Why Mackinac Island Is So Cool

Phew! Summer sure does bring the heat! While your air conditioner keeps working hard, you could take a break from the dog days of an Illinois summer in a place with natural AC.

A place surrounded by water.

A place where people enjoy leisurely bike rides in the middle of the day.

A place where you can take a relaxing evening stroll and see a spectacular waterfront sunset without getting covered in a muggy, sticky layer of sweat.

That place is Michigan’s Mackinac Island.

The beauty of summer on Mackinac Island is that it’s neither hot and dry nor cool and wet. It’s the best of everything!

Here are three reasons why Mackinac Island has perfect summer weather:

• Summer days are comfortably warm, not oppressively hot. Mackinac Island is actually closer to the North Pole than to the equator. In fact, more than half of Canadians live farther south than Mackinac Island! Summer temperatures bring daytime highs in the low to mid-70s and nightly lows in the 50s, making the weather on Mackinac Island feel much more like Montreal’s and Toronto’s than Springfield’s or Champaign’s. 

• The water has a cooling effect. Chicagoans know what it’s like to live near a Great Lake. But Mackinac Island is surrounded by one! All that water moderates the heat, making for pleasant sunny days and refreshing summer nights. You should pack as if you’re going on a summer vacation and a spring or fall trip, too. Shorts, sandals, and sunglasses certainly are needed during the day, and you may also want a sweater or jacket in the mornings and evenings.

• There’s an ever-present lake breeze. Unlike parts of Illinois where the summer heat seems to settle in place like a suffocating blanket of thick air, Mackinac Island gets a gentle, revitalizing wind off the lake. 

Now that you know why Mackinac Island is the perfect place to escape the unrelenting heat of summer, it’s time to learn about all there is to see and do there. Mackinac Island is the home of world-famous Mackinac Island fudge, historic Fort Mackinac, and a beautiful state park that first was established as the country’s second national park. Mackinac Island also is car-free, so charming horse-drawn carriages and bicycles are everywhere.

Learn more at mackinacisland.org and come see for yourself how cool Mackinac Island is!