By Cindy Ross

Grand Hotel Mackinac Island
Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island

As the ferry pulls into historic Haldimand Bay, I watch the UPS deliveryman in the familiar brown shirt and trousers stack cardboard boxes onto his wagon, the familiar brown van is nowhere in sight. Neither are cars, trucks, buses or any vehicle fueled by gasoline, for Mackinac Island has banned these health hazards for more 110 years.

Here in historic Mackinac, The UPS man goes about business as usual, as does the half-dozen horse-drawn coaches and carriages lined up to shuttle the incoming visitors. I'm struck by the strange juxtaposition of the modern world and a world gone by ... pretty typical for first-time visitors coming to this most gorgeous island on Lake Michigan.

Mackinac Island sits in the Straits of Mackinac, which divides Lake Huron from Lake Michigan. Modern-day visitors arrive either by small plane or by ferry. Bicycles, horses, and your feet are the only modes of transportation around the tiny island.

The first tourists to arrive on Mackinac Island back in 1904 came via railroad and steam-powered passenger boats. They were Victorians escaping the horrendous conditions of the cities, like Chicago, which had turned into industry pits. There, the belching smokestacks obscured the sun for weeks at a time and the river ran red with the blood of the slaughterhouses. This resort trade was made for invalid and hay fever victims and the children of the gilded age who were born into big money. The families headed for the Grand Hotel on the hill, the Showplace of the Great Lakes and one of the island's principal landmarks. Guests stayed for months. Their parents (who were the movers and shakers of the time) traveled back and forth, helping the transportation companies make a fortune. The hotel itself, owned by the transportation companies, was never created to bring in large profits.

The Grand Hotel was once one of 1,200 large wooden resorts scattered throughout North America. Two-thirds were built and run by transportation companies. Only 12 remain and The Grand is the last privately owned one in the country. The 385-room hotel has been expanded 33 times and it was one of the first hotels to have the "moveable box" -- an elevator! Today, it remains the world's largest summer hotel, but visitors stay only a fraction of that time. Because of this hotel, the entire island evolved into tourism.

Back in the beginning, this "Mansion in the Wilderness" needed more than just clean rooms, good food and a pretty view in order to attract customers. It needed a heart and a soul and the guests needed something to do. So musicians were employed, more than in any other place in Michigan, to entertain the guests. Even today, live music can be enjoyed in the hotel every day from noon until midnight. Liquor ran at the Grand every single day, even during Prohibition. Maids were sent out with baby carriages to smuggle back the liquor. (Room no. 4 had a rotating turntable false wall that emptied into a gambling speak-easy.)

Animal races were a great source of entertainment for guests at The Grand. Anything that could run, they trained to race. If an animal wouldn't run, perhaps it would swim, so animals were taken out in boats and released. For 13 years, the island enjoyed dog swim races. Mackinac Island was truly a Victorian Disneyland.

Afternoon high tea is still an event. Just like in Victorian times, tea, champagne, sherry, sandwiches and assorted sweets are served from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Rooms are decorated with antiques that date back to the 1630s because the owners believe they should be out so that guests can enjoy them. The Grand Hotel is truly a living, working museum.

The front porch, with its gorgeous view of the dazzling blue lake, is still the social center of the hotel. This 6,660-foot covered porch is the longest in the world. The underside is painted sky blue to deter birds from building nests. Dozens of white rockers sit at the ready, enticing you to slough off your worries and immerse yourself in the magic of Mackinac. Or, you can watch the ongoing show of sparkling white caps dancing on the lake. Brilliant red geraniums in heavy pots hang from the porch ceiling, creating a frame around this gorgeous picture. The porch is so large and so high that the entire scene seems to soar into the sky. It all feels like a dream.

In that vein, you can stroll the grounds and think of the 1979 film "Somewhere in Time," which starred Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour -- the story of a man who goes back in time to meet the woman of his dreams. You can also play a round of golf with antique clubs. There is no admission fee to enter the hotel grounds, if you are not a registered guest.

When you've had your fill of relaxing, hop on a bicycle to see the sights around the island. Mackinac Island was the second national park created in 1875, just three years after Yellowstone. But in 1895, it was transferred to the state park system. The 1,800-acre Mackinac Island State Park ensures that more than 80 percent of the island will remain protected. Because the 8-mile-long Lake Shore Boulevard is the only state highway where cars are banned, it is a cyclist's paradise. One of the most memorable views from the boulevard is the towering 550-foot Mackinac Bridge, which joins Michigan's two peninsulas across the straights. Five miles long, it is the longest suspension bridge in the world. Twenty-five known shipwrecks occurred here, so the waters have been designated as an underwater preserve.

You might have to share the road with an occasional horse, since you can also tour the island by horse-drawn carriage, horse-drawn taxi, drive-it-yourself carriage, or horseback ride. A crew works all night to clean up the horse's manure and the fire department (fire engine pulled by horses, of course) hoses down the streets every night.

If you're biking, you do have to watch your downhill speed. Police with radar guns actually hide behind tress on hills and clock your descent. Cyclists can't exceed 20 mph. The speeding ticket violation actually goes on your driving record! And you can't drink and ride! With 13,000 rental bikes on the island and 500 horses, it's still "Safety First!"

Many of the island's most popular sites are located within walking distance, a mile from the Visitor's Center. These include Fort Mackinac, which sits high above the village on a limestone bluff. Built by the British during the American Revolutionary War, it was used to control the strategic Straits of Mackinac between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The 14 original buildings are filled with exhibits, interactive displays and period settings. The site houses one of only four national cemeteries -- alongside Pearl Harbor, Gettysburg and Arlington.

Before becoming a popular tourist retreat, Mackinac was the hub of the bustling fur trade. It served as a commercial depot for half a century for trappers and fur traders, since it is conveniently located in the middle of North America. The beach was once bustling with fur-laden birch bark canoes, paddled by the colorful voyagers. The quaint gingerbread Victorian homes and shops in Mackinac today were once the residences of fur company clerks, traders and voyageurs. Three million dollars changed hands here, with the beaver pelt being the cash crop. In 1834, the fur trade company pulled out once the beaver population was depleted and the people turned to fishing. Once they overfished the straits, all that remained was tourism.

Wandering the narrow village lanes, historic buildings and unique shops create some of the finest memories for Mackinac's visitors. There are 68 varieties of lilacs in the village and every June perfume floats in the air and the island explodes with every variety and color of flower imaginable. Every home is different -- porches, picket fences, flower gardens, rocking chairs, each one more beautiful than the next.

Downtown, there are 17 fudge shops, creating an astonishing variety of flavors cooked in copper kettles and cooled on marble slabs. Each shop hands out a 1-ounce sample, so you could feasibly get yourself quite ill on 17 ounces of free fudge, if you visited every shop on the island. Fudge sales are so successful that 10,000 pounds a week are consumed!

There is a completely different feel here on Mackinac Island than anywhere I have been. If visitors weren't dressed in modern clothing, it would feel like a time warp. It is incredibly freeing to slough off your connection to that busy, hectic life, if only for the length of your stay.

INCIDENTAL INTELLIGENCE:

Mackinac Island is the only resort to be opened solely in the summer months. It gets a chilly minus 40 degrees in the winter. Summers days, however, are fresh with average temps between 60 and 70 degrees and nights are cuddly.

You can fly into Pellston Airport, using Northwest or one of their partners. This is the only commercial airline to service the Mackinac area. It is then a 20-minute drive from Mackinac City (via Wolverine Stages) to the Arnold Ferry Dock. The ferry operates every hour on the half-hour.

 

© Cindy Ross, Vacation Travel Muse

Michigan's Mackinac Island