Where Cars Are Illegal: Eco-Tourism on Mackinac Island, Michigan

Reader Contribution by John D. Ivanko
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As soon as my wife, son and I stepped off the Shepler’s Ferry, one of only three ferry services to Mackinac Island, our connection to motorized transport ceased to exist. Since 1898, cars and nearly every other form of motorized, gas-guzzling transportation are illegal on this Michigan island. So, our adventure would be exclusively on foot, by bicycle, in a horse-drawn carriage, or on the back of a horse. Here, the police cruisers are bicycles.

The small island, covering only about 3.8 square miles, is surrounded by the shimmering waters of

LakeHuron and to the west, in the distance, the Mackinac Bridge connects the lower and upper peninsula of Michigan. We stepped back to a time before the dominance of the automobile, with both the historical charm captured in the Victorian-style cottages and homes, plus the natural beauty, meticulously preserved.

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