Mackinac Island, Michigan fall foliage

Mackinac Island sits in the Straits of Mackinac between Michigan’s two peninsulas, and more than 80 percent of the island is a state park. Cars have been banned on the island since 1898, so it is best explored on foot, by bike, or by horse-drawn carriage. Arch Rock, a natural limestone arch high above the water, looks out over Lake Huron, and trails through the island’s interior wind through the forest to old fort sites and lookouts.

Around the island, M-185 runs about 8 miles along the shoreline; it is the only state highway in the country where motor vehicles aren’t allowed, so it’s a walk or a bike ride rather than a drive. On the mainland, the Mackinac Bridge spans about five miles across the straits, and to the south, M-119, known as the Tunnel of Trees, follows the Lake Michigan shore between Cross Village and Harbor Springs under a canopy of hardwoods.