Travel by Any Means Necessary

Tag: Bridge Walk

Drive-it-Yourself Carriage on Mackinac Island

Drive it Yourself Mackinac Carriage

After walking the 5-mile span of the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day, we got to sit down and relax on the ferry to Mackinac Island. This has become a family tradition for us, walking the bridge and visiting the island on Labor Day, with a stop at the Mackinaw Bakery in between. Not only is it a way for us to get from the opposite end of the bridge that we started on without having to turn around in the middle, but it also allows us to avoid the traffic that builds up while the bridge is closed for the annual walk. Even though it’s a holiday, the island is not too busy since most visitors start heading home on Labor Day.

Once we got off the ferry, we headed for Jack’s Livery Stables which advertises Drive it Yourself Carriages. My brother and sister-in-law are both into horses so we let them drive. Before we could get behind the horses, we picked out a route based on the amount of time we had (and how much we wanted to spend), and then they got a short lesson in driving. Before doing it, I assumed this was one of those things where the horses have a specific route they walk and you are just kind of along for the ride, but that really wasn’t the case. Our horse used to be the left horse on a team and he kept pulling to the left and when we corrected him, he went too far to the right! There were a few moments I thought we might go off the road.

This was a fun experience and one you can’t have very many places, but I would not recommend it to a first-time visitor. The traditional, large-group carriage tour gives you a lot more information about the history of the island and a better lay of the land. If you like horses, have been to the island before, and you’re looking for a way to see it differently, this is a fun way to do it and it is less work than riding a bike (you’ll notice that in our two years of walking the bridge, we haven’t decided to rent bikes after). If you are interested in trying it yourself, check out Jack’s Livery Stable!

Thanks for stopping by! To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! For my list of gadgets to make your travels easier, click here. To see inside my camera bag, check out my updated Gear Page.

Camping Straits State Park

Mackinac Bridge

For the Labor Day long weekend, we headed to one of our favorite campgrounds in Michigan, Straits State Park near St. Ignace. I got lucky and managed to score two waterfront sites for the holiday weekend since we had some family that was camping with us. Straits was the perfect home base since we were planning on walking the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day. The campground is right next to the base of the bridge and even has a trail to the bridge walk for campers. From Straits, we also took day trips to Sault Ste. Marie, Mackinaw City, and Mackinac Island (more on those trips in upcoming weeks).

Mackinac Bridge at night from our campsite

The view of the bridge from our campsite

The first time we camped at Straits one of our neighbors walked up to us and told us that he thought we had one of the best views in all of Michigan State Parks and he is not wrong. Being able to see the Mackinac Bridge from the campfire at night is pretty special. The waterfront sites don’t have electricity, so in the past, it has limited them to just tents and popups, but with solar and battery technology, bigger rigs are utilizing them now, which makes them harder to get. It also makes the view from sites farther back in the campground not as good. I booked exactly 6 months in advance (on Fat Tuesday, to be exact) and I wasn’t able to get two sites next to each other, but the sites weren’t too far apart.

Even though it was a holiday weekend and the campground was full, it was a quiet, calm camping experience. We had the last site on the end which is actually very close to where the Bridge Walk starts in St. Ignace. We could hear the announcer and even the Lt. Governor giving his speech before the walk began as we were getting ready at our campsite. We had such a good time, we plan to do it again this year. I have my countdown going for when to book this year’s campsites. Maybe this year we will figure out a shortcut to get from the campground to the base of the bridge for the bridge walk!

Thanks for stopping by! To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my updated Gear Page.

Mackinac Bridge Walk

Walking the Mackinac Bridge

Every Labor Day, people flock to the Straits area to walk across the Western Hemisphere’s longest suspension bridge. The rest of the year, the only way to get across the bridge is in a car, so the Labor Day Bridge Walk is a big deal. The walk is a Michigan tradition dating back to 1958. Of course, it was canceled in 2020 so I was excited when they announced the walk would happen again in 2021!

The bridge is over 26,000 feet (almost 5 miles) long so it is recommended that people be in fairly good shape to make the trek. In the middle of the bridge, it is about 200 feet above the water, so the walk is not for those afraid of heights either. As this was my first bridge walk, I was surprised to see people of varying abilities making their way across. We also saw a lot of people who have clearly been doing this for years with Bridge Walk patches covering whole backs of some denim jackets.

Traffic is closed on the bridge for safety so walkers have the option to turn around at the halfway point or walk the whole way and find their own way back. In the past, busses have carried people back across the bridge, but due to COVID (and honestly, logistics), that was not an option this year. We chose to use the Mackinac Island ferries to get back to St. Ignace, by way of the island.

Fort Mackinac This was the first time my sister-in-law had been to Mackinac Island so we hit all the highlights. We took a carriage tour and explored the fort. Since we had just walked five-plus miles, we skipped the bike ride. But, we ended our little mini-adventure at our Mackinac favorite, The Pink Pony!

When it comes to Mackinac Island ferries, we have always been loyal to Star Line, but starting the bridge walk in St. Ignace, it would save a lot of steps to use Shepler’s ferry instead. Their Mackinaw City dock is right at the base of the bridge. Walking to Star Line added probably another mile to our walk that day. Did I forget that and already buy our ferry tickets through Star Line for next year during their Black Friday sale? Yes, I did. Maybe I will remember this tip for 2023.

Thanks for stopping by! To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my updated Gear Page.

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Mackinac Bridge Pinterest Graphic

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