Hello from… Mackinac Island (pronounced “Mackinaw”), the ultimate nostalgic Midwestern summer getaway: a tiny, four-square-mile island sitting at the confluence of Lakes Huron and Michigan. Visiting with my kids feels like a throwback to my own childhood, when we rode tandem bikes around the island, ate our weight in fudge, and every few summers splurged on an overnight stay—which, at the time, felt like the epitome of luxury.
For such a small, car-free island—transportation by foot, bike or horse-drawn carriage only—I’m always amazed by how much there is to see and do. And yet, I fear many visitors miss some of the best parts: the State Park hiking trails and historic cottages, the quieter backroads and beaches, and the lush residential gardens tucked away from the bustle of tourists.
Where I’m staying… At the Hotel Iroquois, a grand white Victorian clapboard hotel dating back to 1904, right on the water’s edge with views of the bustling harbor. It’s smaller than the iconic Grand Hotel Mackinac, with just 45 guest rooms, and IMO more comfortable, polished and intimate, with the same level of Victorian time travel and sense of nostalgia.
Hotel Iroquois feels a little like the island’s front porch, privy to all the action, from the ferries and freighters gliding through the harbor to the bikes and clip-clop of horses along Main Street. But step inside and the bustle gives way to cheerful, elegant interiors. We stayed in the Lighthouse Suite, on the hotel’s top floor, with two king bedrooms, two bathrooms and a generous sitting room with a large picture window that perfectly frames the harbor. Rooms are beautifully appointed in a preppy yet polished mix of blues, pinks and greens, with Matouk linens, Frette bathrobes, and L’Occitane amenities. The overall effect is inviting rather than stuffy, more like you’ve been invited to a very stylish friend’s summer house than checked into a hotel. I especially loved the views from the sitting room, where I enjoyed my morning coffee and sunrise views while the kids slept in.
Rooms range from about $480 to just over $1,000 per night, while suites can run upwards of $3,000. July and August are high season and the priciest months to visit, though the hotel is open from early May through the end of October. Islanders are quick to tell you that September and October are their favorite months, when the crowds thin out but the island’s charms remain.
The best meal(s) I had… The whitefish sandwich at Carriage House, the most quintessential waterside perch. When you see whitefish on the menu in Northern Michigan, go ahead and order it. I guarantee it will be fresh—most likely from Lake Michigan or Lake Superior—and full of flavor, moist, tender and perfectly flaky.
The Mackinac Planked Whitefish and Jamaican Jerk Chicken from Kingston Kitchen at the Village Inn are not to be missed. From one island to another, Jamaican chef Shawn Fearon’s flavorful cooking reflects the long-standing ties between Jamaican workers and Mackinac.
Other highlights: If you’re biking around the 8.2-mile M-185 shoreline trail, the only state highway in America where cars are banned, be sure to make a pit stop at Cannonball Oasis at British Landing, famous for its fried pickles. Is a fried pickle the perfect unexpected bike snack? Throw down your kickstand and find out!
And don’t leave the island without stopping at Kilwins, Michigan’s iconic chocolate shop, which has been serving up fudge, ice cream and all kinds of sweet confections since 1947. There are plenty of places to grab a cone or a slice of fudge, but I’ll always be a Kilwins girl.
Most fun things I did… We were on the move, per usual when I have my kids along. We biked the island’s shoreline twice—at top speed, naturally. Because why not make everything a competition? I highly recommend the ride at sunset, when the trail is blissfully less crowded. And if you enjoy gawking at beautiful homes, one of my favorite walks winds behind the Grand Hotel along West Bluff Road, past grand Victorian “cottages” and into Hubbard’s Annex, one of Michigan’s first planned summer communities.
We also took a private horse-and-carriage ride with Mackinac Island Carriage Tours, owned by a fifth-generation island family. Our guide, Erik Hjelle, was a wealth of knowledge, bringing the island’s rich history to life, from the Anishinaabe, (particularly the Odawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi), who called it “Michilimackinac,” or “The Great Turtle,” to its days as a French fur-trading post, strategic military outpost during the Revolutionary and 1812 wars, and, eventually, a summer retreat for wealthy families from Chicago and Detroit.
But perhaps the most fun—and certainly the most luxurious—thing we did was hop aboard a private Hinckley Picnic Boat, departing straight from Hotel Iroquois’s dock. Our captain told me that most guests choose to zip around the Straits, passing the West Bluff and its opulent homes, cruising under the Mackinac Bridge, and admiring the island from an entirely different vantage point. My kids, naturally, had zero interest in sightseeing. Instead, we dropped anchor, and they plunged into the icy turquoise water, spending a blissful hour jumping, diving, and generally refusing to get back on the boat.
The book I read (and would recommend)… In our room was a copy of The Gardens of Mackinac Island, as well as Timeless: Inside Mackinac Island’s Historic Cottages, both of which provided inspiration and motivation for our evening walks. While the crowds tend to linger along Main Street, with some venturing out to bike the 8.2-mile loop around the island, very few make their way into the interior. There, meticulously maintained cottages in the Queen Anne, Victorian, Gothic and Vernacular styles reflect the island’s 19th-century Gilded Age history. What I wouldn’t give to peek inside a few of my favorites, with their fanciful names: The Cliffs, Brigadoon, Casa Verano, and Sunrise Cottage. For now, the pages of Timeless are as close as I’ll get, though the gardens can be admired from the street, reaching their lush, bountiful peak in August.
I also brought along Whistler by Ann Patchett, a stunningly beautiful book that reflects on the relationship between a grown daughter and her aging stepfather. One line took my breath away because it captured so perfectly how I feel in this moment, with my kids in those sweet years just before they fly the nest: “There were things I remembered now, including that particular longing that life could stay as it had been.”
Perhaps this sentiment, more than anything, captures why I love returning to Northern Michigan every summer, including a night or two on Mackinac Island. So much here never changes. With aging parents and growing children, there is an undeniable urge to freeze time, to hold everyone exactly as they are for just a little longer. And somehow, my summers in Northern Michigan seem to do that.
The playlist on repeat… The clip-clop of horses, the boom of the cannon fired three times a day from Fort Mackinac, and the deep blast of the foghorn as ferries dock every half hour just outside our window.
What I packed… Our own bikes—it’s easy to bring them over on the ferry, and you’ll save a bunch by avoiding rentals—and just a small overnight bag filled with activewear and a single dress. The vibe on the island is sporty and casual during the day, especially since you’re biking everywhere. It felt nice to dress up a bit for dinner, and lately I’ve been loving this lightweight soft blue gray cotton dress I bought at Tulsi in Ceglie Messapica, Puglia. It packs beautifully, never wrinkles, and with my favorite Anna Beck gold hoops, looks effortlessly elevated. I also stocked up on Caudalie Vinoperfect and Caudalie Vinosun Stick while in Paris, and now I bring them everywhere with me.
A thing or two I learned… I’ve always admired the hanging baskets that line Market and Main Streets, but I only just learned the story behind them. They’re part of a beautification effort launched by the Mayor’s Advisory Board in the 1990s. In 2009, Jack Barnwell, the landscape architect behind the beautiful grounds at our hotel, took over the project and grew it from 60 baskets to an impressive 200. Each season, the baskets arrive by freight boat, and crews work through the night to load them onto specially rigged bicycle carts and hang them one by one throughout town.
The best thing I’m bringing home… I hate to admit it for fear of having my Michigander card revoked, but I’m not a huge fan of fudge. It’s just a little too sweet for my liking, like biting into a brick of sugar. But hot fudge is a different story. On the ferry ride home you’ll always find a jar of Kilwins hot fudge in my bag, because there’s no such thing as a good ice cream sundae without a generous drizzle of this stuff.
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