Island hub by the Arnold Dock/ Main St. between Astor and Fort
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| MackinacDirectory.com |
| Marquette Park from above. |
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. (906) 847-3551 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. (906) 847-3881.
♦ MARQUETTE PARK. The green space below Fort Mackinac is a fine place to picnic (bring a groundcloth) or play Frisbee. 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. It's a favorite gathering place for summer help, visitors, and locals. At dusk, it's especially lively, and if the lilacs are in bloom, the colors shimmer in the fading light.
♦ 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. Website.Open 9 to 6 in peak season. Free admission. Wheelchair-accessible.
Return to City of Mackinac Island
POINTS OF INTEREST
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
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
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
Kite flying at 11. Watch a colorful array of kites fly over the harbor, and even learn some tips from experts ... more
Round Island Lighthouse. Ferries to and from Mackinac Island provide memorable views of this 1894 lighthouse ... 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
Hunt's Map Guide to the Upper Peninsula
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