Click here for a map of Mackinac Island.