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.
Festival · Parade · Family · Heritage · Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island Lilac Festival
A 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.
Mackinac Island’s lilacs are part of its identity, and the Lilac Festival has celebrated them since two residents started it in June 1949. It now runs for ten days in early June, timed to the peak of the bloom.
The festival mixes garden-focused events, such as walking tours and planting sessions with the island’s lilac expert, with races, music, games and children’s activities. The finale is the Grand Parade on the last Sunday, a horse-drawn procession down Main Street that the Library of Congress lists as a Local Legacy. The second weekend, with the parade, is the busiest, so book lodging early if you plan to stay overnight.
What to expect
The festival opens with the Lilac Queen coronation and includes a 10K run and walk, guided lilac walking tours and planting seminars, live music, a cornhole tournament, a vintage bicycle rally and kids' activities. It closes with the horse-drawn Grand Parade, which travels west on Main Street from Mission Point Resort to Windermere Point.
Location
Where Mackinac Island Lilac Festival happens
4 places on an OpenStreetMap map
The pin marks the town; check the organizer for exact venues.
About Mackinac Island
Nearby attractions
Straight-line distances, not driving distances.
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.
Under a mile away (straight line)
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.
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.
- Fort2Fort Five Mile ChallengeAn 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.
- 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.