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Hunts' Guide to Michigan's UPPER PENINSULA

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CITY OF MACKINAC ISLAND
POINTS
OF INTEREST

Fort Mackinac. Built in 1780 by the British and fortified by 4-foot-thick walls in places, the fort offers cannon firing, fife and drum music, fascinating historical exhibits, and great village views from blockhouses and from a tea room with delicious food ... more

Grand Hotel. Explore a living Victorian resort hotel, from its famous front porch with fine Straits view and its splendid gardens to an exhibit of top American Impressionist paintiings. ... more

Mackinac Island Carriage Tours. Get an island overview without walking, and find out about Mackinac's fascinating horse culture ... more

Doc Crain's natural and human history tours by foot and bike. Doc's entertaining, authoritative tours illuminate the island's Indian mythology, natural and human history, wildflowers in bloom. He works for tips ... more

Island hub by the Arnold Dock/ Main St. between Astor and Fort. The nexus of myriad useful things: an information kiosk, carriage tours, bike rentals, a grocery, a drug store, a visitor center ... more

Market Street, 1820s fur trade center. At the 1820s center of John Jacob Astor's Great Lakes fur trade, see period cooking and spinning in a French-Canadian house; a blacksmith shop; and the reconstructed store where the permanent hole in a voyageur's stomach led to understanding digestion ... more

Downtown shops and amusements. Among downtown's souvenir, gift, and fudge shops are unusual businesses featuring good flying toys, a haunted house, magic and gags, artists creating expressionist landscapes and scrimshaw engravings, art and accessories, and good books. ... more

An eastside walk to Mission Point. A half-mile eastside walk to Mission Point passes lots of history, with stops at two of Michigan's oldest churches at Ste. Anne's and Mission churches and possibly the Mackinac Island Butterfly House. ... more

An East Bluff Walk to Robinson's Folly. This blufftop walk past impressive cottages affords a good view of Lake Huron, and a return view down on the village. ... more

Ste. Anne's Catholic Church. The parish goes back to 1700 and before. Parishoners have included French-Canadian and Native American traders, Irish fishing families, and the late Senator Phil Hart, among others. It has a small museum and charming garden ... more

West shore walk. Views of the Round Island Lighthouse and the gorgeous sunset behind the Mackinac Bridge make this a favoritie evening walk ... more

Governor's Summer Residence. See where governors since Soapy Williams have spent summer vacations, networking as well as relaxing ... more

Somewhere in Time movie locations. Fans of this Christopher Reeve/Jane Seymour cult classic can get a map and visit its filming locations. Hundreds come for October's SIT weekend; thousands are in its fan club. ... more

West Bluff walk to Hubbard's Annex. A stroll past 16 grand and ornate summer "cottages" from the 1880s and 1890s, leads into another cottage area and ends in Lovers' Leap scenic overlook ... more

CITY OF MACKINAC ISLAND

Island hub by the Arnold Dock/ Main St. between Astor and Fort

Many important services come together near here.

• CITY PARK is like a large bus or trolley stop in a European city, with benches and restrooms. The Mackinac Island Chamber of Commerce information kiosk is here on Main Street. Carriage tours start here, too. Across Main Street are Ryba and Lakeside bike rentals. The main taxi stand is half a block south at Astor Street. The park, opposite the Arnold Ferry Dock, runs between Main and Market streets.

• DOUD MERCANTILE. The island's only grocery (and Michigan's oldest family-run grocery) also has a deli and takeout sandwiches (mostly $7 and up in summer) and good pizza by the slice. To avoid crowds in summer, come before 11 or after 6. Corner of Main and Fort. Opens at 7:30 a.m. in season, 'til midnight in summer. Open year-round from 9:30 to 5.

• ALFORD'S DRUG STORE. Next to Doud's, Alford's is no longer a pharmacy. (Prescriptions must be phoned to St. Ignace pharmacies and delivered.) It carries over-the-counter drugs, sunscreen, bug stuff, laundry and cleaning supplies, film, cigarettes, and writing supplies. In summer open from 8 a.m. to about 11 p.m.

• MARQUETTE PARK. The green space below Fort Mackinac is a fine place to picnic. There's handy takeout across the way at Doud Mercantile. A statue of Father Jacques Marquette, Jesuit missionary at Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace, later "discoverer" of the Mississippi, surveys the scene. At 2 p.m. most days May through September, Doc Crain, history guide par excellance, teller of legends and tales, starts out here on a walking tour. (No fee, tips appreciated.)

• MACKINAC STATE HISTORIC PARK VISITOR CENTER. This is one place to buy admission tickets to the fort and all MSHP attractions here and in Mackinaw City. (If you plan to visit at least two with more than two people in your party, get the $59 annual membership, the best deal by far, with a 15% discount to MSHP gift shops.) Staff can field all kinds of island questions. Exhibits describe the island's natural history. Buy plant and bird checklists and nature guides. Pick up a map for bike rides around the island and through the interior. At the foot of Fort St., across from Marquette Park by the marina. Open 9 to 6 in peak season. Free admission. Wheelchair-accessible

Note: If you want to check your e-mail, you have to go elsewhere. At the French Outpost on Cadotte on the way to the Grand Hotel, the INTERNET CAFÉ (906- 847-0200) lets you get online over coffee or tea, with baked goods. It's open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The ICE HOUSE BAR & GRILL behind Island House hotel just east of Marquette Park has wifi Internet access and a free computer to use.

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