Biking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller
Date: September 8, 2026
We biked several miles from our campground to downtown Mackinaw City and boarded the Shepler’s Ferryboat. The 20-minute ride across the Straits Of Mackinaw took us to Mackinac Island. Once we exited the ferryboat with our bicycles, we skipped the touristy downtown shops and set off for the 8.2-mile bike ride around the island. The perimeter loop bike trail along Lake Shore Drive is completely free of cars as the entire island is bike friendly. Other than other cyclists, you occasionally passed a horse-driven carriage or wagon and had to steer around lots of horse poop. For some odd reason the state park elects not to attach poop bags to the horses (they say it is too stressful for the horses) so poop is everywhere. We met and talked to two full-time poop cleaner-uppers whose entire day job is to sweep up poop and place it on their horse-pulled wagon which, you guessed it, will also poop on the road.
Once out of the scenic downtown area, most of the flat ride gave us incredible views of Lake Huron, rock arches, distant land and islands, the great Mackinaw Bridge, seashores and many birds (mainly gulls). We enjoyed the loop so much that after lunch, we did a second loop and then ascended through the middle of the island past old cemeteries, the small airport, Fort Mackinac, the Grand Hotel, forests and other sites.
