Mackinac & Straits
Mackinaw City
The base for the Straits, beside the Mackinac Bridge at the tip of the Lower Peninsula, with a reconstructed colonial fort and ferries to Mackinac Island.
Heritage · Outdoors · Family · Mackinaw City
Mackinac Bridge Walk
The Labor Day morning walk across the Mackinac Bridge, starting from St. Ignace or Mackinaw City while the bridge is closed to public traffic.
On Labor Day morning the Mackinac Bridge closes to public traffic and opens to people on foot. Walkers can begin at either end, in St. Ignace on the Upper Peninsula side or in Mackinaw City on the Lower Peninsula side, once the governor’s party sets off.
The walk is free and needs no registration, but it runs on a firm schedule. Walkers must be on the side they want to finish on before the turnaround points begin moving at 10 a.m., and no one may start after 11:30 a.m. There are no restrooms on the bridge itself, and no shuttle back, so walkers who cross one way need their own ride once the bridge reopens at noon. The 2026 walk drew about 34,000 people, according to the Mackinac Bridge Authority.
What to expect
There is no fee or registration. Walkers start from either end and choose to turn back at the midpoint, cross to the other side (arranging their own ride back after the bridge reopens), or cross and return for a round trip of about 10 miles. Turnaround points start moving toward the ends at 10 a.m., and certificates are handed out at both ends.
Previous dates
- 2026: Monday, September 7, 2026, 7:00 am
Location
Where Mackinac Bridge Walk happens
4 places on an OpenStreetMap map
The pin marks the town; check the organizer for exact venues.
About Mackinaw City
Nearby attractions
Straight-line distances, not driving distances.
Lighthouse
Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse
The 1892 castle-style lighthouse just east of the Mackinac Bridge, with restored keepers' rooms, a tower you can climb and a shipwreck museum.
Under a mile away (straight line)
Historic site
Colonial Michilimackinac
Mackinaw City's 18th-century fort and fur trading village, rebuilt from historic maps and one of the longest-running archaeological digs in the country.
Under a mile away (straight line)
Bridge
Mackinac Bridge
The five-mile suspension bridge that carries I-75 across the Straits of Mackinac between Mackinaw City and St. Ignace, open since November 1, 1957.
About 2 miles away (straight line)
Places to stay nearby
Hotel · Budget
Baymont by Wyndham Mackinaw City
In central Mackinaw City, within walking distance of downtown and the ferry docks
A chain hotel in central Mackinaw City within walking distance of downtown shops and the Mackinac Island ferry docks, with an indoor pool.
Bed and breakfast
Deer Head Inn
On Henry Street in downtown Mackinaw City
A bed and breakfast in a restored 1913 Arts and Crafts home, among the oldest houses in Mackinaw City, a short walk from the island ferries.
Hotel · Mid-range
Holiday Inn Express Mackinaw City
On Louvigny Street near the Mackinac Bridge in Mackinaw City
A chain hotel near the Mackinac Bridge that lists year-round stays, an indoor pool, free hot breakfast and shuttles to the Mackinac Island ferries.
Listed as open all year.
More events in and around Mackinaw City
- A Colonial ChristmasA December evening at Colonial Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City, where lantern-lit paths, storytellers and crafts recall how the fort's 17th- and 18th-century residents kept the holidays.
- Mackinaw City Fourth of July FireworksA large Fourth of July fireworks show at Conkling Heritage Park, the headline of Mackinaw City's summer fireworks nights.
- 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.