Planning a first-time trip to Mackinac Island and have several questions:
What is the best time of year to visit?
Specific dates/events to avoid because of crowds?
B%26amp;B/Inn recommendations?
Necessary to make a ferry reservation in advance or can you just show up and get on?
First trip to Mackinac
The best weather is July and the first three weeks of August. The biggest crowds are the last three weeks of July and first two weeks of August.
The fringe from June through early October can be nice if you don%26#39;t mind cooler weather. There are no big crowds and there are some relative bargins. My personal favorite would be late June.
Just show up a few minutes early to buy your ferry tickets. Except you may find a small discount by purchasing in advance. There are no reservations.
First trip to Mackinac
LHL2 had some good advice.
In addition to the peak weeks mentioned, any holiday such as Memorial Day, Fourth of July or Labor Day weekends can also be incredibly crowded.
Staying downtown is best and a great map of the island accommodations can be found on the Chamber website (www.mackinacisland.org). Most inns/B%26amp;B%26#39;s/hotels have rates listed on a calendar, so you can determine the peak days/weeks and perhaps pick up a couple of dates at a lower rate if you time your trip accordingly.
In picking a place to stay, I agree with the hotel rankings found here on TripAdvisor, so find a few you think look good then read the reviews to get more specifics about the property.
Have a great trip!
We like to spend the 4th of July up there. We were there last year and loved it. It wasn%26#39;t that busy, not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. Watching the fireworks from the area (normally watch from St Ignace, next year will hopefully be from island), is wonderful - you can see St Ignace, the island and Mack. City. I was up there the first week of August also, and it wasnt that bad either. That trip I stayed at the Chippewa, and had a blast. Have a great trip!
We are going in June during the Lilac festival, its our first trip to the Island too! I am soooooo excited, It has taken me 20 years to talk hubby into going, I think all the pics and info on the internet finally convinced him, I love TripAdvisor! Years ago I picked out Main Street Inn %26amp; Suites and put it in my Mackinac Island wish folder....LOL So when hubby finally agreed to go I checked the reviews on here and was pleased to find it listed as #1, I then booked it that day as its a small hotel and fills up fast. I am going to book a package deal with Sheplers ferry before we go, it includes round trip ferry, parking and attraction tickets for stuff on the island...it will save us 17.50 per person vs buying all the tickets seperately. The package is available at ';mackinac island package . com'; Hope this helps you, I am now waiting on all the brochures I ordered from the travel and tourist bureaus to arrive, its been 2 weeks, maybe the 2009 ones are not ready yet. :(
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