Mackinac Island Ice Bridge

marty700

Member
Does anyone know if the ice over to Mackinac Island is frozen yet, to the point that the "bridge" is open for snowmobile access to the island?
 

timo

Well-known member
I was wondering the same thing,,, with how warm it was in Jan. i'd be surprised if it was frozen safe for travel
 

picbn

Member
Live camera shot today shows open water as I suspected.
 

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marty700

Member
That photo shows under the suspension bridge - that's the wrong direction. The ice bridge is from St. Ignace pointing north towards the island and doesn't show up in any live feeds. The waters under the suspension bridge are kept open by coast guard ice breakers.
 

mikes99ss

Well-known member
The secret is to follow the Star line ferry company on Facebook. When the ferry stops running to the island the I've bridge isn't far behind
 

marty700

Member
Went up to St. Ignace over the weekend hoping to ride Mackinac Island. Our plan was to take the ferry over to the Island if there was no ice bridge. Even with the cold weather over the last few weeks, (it was near zero for a week at one point) there was NO ice. There wasn't any ice in the bay in St. Ignace. (Apparently, it was very windy during the cold period, no the ice never formed.) We spoke with the ferry boat captain about the snow conditions on the island and he was very frank in his description that the snow cover on the island was very thin, with the streets near the island ferry terminal being completely bare. So, we rode the trails north and west of St. Ignace - once you got a few miles from the lake shore, the trails were fantastic. The John Dee snowcover map was spot on and very helpful in locating where the snow was. Sad that we couldn't ride on the island. We'll give it a try next year. Incidentally, the Star Line ferry folks are super helpful and give great info. They charge $40 round trip per person, and $30 per trip for your sled - so about $100 round trip to get to the island and back if there's no ice. We did this ride several years ago over the "ice bridge" - free is definitely better.
 

vmaxal

Member
Not free even if using an ice bridge. There was a $5 charge/drop box/DNR officer collecting on the island side.
 
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