Straits of Mackinac

The Straits of Mackinac is where you cross between Michigan’s peninsulas, by bridge or by ferry. Come to drive the Mackinac Bridge, catch a boat to Mackinac Island, or stand at the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and watch the freighters go by.

If you bring your own boat, Mackinaw City has two harbors, the village marina and the Straits State Harbor, which sells fuel and has a three-lane DNR launch. Across the water, the Mackinac Island State Harbor puts you steps from downtown, but it fills in midsummer, so reserve early. Plan for fast, shifting currents and busy shipping lanes.

It is the narrow waterway that joins Lake Michigan and Lake Huron and separates the Lower and Upper peninsulas. Water moves so freely through the strait that the two lakes are treated as a single lake, Michigan-Huron. Overall the flow runs from Lake Michigan toward Lake Huron, but wind drives water back and forth, and in summer the surface and deeper layers can move in opposite directions.

The Mackinac Bridge, opened in 1957, crosses the strait for about five miles between Mackinaw City and St. Ignace. The water at midspan is 295 feet deep, and the bridge is the customary dividing line between the two lakes. From the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse in Mackinaw City, you can look out over the shipping lane and the bridge.

For the island, the ferries from Mackinaw City and St. Ignace take about 15 minutes, or about 25 on routes that swing under the bridge. Day-trippers leave their vehicles in ferry lots on the mainland.

Under the water is a long record of wrecks. Rocky shoals and quickly building storms have sunk many ships here, and the Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve protects wrecks such as the 604-foot freighter Cedarville, lost in 1965, and the brig Sandusky, which sank in 1856.