The booklet we picked up
at the Visitor's Center lists several tours (you can take on your
own) and describes the length of each and what you can see on
that tour.
#1
- Fort Mackinac, the view from the top. This is located on the
hilltop and only available by walking. It takes ½ to 2 hours.
The book lists the various things in the Fort. (This is a fee
area.) We did find out that Ft. Mackinac's primary purpose was to
protect the fur trade. From 1780 to about 1835 Mackinac Island
was the principal shipping center for wild animal pelts destined
for Eastern and European markets. Much of this market was
controlled by John Jacob Astor.
#2 - Furs by Astor, Along Market Street - walking or bicycle, 1
hour. Many of the houses here were the original houses that
existed when John Jacob Astor ran his fur trade on the Island.
#3 - Indians and Missions from Father Dablon to moral
re-armament. Walking or bicycle, 1 to 1½ hours. This one again
is pretty much in town and shows several of the buildings used by
the early missionaries in their attempts to convert the native
inhabitants of the Island.
#4 - Natural History Highlights. Walking or bicycle, 1 to 2½
hrs. This is a little longer trail but takes you past some of the
beautiful limestone formations on the Island.
#5 - Down the middle, route of the British. Walking or bicycle,
1½ to 3½ hrs. This takes you right across the middle of the
Island. It shows the various historical sites from the British
invasion of the Island.
#6 - The town and people. Serving tourists for 150 years. Walking
or bicycle, 1½ to 2½ hrs. This takes you through the heart of
town and allows you to see all the quaint little shops that are
there, as well as go past the Grand Hotel. There are any number
of small shops, as well as restaurants. One of the things that you have to be sure and
purchase is the fudge. There are several shops in town that
feature their famous fudge and I have to attest to the fact that
it is delicious. (Oops, there go the hips again! maybe I can work
it off on the bike ride)
#7 - 'Round the shore. Bicycle, 1½ to 3 hours. This trail takes
you around the perimeter of the Island which is 8.2 miles. This
is the one that we opted to take because we felt it would give us
the greatest overall picture of the Island. The ride was just
lovely. Mostly level, but there were a few hilly spots. Along the
way we were treated to local flora, as well as some of the
limestone formations. It was really a nice ride, especially since
you didn't have to worry about getting run over by passing cars.
However, there were a few dodging maneuvers that we had to make
since the horse-drawn carriages come the same way and they don't
have porta-potties for horses. It was a little embarrasing at one
point when a lady in her 70's riding a bike pulling a little
trailer behind passed me. She was obviously a local resident who
had traversed this road many times going back and forth from her
house to town. However, I did catch up and pass her later on.
(Whew! thought I was getting old or something).
I got the feeling as we rode along that even in the section of
the Island that was not close to town that a lot of maintenance
was done, since the brush had not overgrown everything.
Although we opted to just take the ferry over and back, there are
any number of hotels and bed & breakfast lodgings that you
can stay at, either overnight or for a couple of days. The
B&B's are very picturesque and would give you more time to
see everything.
We timed
our ride so that we arrived at the dock just a little before time
for the last ferry to leave to go back to Mackinaw City. Since it
is not the official season yet, the last ferry left at 6 p.m.
During the tourist season the last ferry will leave as late as
10:30 or 11 p.m. As we were boarding the ferry we struck up a
conversation with a couple who had lived on the Island some 20
years ago. As I was asking her how one goes about moving their
furniture on or off the Island she pointed out a large dray that
they were pulling off the ferry. It looks like a large wooden
skid with wheels. They pull it off the ferry with a small
motorized fork-lift which never leaves the dock area. It is then
picked up by a team of horses that is hitched up to the dray and
taken to the residence where the furniture will be moved in.
As we sat back and got comfortable to enjoy the ride back, my
sore muscles told me that I had had more exercise than I had in
awhile. However, the beautiful memories and pictures that we had
were more than worth it.
Laura
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