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Mackinac Bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac at sunset, with small waves in the foreground

Day trip · US-31

Petoskey to Mackinaw City and the Straits

North on US-31 from Petoskey through Alanson and Pellston to Mackinaw City, with the Mackinac Bridge, Colonial Michilimackinac and ferries to Mackinac Island.

From Petoskey, US-31 heads northeast past Bay View and then north through the small communities of Conway, Oden, Alanson, Pellston, Levering and Carp Lake. This is the final stretch of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour on US-31, and the highway ends where it meets I-75 just south of Mackinaw City.

Mackinaw City sits at the tip of the Lower Peninsula beside the Mackinac Bridge. Colonial Michilimackinac, the reconstructed 1715 French fort and fur trading post, stands at the edge of downtown with views across the Straits toward the bridge.

Many visitors use the day to reach Mackinac Island. The car stays on the mainland: passenger ferries leave from Mackinaw City, and once on the island people get around on foot, by bicycle or by horse-drawn carriage. The main ferry season runs from late April through October, so this trip is best planned for those months.

The route

  1. Petoskey
  2. Bay View
  3. Alanson
  4. Pellston
  5. Mackinaw City

Map of Petoskey to Mackinaw City and the Straits

5 places on an OpenStreetMap map

Map of Petoskey to Mackinaw City and the Straits. The same places are listed on this page.

Before you go

  • The drive ends in Mackinaw City. Mackinac Island has no cars and no bridge, so continue by passenger ferry from Mackinaw City (or St. Ignace across the bridge).
  • Ferry companies run designated parking lots in Mackinaw City for day visitors, for a fee. The main ferry season runs from late April through the end of October.
  • US-31 ends at I-75 just south of Mackinaw City. For a slower, shoreline start, the M-119 Tunnel of Trees runs north from Harbor Springs to Cross Village.

Towns along the way

A Petoskey stone among wet beach pebbles at the water's edge

Charlevoix & Petoskey

Petoskey

A walkable bay town for stone hunting, shopping the Gaslight District and riding the Little Traverse Wheelway, with historic Bay View next door.

The Mackinac Bridge on the horizon at sunset over the Straits

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.

Horse-drawn carriages and parked bicycles on a downtown street lined with shops on Mackinac Island

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.

Aerial view of a sandy beach edged by trees, with clear green water over a shallow lake bottom.

Charlevoix & Petoskey · Small town

Bay View

A Victorian summer community beside Petoskey for history lovers and concertgoers, a National Historic Landmark with music and lectures you can attend.

Stops worth making

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.

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.

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