5 Unique Islands to Add to Your Vacay Bucket List

Mackinac Island

If the idea of slowing down and taking a weekend at a leisurely pace is appealing, you’re in luck. Tucked away in the middle of Lake Huron is Mackinac Island, a former colonial British fort and trading post that has transformed over centuries into a destination dotted with expansive state parks, miles of shoreline, and a historic Victorian heart. Tourists from the world over who are seeking a moment out of the ordinary visit this approximately four-square mile outcropping. 

Mackinac Island certainly delivers on this order for an extraordinary experience. With its family-owned hotels (one of which has the longest front porch in the world), handmade fudge factories, and its philosophy that the horse is king, a weekend here is akin to stepping back in time. Instead of the frenetic whirr of car engines and clip-clop of crowds, the island is filled with the chime of bicycles and the thud of horse hooves. “Horseless carriages,” as the locals call them, have been outlawed for over a century. Instead, visitors mill about on their own steam to visit Fort Mackinac as well as meander through the trails, woods, and the limestone Arch Rock formation that cover most of an island that is surrounded by coastal bluffs. 

-by Jessi Devenyns