# Tourist attractions at the Mackinac bridge? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 9, 2021, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-attractions-at-the-mackinac-bridge/941706 "2021-05-09T16:44:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-attractions-at-the-mackinac-bridge/941706/22 "2021-05-12T00:58:57Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > > [@Broomstick](#): > > > > Heck, so many people can’t handle that bridge even in good weather there’s actually a service provided by the bridge authority that will drive your vehicle over the bridge for you.) > > I saw this mentioned on a tv show one time. Is it scary just because it’s so lengthy? Obviously any bridge is intimidating in bad weather but the scene I saw appeared to be a bright, calm day. Or is it simply that it’s so widely travelled that there’s bound to be a large amount of people afraid of bridges?" A certain percentage of the population is afraid to drive over bridges. But also it’s very long, very high up, and in comparison very thin which can be disturbing to some people who aren’t otherwise badly affected by bridges. Also… > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Depending on which lane you’re in (check out the **[Google Street view](https://www.google.com/maps/@45.8130892,-84.7283895,3a,75y,19.66h,66.45t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sxknF-UmyZnXA68gDIsjVsQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DxknF-UmyZnXA68gDIsjVsQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D129.16942%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en)** ), you may be driving on steel grate instead of solid pavement. And depending on your tires, it can make for squirrelly steering (especially on motorcycles). Being so high above the water, winds across the deck can be much stronger than in the middle of Mackinaw City. And then some people are just freaked out by the visual experience of being so high above the water. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-attractions-at-the-mackinac-bridge/941706/23 "2021-05-12T08:27:49Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > But also it’s very long, very high up, and in comparison very thin which can be disturbing to some people who aren’t otherwise badly affected by bridges. Good point. My ex had no problem at all crossing the multi-lane Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco (with me at the wheel), in our rented Mustang convertible with the top down, going so far as to sit up on the back of the passenger seat to snap some photos. But the two-lane Confederation Bridge connecting Prince Edward Island with New Brunswick (total length is 8 miles, and it is high also, as it must allow ocean freighters to pass underneath)–she was afraid. “It just seems so thin,” I recall her saying. Again, I was driving, but she white-knuckled it all the way across. As you might be able to tell, we made it across safely. For the record: > **[Confederation Bridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederation_Bridge)** > > The Confederation Bridge (French: Pont de la Confédération) is a box girder bridge carrying the Trans-Canada Highway across the Abegweit Passage of the Northumberland Strait, linking the province of Prince Edward Island with the mainland province of New Brunswick. Opened May 31, 1997, the 12.9-kilometre (8.0 mi) bridge is Canada's longest bridge and the world's longest bridge over ice-covered water. > Construction took place from October 1993 to May 1997 and cost C$1.3 billion. Before its offi... ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2021, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-attractions-at-the-mackinac-bridge/941706/24 "2021-11-03T16:45:11Z")
How did I miss this one, been there a couple of times and Mackinaw Island is the major draw for me. Best if you have a boat, the city is mostly bars and normal tourist shops. Myself the next time I go up there I want to Parasail along the bridge. We saw people doing it on the ferry back from the island and it looked awesome with you being above the traffic looking down. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-attractions-at-the-mackinac-bridge/941706.md?page=1)