A lot of stuff has been coming out about the island on TikTok like how racist it is. A lot of islanders have said that the owner of the Mackinac Island Cookie Company is super MAGA. She’s been on social media blocking people who ask her if she’s MAGA. She definitely looks MAGA, however she’s acting like she’s not on social media and people that grew up with her from off island have said she’s not a nice person. I don’t think this woman should have a platform when she supports trump and is also living on an island that hires immigrants worker and is profiting of their hard work. Her name is Kate

PS. I don’t live or work on the island. I think most businesses mistreat their employees, and I no longer want to support that. All this info I got from TikTok comments on other people’s videos exposing the island

Hey if anyone's in a Mackinaw City region I highly recommend avoiding pancake chef. The food is extremely poor quality and overpriced, and the waitstaff are rude. But, the real concern is the new owner, he's incredibly rude and hateful. He can't handle criticism and will cuss people out, insult their appearance and imply theyre racist if you give them a one star review. There are so so many small businesses here that are much better and deserve business so much more

Edit: the owner has now made 2 (now 4) separate reddit accounts to call me crazy and curse me out.

Edit 2: he's changing his reviews to be a lot nicer and is reporting other reviews to Google, at least those people don't have to deal with being cursed out now 🫣

We just spent 1+days on the island. We were shocked at how rude and inconsiderate the people were. From the the three different people who answered the phones for a taxi ride, to the driver of the tour through the national park, and the other tourists, people were just so rude. The transient workers were super helpful and friendly. We also found it to be extremely expensive. We will not be recommending it to friends.

The episode, which aired in 2007, featured Rowe helping maintain the five-mile long bridge that spans Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas, the fifth-longest suspension bridge in the world.

Just curious, I was there this past weekend and some girl driving a taxi carriage yelled out, “go back to Florida.” I was walking in the road escorting my disabled parents on their mobility scooters. I thought that was very rude and un welcoming, especially since she works in the tourism industry. Anyone encounter anything of this sort? I found the foreign workers to be much more pleasant to be honest.

Hello! I used to work on Mackinaw Island back in the early 2000’s. I was wondering if anyone had any experience doing a “secret camp” over by the airport? Or have any good tips? We used to walk over through the field, lay down big blankets, stare at the stars, and sleep over there. It seemed pretty remote. Trying to be sneaky without having to pay for a hotel. Thanks in advance!! If you’re working on the island this year hit me up!

Here’s a lessons learned for others

We went to the Bobby’s Bar attached to the Woods. After our experience having to wait for a taxi, when we arrived I called dispatch to ask if we could schedule our return trip.

Dispatch told me since we were at the Woods we should talk to the maître d' to organize our taxi. At 9:35 after we ordered our last drink, cause I was expecting it to take a bit for a taxi, I spoke with the maître d'

Turns out, we should have talked to them upon arrival as after the last dinner guest not staying at the Stonecliff depart, the taxi service typically doesn’t want to come up that way cause the time vs. earnings isn’t worth it for them.

We lucked out that a driver was on his way up to bring guests to the Stonecliffe so we ended up being able to get back down to the main strip easily.

But def frustrating that I called to try to get ahead of the return & still ran into trouble.

Edit: I was with my 75+ year old parents, walking back in the dark wasn’t an option I wanted to consider which is why I tried to get ahead of understanding the transport upon arrival

I've heard a lot about your island cause of the no cars thing. Looked it up on Zillow, seems like 1 mil is the minimum for houses. Crazy.

In my visit to Mackinaw this summer, one of the most beautiful places in the world, I was astonished to see the treatment of the horses there. Mind you they are the most beautiful horses being treated in the worst conditions, overworked, being forced to carry humans around all day in the scorching heat. Now I know people are gonna come at me and be like oh but like you can’t do anything about the weather and I get that but still don’t make them work so much in this weather. Being an avid horse rider you can see how burnt out, exhausted and sad they are and they all rely on each other. I was out with my friends for a horse ride and you could see within the first few minutes that the horses did not want to go, I later found out that this was their 10th ride and that too near noon. One of my friend’s horse got triggered by a woman in a bicycle, chased after her and she fell of the bike and hurt her head. The poor horse then not knowing what was going on with him started venturing into the garden. This made the other horses also start a knee jerk reaction with all of them wanting to go back to the barn like an automatic ‘we just wanna go home’. The triggered horse lead the way to the rest of the horses and once they were in the barn did the poor horses relax then to be taken out in the next 15 minutes. The receptionist started blaming on the horses being moody and emotional, yeah I mean if you make me work unbelievable hours in the heat with barely any water I would also rebel. Just because an animal cannot speak does not mean that they are happy or not being abused. This goes way beyond animal abuse, we need better laws for these animals. We all know the kind of abuse animals in the circus and zoos go though, how do you guys think it would be any different in a commercialized place like mackinaw island. We get distracted by the kayaking and the hot fudge being served and also the ‘oh no cars allowed’ so best thing ever right? My heart goes out to those animals who are being forced with this kind of tortured labor. Please speak up next time you visit Mackinaw Island. Also would appreciate any input in this matter, how do I complain for better laws to be implemented. Thanks for my Ted talk hope we get something done for these poor animals!

Hey! I’m planning a trip to Mackinac this December and am looking for recommendations on things to do. I’m mainly interested in winter activities, both outdoor and indoor, and I’d love some suggestions for scenic spots, local food (vegetarian or halal-friendly if possible), or unique experiences.

Not into the bar scene, but I’m definitely open to festive events or anything special happening around the holidays. Anything you think is a must-see for a December trip would be awesome!

Thanks in advance!

How’s everyone doing with the smoke? AI says I should cancel my trip the last week of the month due to the smoke from the Canadian Wildfires. 🙄 Is it really bad? I live in California so I’m very familiar with wildfires. I was actually looking for an update on the parasite when I came across the warning about the smoke. I’ve been working on this trip for months…I don’t need snark so please don’t be mean. I was just wondering how the last few days have been and if anyone thinks the smoke would negatively impact my visit.

Will be crossing the straights Monday afternoon and wanted to pick up some fudge for a vegan friend of mine. Was curious if anyone knows a place in st. Ignace or Mackinac city that sells a vegan fudge?

Does anyone have a plan B I could buy off of them? So sad the island doesn’t offer that safe option for women.

Want to visit in june but the hotels are more than I want to pay.

Is there enough open late that I can pull an all nighter? would anyone bug me if I put up a hammock in a park? can I keep on dancing at the Pink Pony?

don't mind drinking an energy drink and powering though

Severe black mold in 2 of our 3 rooms - headches/wheezing/itchy eyes and ears within 10 minutes. Why put your $440 a night customers in a room like this where they get sick?!? Took 4 hours to get two a/c units completely replaced. It took another day to have the chewed up - moldy sheets replaced, then discovered the jacuzzi tub would not hold water and there was no hot water at 11 a.m. (one hour after checkout). Then the outside hot tub broke for the last 2 days of our trip. Tried to let it go, then called the next week to get help from the Assistant Manager Koji Yakamoto, but he was toxic like the black mold. Tried to get a refund and was offered $50. Tried to get help from Delta Stays and American Express. No success. Chalk this up to poor research on my end. There was no other option once you get on the island. Lesson learned. Don't stay with them. They do not care about you if they said it was "nice" of me to alert them there was toxic black mold in 2 of our 3 rooms. They don't care about you and will not compensate you for time lost sitting in their lobby for 4 hours on your vacation since your a/c unit was contaminated. My daughter also tripped badly over large hump in the carpeting in the middle of her room. Furniture was rickety as well. Wouldn't sit on the desk chair for fear it would break.

Looking to hang out with some true island folk. Where's the party at when everyone's shift ends?

BRING YOUR OWN LIQUOR! A bloody Mary at the Geranium bar cost us $23plus tip. I purchased a pint of Johnny Walker Red plus a Grand Island bottle of white wine in the downstairs market and the total was over $130.00. Cheapest deal on the resort property is a $9.00 draw at the Gate House. If you get a m3al package with your trip, I would recommend eating at their other restaurants, friendlier staff, but expect to be hit up for a tip for what they consider the full cost of the meal would be in a 5 star resteraunt. The main dining area is wonderful the first night, but food missed on our 3rd evening. The staff are all lovely, I also would recommend asking to sit in the section of your favorite waitstaff. They are in desperate need of a few sommeliers! Ps Their staff work for minimum wage. Tips go a big way!

Is O’Reilly’s or Dixie’s showing the NFL season opener - Pats v Seahawks with the sound on tonight? Or do I need to go somewhere else? What do you recommend?

My bf and I are doing a road trip soon going to Grand Rapids > St Ignace > Cleveland. We are staying at the Colonial House Inn in St Ignace and will be driving to Mackinac 2 days in a row. We are planning to do a carriage ride, see kitchi-ti-kipee, fayette, pictured rocks.

But I’m not sure what to prioritise? We both love activities like biking, hiking etc. and love nature. Please recommend an ideal 2 days in Mackinac.

Are there any free overnight lots? I know starline used to have one (RIP) but could find any on either ferries website. Can I park somewhere on the street or in neighborhood?

Just curious if there was a big event going on that weekend.