South Bend - Mackinaw Island- New York L I

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Tin man

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Need info on weather for the week of oct 12-19.  Attending a N D Football game Columbus Day weekend, and the bride wants to go to Mackinaw Island after the game.  Suggestions on places to visit and trip back to Long Island 12 days after the game



Thanks

Jim W
 
Can't help with most of what you need, but Mackinaw Island is a MUST. We went there last summer on a trip from Wyoming to Nova Scotia.

Be sure to take a guided horse-drawn tour of the town. Amazing place.
 
  The drive up the west side of Michigan can be very senic with a lot of Artsy communmities along the way (Holland , Saugatuck, Etc). Sleeping Bear  Dunes National Lakeshore is a really senic drive too. On the way up to Mackinaw you could stop in the Traverse City area. A great downtown area and lots of Wineries in area if you like that sort of thing. The drive from Petoskey on M119  to Cross Village is worth the price of admission (free) it goes thru a long tunnel of trees but I would not recommend it for a big RV. At the end of the drive you can stop at the resturant in Cross Village (S.W. of Mackinaw) which has some great Polish food. The trees in that part of Michigan will possibly just be turning for fall colors too.
 
Sunny and cool. Except when it raining. Temps could very from the 50 to 75. Lows around 40.

Mill Creek CG is the place to stay.

Don't by fudge and souvenirs on the island, buy in the city.

And do take a drive through the tunnel of trees. Beautiful drive. Not RV friendly tho.

Bring misquotes coils in case the black flies are bad.

Over nighting in allowed in welcome centers, but not in rest areas.

Enjoy your stay
 
How much time do you have?  There are lots of places you can visit along the west coast of Michigan.  Are you crossing into Canada at Sault Ste. Marie or coming back south through MIchigan?
You might also drive the east coast of Michigan if you are returning to NY that way.
 
You can get nearly all the weather info you are requesting from several weather websites.  Here's one for Mackinaw Is.  Check the "Monthly" tab for averages for ea. month.
 
October is getting well into the off season so there will be less people on the island.  We have always enjoyed staying over night on the island.  At 6pm most all the day tourists are leaving and the place becomes very quite.  Good time to ride bikes around and just enjoy yourself.  I would guess that many of the "fudgy" places will have closed down by then.  Should be great.  Weather on the straits could be iffy.  Have some warm clothes just encase.
 
Mill Creek Campground, is there a shuttle from there? We will be in the area in a week or so and want somewhere to stay where we can leave our motor home and travel to the Island, possibly with our bikes. What is bike riding like on the Island, hilly like Block Island RI?
 
Flat around the coast.  Hilly if you go over the center of the island.  We always take our own bikes.  The ferry companies has large secure parking lots.  Mill Creek has a shuttle.  Mill Creek is a 600+ site campground and has most everything.  The property is very wooded and they protect it.  If you carry your own firewood expect to have to dump it before they will let you camp.  They have wood dumping box at the gate and they do check some vehicles.
 
Mackinaw Mill Creek Campground has a shuttle in to town from one of the ferry companies.  You have to take a ferry to the Island from Mackinaw City.  There are several pretty good restaurants in town and it's all within easy walking distance.  If you're a history buff at all, check out both forts (one on the island, one in town).  It's always been one of our favorite places.
 
Thanks for the info on Mill creek. Unfortunately we did not make it due to a medical misfortune that required our returning home. Hopefully we will make it back soon.
 
How can you describe Mackinaw Island and not mention the Grand Hotel? As you come across to the island from the Mackinaw City the hotel is visible from a long distance.

Also, I would recommend that you rent a horse and buggy and drive yourself around the perimeter of the island.  The Polish Restaurant in Cross Village is a must as well as the canopy of trees route in a car only. Sleeping Bear Dunes is spectacular, especially when you climb them high enough to see Lake Michigan.

Have fun on your trip.
 
Mackinaw Island is the answer to a trivia question that less than one out of 100 Park Service Rangers can answer correctly. Here is the question:

Everyone knows that Yellowstone was the very first National Park anywhere in the world, created in 1872 by an act of Congress. What is the second National Park?

The answer is not Sequoia (1890) or Yosemite (1890) as most Park Service Rangers will tell you, it is Mackinaw Island, established by an act of Congress in 1875. It remained a National Park until 1895 when Michigan became a state. The federal government handed over control to the state of Michigan and Michigan changed it to a state park.
 
You can rent bikes on Mackinaw Island. They rent all kinds of bikes (Cruisers, 2 person bikes, etc).  I was there last week but don't remember what the fee was. They rent by: 1. The hour.  2. 4 hours.  3. The day
The ferry service to the Island (3 of them) charge $22/person for a round trip.
If you take the horse pulled carriage ride it is $28/person (I think that was what it was) but you can get off at various stops (Like Fort Mackinaw) and back on without additional charges.  If you want to walk on the porch of the Grand Hotel be prepared to part with $10/person.
We stayed at Indian River Campground outside of the town of..... "Indian River",  and it is approximately 27 miles from the Bridge. Cost was $42/night but it will be somewhat less after the little tykes go back to school (Labor Day Sept 5). As I mentioned in a earlier blog there is lots of things to see and do. We went to Mackinaw Island, did some canoeing on the Sturgeon river, played some golf, and did some off roading in the State Forrests with the Jeeps. If you like Casino's there are a bunch of them in both the lower as well as the upper peninsula. If you like golf there are also many really nice courses in the Mackinaw area too.
 
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