Three days in northern Michigan built around the one place in America where cars have been banned for over a century — horse-drawn carriages, bicycles, and fudge shops on Mackinac Island, then a finish at a waterfall so tannin-stained by cedar swamps that locals call it Root Beer Falls. Real ferries, a real carriage company, and 2026 prices for every stop.
Day 1Detroit to Mackinac Island
North across the Lower Peninsula to the straits, then a ferry to an island where the only traffic is hooves and bicycle wheels.
🚗 Self-Drive: Detroit to Mackinaw City
~4.5 hours, 290 miles · rental car from $60/day
I-75 runs almost the entire way north, crossing the Mackinac Bridge — one of the longest suspension bridges in the world — in the final minutes before Mackinaw City.
⛴️ Ferry: Shepler’s Ferry to Mackinac Island
~20 minutes · round-trip from $39 USD / person
A high-speed catamaran crossing from Mackinaw City’s ferry dock, running roughly hourly through the season — park the car in the ferry-line lot, since no cars are allowed on the island.
Shepler’s Ferry · www.sheplersferry.com
🛎️ Check-In: Mission Point Resort
From $225 USD / night, for 2 people
A 18-acre lakefront resort at the island’s quiet east end, a short walk from Main Street — the trip’s base for both island nights.
Mission Point Resort · www.missionpoint.com
🍽️ Dinner: Pink Pony Bar & Grill
~1.5 hours · $20–$35 USD / person
The island’s best-known bar and restaurant, right on the Main Street waterfront across from the marina — whitefish and burgers alongside a porch full of boaters and day-trippers.
Pink Pony Bar & Grill · www.pinkponymackinac.com
Day 2Mackinac Island — Carriages, Fort Walls & Fudge
A full day exploring the island the way everyone has since 1898 — on foot, by bike, or behind a horse.
🐎 Mackinac Island Carriage Tours — Grand Tour
~1.75 hours · ~$40 USD / person
A horse-drawn tour covering the island’s landmarks — Arch Rock, Skull Cave, and British Landing — narrated by drivers who’ve been doing this route for decades; the island’s only public transit.
Mackinac Island Carriage Tours · www.mict.com
🏰 Fort Mackinac
~2 hours · ~$18 USD / person
A restored 1780s British-built fort on the bluff above town, with costumed interpreters, cannon and rifle demonstrations, and sweeping views out over the straits.
🚲 Bike the 8-Mile Shoreline Loop
~3 hours · bike rental from $12/hour (Mackinac Wheels)
Michigan Route 185 circles the island’s shoreline with no cars to share it with — the only state highway in the country that’s never seen a car — passing Arch Rock and British Landing along the way.
Mackinac Wheels
🍬 Fudge Stop: Original Murdick’s Fudge
~20 minutes · fudge from $20/pound
The island’s oldest fudge shop, making it the same way in full view of Main Street since 1887 — the source of the island’s nickname as the “Fudgies’” destination of choice.
Original Murdick’s Fudge · www.originalmurdicksfudge.com
Day 3Root Beer Falls & the Soo Locks
Back across the straits and northeast into the Upper Peninsula for a tannin-dark waterfall and a close-up look at the busiest lock system on the Great Lakes.
⛴️ Ferry: Mackinac Island to Mackinaw City
~20 minutes · included with round-trip ticket
The return crossing to the mainland and the waiting rental car — morning departures leave the most daylight for the drive north.
🚗 Self-Drive: Mackinaw City to Tahquamenon Falls
~1.5 hours, 75 miles
Over the Mackinac Bridge into the Upper Peninsula, then east on M-123 through state forest toward Paradise, Michigan.
📸 Tahquamenon Falls State Park
~2.5 hours · vehicle entry ~$11 USD (Recreation Passport)
The Upper Falls span over 200 feet and drop nearly 50 feet, stained root-beer brown by tannins leached from the cedar swamps upstream — one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi.
🚢 Soo Locks Boat Tour, Sault Ste. Marie
~2 hours · ~$36 USD / person
A boat trip through the Soo Locks, which lift and lower Great Lakes freighters between Lake Superior and Lake Huron — a close-up look at one of the busiest lock systems in the world before the drive home.
Soo Locks Boat Tours · www.soolocks.com
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