Michigan is home to many Pure Michigan Byways which celebrate the state’s outstanding natural beauty and many sites of historical, scenic, recreational and cultural significance. Several of these routes are easily accessible from Mackinaw City, including:
State Scenic Byways:
- M-119 “Tunnel of Trees” (Cross Village / Good Hart)
- US-2 “Top of the Lake Scenic Byway” (St. Ignace to Manistique)
- Tahquamenon (Lake Superior, intersecting with the Whitefish Bay National Forest route)
State Recreation Byways:
- M-23 “Sunrise Coast” (Mackinaw City to Standish, intersecting with the River Road National Scenic Byway – All American Road in Oscoda and along the AuSable River)
- North Huron Recreational Trail (I-75 north of St. Ignace to Drummond Island)
National Forest Scenic Byway:
- Whitefish Bay National Forest (Lake Superior near Paradise, intersecting with the Tahquamenon route.
Download the official tour guide to the Pure Michigan Byways at http://www.michigan.gov/byways.
Did you know the apex of the Dixie Highway, West Michigan Pike and East Michigan Pike all met in Mackinaw City?
“The big feature of the day was the unveiling of the stone monument dedicated to good roads, and marking the union of the East and West Michigan Pikes and the apex of the Dixie Highway. The monument, built of rough stone, is eighteen feet high and about seven feet wide at the base.” – July 14, 1916, Cheboygan Daily Tribune (as included in the award-winning “Vintage Views Along the West Michigan Pike – From Sand Trails to US-31” by M. Christine Byron and Thomas R. Wilson, © 2011).
Unfortunately, the giant stone monument is longer standing but in its place is a giant four-sided clock next to the Dixie Saloon and the Shepler’s Ferry dock.