# Mackinac Island Lodging **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 9, 2012, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608 "2012-06-09T12:44:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/1 "2012-06-09T12:44:33Z")
Looks pretty pricey on the internet but maybe some of the smaller places don’t have a web presence. Anybody got any idea of what I might be able to find for Sunday night once I’m there? ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/2 "2012-06-10T00:05:14Z")
In my experience you stay in St. Ignace and only pay an arm rather than ON the island itself where another leg and both thumbs are thrown in for the cost. Here’s a listing of [B&B](http://www.stignace.com/bed_and_breakfast)s; [here](http://www.stignace.com/hotels)’s hotels. Have fun, you going up for the Lilac Festival? ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/3 "2012-06-10T10:20:45Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > In my experience you stay in St. Ignace and only pay an arm rather than ON the island itself where another leg and both thumbs are thrown in for the cost. Here’s a listing of [B&B](http://www.stignace.com/bed_and_breakfast)s; [here](http://www.stignace.com/hotels)’s hotels. Have fun, you going up for the Lilac Festival? Nope…home alone for a week with our youngest daughter and looking for an adventure. Looks like we’re going to shoot for a 2pm arrival on the island and wing it. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/4 "2012-06-10T11:22:25Z")
I stayed in St Ignace a couple of years ago at The Moan Bay Motel - it was \< $50 (the [website](http://www.moranbaymotel.com/) says $38) Not fancy, but if all you need is place to crash. It is on the non shore side of the main road through town, but there is a park across the street so you do get a good view of the bay. The [K Royal](http://www.kroyale.com/) has double bed rooms for $55 There is always [Straights State Park](http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?type=SPRK&id=427)… Brian ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/5 "2012-06-10T22:00:44Z")
Moran Bay, not Moan Bay 🙂 Brian ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/6 "2012-06-11T00:03:05Z")
How are you getting there? I’ve wanted to go, but getting there seems like a bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/7 "2012-06-11T00:05:59Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > How are you getting there? I’ve wanted to go, but getting there seems like a bitch. It’s a ferry ride across usually choppy waters but that’s not so bad. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/8 "2012-06-12T15:02:21Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > It’s a ferry ride across usually choppy waters but that’s not so bad. Only 15-20 minutes. Not bad at all. Had a great time…found a real nice room for $90 plus tax! ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/9 "2012-06-12T15:53:33Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Only 15-20 minutes. Not bad at all. > > Had a great time…found a real nice room for $90 plus tax! Super, what’s the place? Tripler and I will be in Mackinac overnight sometime the week of the 25th. Were the lilacs blooming heavy yet? ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/10 "2012-06-14T13:26:31Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > Super, what’s the place? Tripler and I will be in Mackinac overnight sometime the week of the 25th. Were the lilacs blooming heavy yet? Windermere on the west end of Main. It was the smallest room and she gave me the lowest off-season rate even though I see on-line that the regular rate for that day would have been $150. Lilacs? I wouldn’t know a lilac if it bit me on the butt. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/11 "2012-06-14T13:49:42Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > Super, what’s the place? Tripler and I will be in Mackinac overnight sometime the week of the 25th. Were the lilacs blooming heavy yet? If the lilacs are like they were here, they have already come and gone. It was a weird lilac season this year - they bloomed really early, then for a day or two then disappeared. I think even in a normal year June 25th is a little late for lilacs. Maybe Mackinac is different, but typically they’re gone by then in my area (just a little north of Mackinac but who knows what kind of difference the lake might make to the island…) ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/12 "2012-06-14T15:01:20Z")
What is there to do on Mackinac ? (except eat fudge and take horse-drawn coach rides)? It always struck me as a boring place. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/13 "2012-06-14T15:02:41Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > If the lilacs are like they were here, they have already come and gone. It was a weird lilac season this year - they bloomed really early, then for a day or two then disappeared. > > I think even in a normal year June 25th is a little late for lilacs. Maybe Mackinac is different, but typically they’re gone by then in my area (just a little north of Mackinac but who knows what kind of difference the lake might make to the island…) I’ve seen unopened lilacs at Memorial Day and brown, all done lilacs in June; the Mackinac Island Lilac Festival starts this weekend, I think but it’s scheduled months in advance, no telling if the lilacs will comply. Thanks for the heads up on Windermere, **What the**! ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/14 "2012-06-14T15:31:47Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > What is there to do on Mackinac ? (except eat fudge and take horse-drawn coach rides)? > It always struck me as a boring place. It’s fun for a few days. Last time we were there we rented bikes and biked all over the island, checked out some beaches, rented horses and rode them for an afternoon, toured the Grand Hotel, had nice afternoon cocktails, had nice evening cocktails, ate fudge, rode in horse taxis. So plenty to do for a few days, and that’s from someone who lives in an area that is a lot like Mackinac to begin with (in the sense that it’s a small town in the Great White North). For someone coming from a city or an area far away, I’m guessing they’d have even more stuff to do. But yeah, if you’re looking for nightlife, concerts, shopping… it’s not that kind of place. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/15 "2012-06-14T15:59:20Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > It’s fun for a few days. > > Last time we were there we rented bikes and biked all over the island, checked out some beaches, rented horses and rode them for an afternoon, toured the Grand Hotel, had nice afternoon cocktails, had nice evening cocktails, ate fudge, rode in horse taxis. So plenty to do for a few days, and that’s from someone who lives in an area that is a lot like Mackinac to begin with (in the sense that it’s a small town in the Great White North). > > For someone coming from a city or an area far away, I’m guessing they’d have even more stuff to do. > > But yeah, if you’re looking for nightlife, concerts, shopping… it’s not that kind of place. Absolutely, Mackinac Island is in no way ‘hopping’. [This](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812)is the last exciting thing to happen there. But for those of us going to relax and chill for an overnight, taking some long strolls it’s perfect. There’s a casino a bit up the road and some waterfalls, though. Those are exciting, too. As the bumper sticker says, ‘Come to da UP, eh?’. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/16 "2012-06-14T16:04:24Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > As the bumper sticker says, ‘Come to da UP, eh?’. Is Mackinac Island considered the UP? I never thought of it as such. It’s just sort of in-between. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/17 "2012-06-14T18:21:09Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Is Mackinac Island considered the UP? I never thought of it as such. **It’s just sort of in-between.** Literally! But I meant the Falls and the casino both north of St. Ignace as those are more fast-paced (usually) than the Island. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/18 "2012-06-14T18:29:43Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Is Mackinac Island considered the UP? I never thought of it as such. It’s just sort of in-between. It’s closer to the UP, It’s further north than the entire lower peninsula, and lots of the actual UP, including Escanaba are further south than Mackinac, so I guess I’d call it the UP. Actual Yoopers may dissent… ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/19 "2012-06-14T19:00:45Z")
Every time I see this thread, I think it says “\*Maniac \*Island.” **Carl** : Hey, I hear we’re going to Ape Island. **Lenny** : Yeah, to capture a giant ape. I wish we were going to Candy Apple Island. **Charlie** : Candy Apple Island? What do they got there? **Carl** : Apes, but they’re not so big. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608/20 "2012-06-14T20:54:17Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > It’s closer to the UP, It’s further north than the entire lower peninsula, and lots of the actual UP, including Escanaba are further south than Mackinac, so I guess I’d call it the UP. > > Actual Yoopers may dissent… Your Yoopage may vary. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mackinac-island-lodging/624608.md?page=2)