Bicycle Street Inn
Thirty rooms in the heart of Mackinac village — walking distance to the ferry, fudge shops, the fort.
A 30-room inn in the heart of Mackinac Island village, on Main Street between the ferry dock and Fort Mackinac. There are no cars on Mackinac Island, by 1898 ordinance, so the "Bicycle Street" of the name is the working name of Main Street itself — bikes, horses, and the occasional carriage are the traffic. The inn is a working-island operation, family-run, walking distance to the ferry, the fudge shops, and the fort.
If you've been to Mackinac, you walked past it. If you haven't, this is the simple pick — fewer airs than the Grand Hotel, more centrally located than the bluff inns.
The setting
Mackinac Island sits in the Straits of Mackinac, between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, accessible only by ferry from Mackinaw City or St. Ignace (15-minute crossing). The Bicycle Street Inn occupies a stretch of Main Street near the ferry docks, with the village's restaurants, fudge shops, and the start of the M-185 island-perimeter road right outside the door.
There are no cars. The transportation is bicycle, horse-drawn carriage, or feet. The island's perimeter is 8.2 miles — bike it.
The building
A clapboard inn building with a covered front porch facing the harbor — the kind of late-1800s-style commercial architecture that defines Mackinac village. Public rooms include a fireplaced lobby, a breakfast room, and the porch (the actual social space). Materials are clapboard, painted wood, with refined-Americana touches. The aesthetic is restrained — green shutters, white painted siding, the right hint of period feel.
The rooms
Thirty rooms across two floors and a few outbuildings. Categories include standard kings and queens, harbor-view rooms (the booking), and suites with sitting rooms. Beds are kings or queens; bathrooms are tile, refreshed. Some rooms have private balconies overlooking Main Street and the harbor. From-rates open around $295 in season; the harbor-view suites run higher.
Food & drink
There's no restaurant on-site. A continental breakfast is served in the breakfast room. For dinner, the village's restaurants are within five minutes' walk: Pink Pony, Carriage House at the Hotel Iroquois, Yankee Rebel Tavern, Mary's Bistro Draught House. The Grand Hotel's dining room is across the island and requires a planning effort.
On the property
A small lobby and the front porch. There's no pool, no spa, no gym. The island is the program: the perimeter trail (M-185), Arch Rock, Fort Mackinac, the ride to Mission Point.
- Continental breakfast included
- Harbor-view porch
- Walking distance to ferry dock, fort, fudge shops
- Bicycle storage
- Seasonal — generally May through October
Who it's for
- Travelers doing Mackinac who want a central village location
- Families who'll bike the island and want a no-car base
- Couples who'd rather skip the Grand Hotel's dress code
- Anyone for whom "no cars on the island" is the appeal
Who it's not for
- Travelers needing a pool, gym, or full-service hotel program
- Anyone who needs to drive a car around the island
- Pet owners (verify policy with the front desk)
Nearby
Fort Mackinac, the original 1780s British and American fort, is a five-minute walk uphill. The Grand Hotel — the famous bluff hotel and the whole reason most people know Mackinac — is fifteen minutes' walk west, with its 660-foot porch open to non-guests with a fee. Arch Rock is along the M-185 perimeter trail. Mission Point Resort is a fifteen-minute bike ride east. Mackinac Island State Park covers most of the island; rangers run guided programs from the fort.
