Mackinac Island is a city located on
Mackinac Island and Round Island in
Mackinac County in the
U.S. state of
Michigan. As of the
2000 census, the city had a total year-round population of 523, although there are thousands more during the
summer tourist season. From 1818 to 1882 the city was the county seat of
Michilimackinac (later Mackinac) county.
A unique ordinance prohibits the use of any motorized vehicles on the island. The most common means of travel are foot, bicycle, and horseback. Certain enumerated exceptions include emergency vehicles, electric wheelchairs for persons with disabilities, snowmobiles in winter, and golf carts for course use only.
Mackinac Island is home to the Grand Hotel where the 1980 movie Somewhere in Time starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour was filmed. That film presents a rare exception in which motorized vehicles were allowed on the island.
Mackinac Island is the destination of both the annual Chicago to Mackinac Sailboat Race, run by the Chicago Yacht Club and the annual Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race sponsored by the Bayview Yacht Club of Detroit, Michigan.
