Mackinac & Straits
Mackinac Island
A car-free island in the Straits of Mackinac. Bike or walk from a busy harbor town to an old fort and a state park that covers most of the island.
Sports · Outdoors · Heritage · Mackinac Island
Fort2Fort Five Mile Challenge
An early May five-mile run that starts inside Fort Mackinac and loops through Mackinac Island State Park past Arch Rock, Sugarloaf Rock and Fort Holmes.
Mackinac State Historic Parks holds the Fort2Fort Five Mile Challenge, a run that links the two forts on Mackinac Island. The course leaves from inside Fort Mackinac and loops through the historic and natural sites of Mackinac Island State Park.
Along the way runners pass several of the park’s landmarks, including Arch Rock, Sugarloaf Rock and Fort Holmes, before returning to Fort Mackinac. The organizer describes the course as challenging but fun, and 2027 is its eighth year.
What to expect
Runners start inside Fort Mackinac and finish outside it after a loop past Arch Rock, Sugarloaf Rock, Point Lookout, the island's cemeteries including the Post Cemetery, and Fort Holmes, before descending past the Michigan Governor's Summer Residence. Registration is handled through runmackinac.com.
Location
Where Fort2Fort Five Mile Challenge happens
4 places on an OpenStreetMap map
About Mackinac Island
Nearby attractions
Straight-line distances, not driving distances.
Historic site
Fort Mackinac
The fort on the bluff above Mackinac Island's harbor, founded by the British in 1780 and now a living history museum with fourteen restored buildings.
Under a mile away (straight line)
Attraction
Arch Rock
A natural limestone arch on Mackinac Island's east side, 146 feet above the water. You can see it from the shore road or from the bluff above.
Under a mile away (straight line)
State park
Mackinac Island State Park
Michigan's first state park covers more than 80 percent of Mackinac Island: forest, limestone formations, historic sites and 70-plus miles of roads and trails.
About 1 miles away (straight line)
Places to stay nearby
Hotel
Chippewa Hotel Waterfront
On Main Street beside the Mackinac Island marina
A downtown Mackinac Island hotel established in 1902 beside the marina, home to the Pink Pony bar and restaurant.
Bed and breakfast
Cloghaun Bed and Breakfast
On Market Street in downtown Mackinac Island
An 1880s Victorian house on Mackinac Island's Market Street, built by Irish immigrants and run as a bed and breakfast by the fourth generation of their family.
Resort · Upscale
Grand Hotel
On Grand Avenue, Mackinac Island
A historic summer hotel on car-free Mackinac Island, built in 1887 and known for its long front porch, afternoon tea and golf course.
Hotel
Hotel Iroquois
On the water at the west end of downtown Mackinac Island
A waterfront hotel at the west end of Mackinac Island's Main Street, built as a family home in 1902 and run as a hotel since 1904.
Hotel
Island House Hotel
On Main Street east of downtown, across from the marina, Mackinac Island
A Mackinac Island hotel that began as a small beach house in 1852, saved from near demolition around 1970 and run by the same family since 1969.
Hotel · Mid-range
Lake View Hotel
On Main Street in downtown Mackinac Island
A Main Street hotel built in 1858 as the Lake View House, which calls itself the oldest continuously operated hotel on Mackinac Island.
Resort
Mission Point Resort
On the Lake Huron shore of Mackinac Island
A lakefront resort on the sunrise side of Mackinac Island, with a wide lawn facing Lake Huron, a spa, an outdoor pool and a putting course.
Hotel · Budget
Murray Hotel
On Main Street in downtown Mackinac Island, across from a ferry dock
A family-owned Main Street hotel on Mackinac Island dating to the 1880s, with 69 rooms, a fudge shop and a burrito counter in the lobby.
More events in and around Mackinac Island
- Chicago Yacht Club Race to MackinacA July sailboat race of 333 miles from Chicago up the length of Lake Michigan to a finish at Mackinac Island, run by the Chicago Yacht Club.
- Great Turtle Trail Half MarathonA late-October trail half marathon and 5.7-mile run and walk on Mackinac Island, held on the island's fall trails near the end of the season.
- Mackinac Island Fall Fudge FestivalAn early-October weekend on Mackinac Island built around fudge: shop demonstrations, a fudge scavenger hunt, lumberjack shows and fall activities.
- Mackinac Island Lilac FestivalA ten-day June festival timed to the island's lilac bloom, ending with a horse-drawn Grand Parade along Main Street on the final Sunday.
- Memorial Weekend PageantMackinaw City's Memorial Day weekend: a parade to Colonial Michilimackinac and free reenactments of the events of 1763, with hundreds in the cast.