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Time of India
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Explore a car-free US island where horses are the locals' main mode of transport
Michigan is famous worldwide as the birthplace of America's automotive industry. With cities such as Detroit being labeled "Motor City," the state is readily associated with automobile production. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now But right off its northern shore in Lake Huron is — a place that rejects this legacy. This 3.8-square-kilometer island is known not for its adoption of technology but for its commitment to a slower, more uncomplicated existence. For more than 120 years, automobiles have been prohibited in this place, making it one of the few locations in the United States where motor vehicles are not only scarce but prohibited. Mackinac Island's car-free policy has lasted over a century The history of Mackinac Island's auto-free tradition dates back to 1898, when the first car to ever arrive on the island backfired, startling horses and sending horses into a panic. For safety and maintenance of the tranquility of the island, the village promptly banned motorized vehicles. In 1900, the prohibition extended to the entire island, and it has been there ever since. This decision has become a defining feature of the island's identity. Even golf carts are banned, and the only honking you'll hear might come from a goose rather than a car horn. 600 horses help sustain life on Mackinac Island Without automobiles, life on Mackinac Island is sustained by about 600 horses, a number that closely approximates the island's permanent human population. These horses are essential to daily life — they're employed for trash pickup, package delivery, and even serve as taxis. Urvana Tracey Morse, a resident artisan and businessman, encapsulated the island's spirit in a few words: "Horse is king here." Horses aren't a novelty, but infrastructure. In the height of the summer tourist season, more than 1.2 million tourists travel by ferry from Mackinaw City or St. Ignace to visit a world that seems frozen in time. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Horse-drawn buggies, clattering horses' hooves, and no engines contribute to the island's near-fairy-tale-like charm. Mackinac Island's rich Native history is coming back to light Well before it was ever a vacation getaway, Mackinac Island was inhabited by Native Americans. According to Anishinaabe beliefs, the island's limestone cliffs and green forests were reminiscent of a giant turtle emerging from the lake. They called it Michilimackinac, or "place of the great turtle," in Anishinaabemowin. Today, the effort is underway to save and respect this cultural heritage. Anishinaabe historian Eric Hemenway is spearheading efforts to restore Native stories on the island, focusing on its significance as one of the most spiritual locations on the Great Lakes. The Biddle House on the island is home to the Mackinac Island Native American Museum, which was opened in 2021. It tells the stories of Indigenous history, perseverance, and spiritual importance of the land. Mackinac Island's Fort Mackinac preserves its military history In 1780, the British exploited the strategic position of the island and built Fort Mackinac, a military fort situated overlooking the harbor. The fort was later used during the War of 1812 before it fell into American hands. Now, the site is a living museum, where visitors can observe cannon firings, visit reconstructed barracks, and stroll through Michigan's oldest building. The fort bridges contemporary visitors with the colonial and military history of the island while being respectfully connected to its Native roots. Mackinac Island started to draw prosperous travelers from industrial cities such as Chicago and Detroit in the late 19th century. These affluent families wanted refuge from city life, fleeing to the island's natural beauty and peaceful environment. At the center of this vintage tourism explosion lies the Grand Hotel, constructed in 1887. With 397 individually designed rooms and what is said to be the longest front porch in the world, the hotel is an architectural treasure of America's Gilded Age. It's also one of the few remaining fully operational great hotels of the period. Though popular, locals are cautious about too much exposure. In a tongue-in-cheek gesture, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently proposed Mackinac Island as a filming site for HBO's The White Lotus. Though the proposal was half in jest, residents such as Morse fear that fame may bring overtourism, possibly destroying the island's close-knit nature. Mackinac Island's unique car-free highway Eighty percent of the island is preserved as Mackinac Island State Park, providing 70 miles of hiking trails along dense woods and sheer limestone cliffs. Among its most recognizable natural features is Arch Rock, a 50-foot-wide natural rock arch created through centuries of erosion. The island may be toured in several ways: Horse-drawn carriage tours Bicycle rentals (with approximately 1,500 bicycles available) Guided horseback tours Hiking trails that circle around the island's perimeter The island's 8.5-mile highway, a U.S. highway by official designation, is the sole one in America that does not allow cars. It is instead a scenic cycling and walking path with stunning views of Lake Huron and the Mackinac Bridge, a five-mile suspension bridge connecting Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. Mackinac Island way of life Mackinac Islanders adopt a life profoundly connected to nature and neighbors. Year-round bike commuter Morse explains that carelessness enriches everyday existence: "I just love the idea of mounting up my bike and riding down [to the village] through the trees. It puts me in the right mood for the day." This reduced speed creates frequent contact, promoting a close, friendly community. Even during winter, when the island is temporarily isolated by ice floes, a few horses and inhabitants still bring packages, pick up trash, and maintain the island in working order. Vital supplies come through freight ferries when weather allows, and horses are slowly returned in spring from the mainland where they spend the winter. Spring and summer are a riot of color and activity. The Lilac Festival, in June, celebrates the island's famous lilac trees blooming in parades, music, and flower displays. Tourists also crowd picturesque spots like Fort Holmes, the island's highest elevation, to gaze at the night sky beneath a starry Michigan sky. But even amidst the festivity, the island retains a peacefulness rarely found in modern life — free of car horns, engine rumble, and urban sprawl. Also Read |
Indian Express
27-04-2025
- Automotive
- Indian Express
In this American island, why horses rule and cars are banned
In the heart of the US state known for building cars, there's a peaceful little island where motor vehicles are not allowed and horses are everywhere. Mackinac Island in Michigan, often called 'the car capital of the world', has stayed true to a simpler way of life for more than a century. Located in Lake Huron, the island covers just 3.8 square km and has about 600 year-round residents and almost as many horses. Motor vehicles were banned on Mackinac Island around 1898 after a car engine backfired and scared the horses, according to local stories. The island's authorities decided it was best to keep cars away, and the ban soon spread across the whole island. 'Here, horse is king,' Urvana Tracey Morse, a local craft shop owner, told the BBC. She added, 'Part of us just like the tradition that we get around by bike, or we walk or take the horse taxi.' Today, horses are still at the heart of daily life. They deliver mail, transport goods, and even collect rubbish. And in summer, the island's population swells when about 1.2 million visitors arrive by ferry to enjoy the slow-paced lifestyle, scenic views, and famous fudge shops. Mackinac Island also has a rich Indigenous history. As BBC explains, the island was originally called Michilimackinac, meaning 'place of the great turtle' in the Anishinaabemowin language. Indigenous peoples believed the limestone bluffs and forests looked like a turtle rising from the lake. Eric Hemenway, a member of the Anishnaabe community who works to revive Indigenous history on the island, told the BBC, 'Mackinac Island is one of the most important and prominent places in Anishnaabe history and culture.' He added, 'This is one of our most sacred spots on the Great Lakes.' Visitors can explore historic sites like the old British fort where actors dress in historical clothing and fire cannons, or they can rent horses or bikes to travel around the island — since even golf carts are banned. Visitors can hike, bike or take a horse-drawn carriage to Arch Rock. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) Mackinac's famous Grand Hotel, built 138 years ago, boasts the world's longest porch and remains a symbol of the luxurious past when wealthy families from cities like Chicago and Detroit came to spend their summers there. The Michigan governor recently suggested on social media that Mackinac would be a perfect setting for the next season of HBO's The White Lotus. Despite its beauty, locals like Morse worry about the island becoming too popular. 'You're proud of where you live; but at the same time I kind of don't want to tell people how cool it is here,' she said. Eighty per cent of Mackinac Island is now protected as state parkland. Visitors can hike or bike through forests, along cliffs like the impressive 50-foot-wide Arch Rock, or simply relax by the pebbled beaches. Roughly 1,500 bicycles are available for hire but horses still set the rhythm of life. Hunter Hoaglund, who works with a freight company serving the island, summed it up for the BBC: 'Without the horses, this place wouldn't be what it is. It's what makes you feel like you've stepped back in time.' As the lilac trees bloom and the island fills with visitors each spring and summer, Mackinac Island remains a rare place where the pace of life is set by hoofbeats, not car horns.
BBC News
26-04-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
The US island with no cars and one horse for every person
In the midst of "the car capital of the world", there's a serene vehicle-free island home to 600 people, 600 horses and a once-upon-a-time way of life. Home to the "Motor City" of Detroit, where companies like Ford, General Motors and Chrysler originated, the US state of Michigan is often called "the car capital of the world". But off the state's northern coast in Lake Huron is a serene, scenic island that has been luring travellers for hundreds of years – and has banned cars pretty much since they were invented. Welcome to Mackinac Island: a 3.8-sq-km island home to 600 year-round residents, no motorised vehicles and the only US highway where you're not allowed to drive a car. Even golf carts are prohibited on the island's streets, so chances are if you hear a honk or a screech, it's from one of the island's geese or owls. But why the absence of autos? Because as Urvana Tracey Morse, who owns a craft store on the island's main drag, says: "Horse is king here." According to local lore, when a car backfired in 1898, scaring horses nearby, village authorities banned internal combustion engines, a move that was extended to the rest of the island two years later. Ever since, locals have leaned into this tranquil, once-upon-a-time way of life. More than a century later, some 600 horses keep things running here, from the depths of winter to the mad summer rush when roughly 1.2 million people board a 20-minute ferry from Mackinaw City or St Ignace on Michigan's Upper Peninsula and descend on the small village (also called Mackinac Island) on the island's southern tip. There, visitors shop for the village's famous fudge, explore its 70 miles of trails and soak up the clip-clopping sounds of a simpler time. "Horses are used in everything from garbage removal to FedEx deliveries," says Morse, who has been selling scrimshaw, art, jewellery and other merchandise after first visiting as a college student in 1990. "That's how our lifestyle has been; that's how our pace is." "Part of us just like the tradition that we get around by bike, or we walk or take the horse taxi," Morse adds. For hundreds of years, Indigenous communities used the island's strategic location at the confluence of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan as a fishing and hunting ground. They thought its limestone bluffs and green forests resembled a giant turtle rising from the water, so they named it Michilimackinac, or "place of the great turtle" in Anishinaabemowin. British forces shortened the name and established a defensive fort on the island in 1780. Today, visitors can still follow costumed interpreters, experience cannon firings and see an officer's quarters inside the oldest building in Michigan. But more than 200 years after the US took control of Mackinac following the War of 1812, its Indigenous roots remain. "Mackinac Island is one of the most important [and] prominent places in Anishnaabe history and culture," says Eric Hemenway, an Anishnaabe member who has been instrumental in reviving Indigenous history on the island. "The Anishnaabeek people have been at the Straits [the waterways connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan], some say, since time immemorial. And we are still at the place of our ancestors here at the Straits. The waters were, and continue to be, the highways of the Midwest." As Hemenway points out, a large number of Indigenous burial sites have been found on the island – some of which go back roughly 3,000 years. "[Mackinac] is one of our most sacred spots on the Great Lakes," he says. Hemenway has also worked on the development of the Biddle House, which is home to the Mackinac Island Native American Museum that opened in 2021. "My biggest success [metric] is when I see other Native people come through… this is our story," says Hemenway. "[The island has] a touristy perception now, but the layers to this place are there." By the late 19th Century, Mackinac Island had become a playground for wealthy industrialist families from Chicago, Detroit and other parts of the once-thriving Midwest, who flocked to the island in summer to unwind in its pristine waters. More like this:• The only land disputed between the US and Canada• The US island that speaks Elizabethan English• Dearborn, Michigan: A visit to the first Arab-majority city in the US Mackinac's 138-year-old Grand Hotel has individually decorated rooms and claims to have the world's longest porch; it's also one of the last fully functioning hotels from industrial America's Gilded Age. Such is the Grand Hotel's unique appeal that Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer recently took to X to pitch the island as the location for season four of HBO's The White Lotus. While the pitch was playful, Morse is hesitant for Mackinac to become overtouristed. "You're proud of where you live; but at the same time I kind of don't want to tell people how cool it is here," she says. Indeed, this pint-sized island packs a punch. Eighty percent of Mackinac's land area is comprised of Mackinac Island State Park, where visitors can stroll through old-growth forest, admire towering limestone pillars, and hike, bike or hire a horse-drawn carriage to photograph one of the island's most famous attractions – the 50ft-wide Arch Rock. Elsewhere, locals suggest heading north from the island's one village to ramble the 8.5-mile highway turned bike-and-hiking trail that runs the circumference of the island and offers views of the five-mile-long Mackinac suspension bridge and access to quiet pebble-covered beaches and woodlands. Horses aside, the island's 1,500 bikes for hire are the main way residents and visitors get around – a self-propelled mode of transport that suggests Mackinac residents are happy to move at a different pace than the rest of the country. Living in a place without cars is one of the main reasons why Morse, who rides her bike nine months of the year, has decided to live year-round on the island, despite the harsh winters. "I just love the idea of getting on my bike and coming down [to the village] through the trees. It sets me for the day," she says. "You are always greeting and talking to people." But while cycling is the easiest and most popular mode of transport, bikes clearly play a secondary role in powering the island. "Without the horses, this place wouldn't be what it is. It's what makes you feel like you've stepped back in time when you get off the boat and you hear that 'clip-clop'," says Hunter Hoaglund, who works at Arnold Freight, a company that has run a ferry service to the island for 140 years and ships in a herd of its horses that overwinter on Michigan's Upper Peninsula every April. "We have our trucks show up here each day [dropping off the horses], and within the next month we'll probably see 200 to 300 more show up." An estimated 20-30 horses remain on the island during the winter to collect garbage, deliver packages and otherwise keep the island running. Surrounded by crystal-clear water, Mackinac can be periodically cut off from the mainland in winter when ice floes can halt ferry services to or from the island. But in spring and summer, Mackinac comes alive. The dozens of lilac trees dotted along the village streets start to bloom in the lead up to the island's popular 10-day Lilac Festival in June. Stargazers head to Mackinac's Fort Holmes – the highest point on the island – and the Grand Hotel's Cupola Bar for unfiltered views of the northern Michigan night sky. But for most visitors, happily tuckered out after biking around the island, an ice cream or piece of fudge is best enjoyed overlooking the marina. And all without the sound of a car engine to spoil the experience. -- For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
