Mackinac Island (http://www.mackinacisland.org/) is a resort island famous for its colonial to victorian era character, situated in the Straits of Mackinac, connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The name is pronounced "MAK-i-naw".First inhabitated by the Ojibwe tribe and then settled by Europeans in the mid 1600s, the village of Mackinac was finally incorporated in 1817 and served as the seat for the territorial county of Michilimackinac by 1818 and as the seat of Mackinac County from 1849-1882. The territorial county of Michilimackinac covered much of what is now Michigan. Fort Mackinac housed the central government for the Northern Frontier after the American Revolution. By the end of the War of 1812, the Island figured prominently in the governing and early development of the Northwest Territory.
Mackinac Island is really three different travel destinations: Grand Mackinac, the posh and expensive resort exemplified by the Grand Hotel; Fudgie Mackinac, the popular historical and shopping experience of the throngs arriving by ferry; and Active Mackinac, the bicycling, horse-riding, paddling, and hiking opportunity. These aren't 100% exclusive of each other, but your experience of the island will vary substantially depending on which you are there for.
