Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsula are separated by a pretty good body of water known as the Straights of Mackinaw. The Straights are actually an area where Lake Huron on the east, and Lake Michigan on the west, meet. For years Michigan residents or tourists, if they wanted to cross the straights, had to do so by ferry. This meant hours of waiting in line just to get across. You can imagine what it must have been like when hunting season came along and everyone headed to the UP (Upper Peninsula) to hunt. A nightmare. Well all of that changed on November 1st, 1957 when the Mackinaw Bridge opened to traffic.

The bridge is actually the third longest suspension bridge in the world. It is 5 miles long and starts in Mackinaw City, in the Lower Peninsula, and stretches across into St. Ignace in the Upper Peninsula. Last year the bridge celebrated its 50th anniversary and needless to say the work on the bridge is never done. Even the Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs did a segment on the “Big Mac”.

I have been to the bridge on many different occasions and let me tell you that I am always in awe of it’s sheer size. The bridge is spectacular to look at and the bridge at night is one of thee best photo opportunities you will ever see. There is a neat little park right next to the bridge that offers some amazing views, and camera opportunities, and also gives you access to the Straights of Mackinaw. Nothing like sticking a bare foot in that chilly water no matter what time of the year it is.

The thing I would recommend that everyone do is drive over the bridge. For some it is definitely a hair raising experience and one you will never forget. The bridge has grates in the middle that allow air to pass through them to keep the bridge from swaying, and they definitely make for some great driving experiences if you do happen to get stuck in that particular lane. I have relatives who refuse to drive on these grates and I have some as well that will not drive over the bridge at all. I truly enjoy driving over it. The sites and sounds are like no other thing you will ever get to see or hear while driving. Plain and simply put, it’s cool!

Another positive point of the Mackinaw Bridge is it’s shear location. Mackinaw city is an awesome little town. I never get sick of visiting the place and it has some great things to visit as well as some magnificent pieces of history. I could devote a whole other post to the city and it is just another highlight of getting to view and experience the bridge.

We recently got to share the bridge experience with my two cousins who had never seen the bridge before and it took me back to the first few times I got to experience the Mackinaw Bridge and how awe-inspiring it was at the time. It truly is a great piece of workmanship and a true modern marvel.

I hope that everyone who reads this gets to experience the Mackinaw Bridge at some point in their life. Whether it be to cross the straights to hunt, see Tahquamenon Falls, or simply just for the experience, I highly recommend it. It’s a very cool experience and one you will never forget.

Author’s note: All of the pictures you see were taken by my wife last year with the exception of the couple sitting on the bench. That is my Mom and Dad and I actually took that picture. The one under the bridge is truly unique because we got a special chance to go under the bridge for its 50th anniversary.

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