Mackinac Island State Park

According to the Ojibwa and Odawa Great Lakes Indian tribes, this is where life began. The National Park Service has preserved the legacy of the tribe’s beliefs by protecting the land from damage. One of the fascinating sites will be found 146 feet above the water. The Arch Rock is a natural rock formation spanning fifty feet at its widest point. It took thousands of years for the wind and water to erode the rock and create the arch from the hard breccia rock. The scene is breathtaking and worth the hike on the natural trails to see it. Another geological gem is Sugar Loaf. Sugar Loaf is a breccia formation that rises 75 feet above the ground. The Sugar Loaf formation is Mackinac Island’s largest limestone stack. At one time a huge lake called Lake Algonquin covered all but the center of Mackinac Island and Sugar Loaf was just a small, jutting island cut off from the surrounding land mass. As the water receded, the stack was left standing as a tower of rock. It is just a short hike to see this geological treasure. The shoreline around the island is eight miles and can be traveled by bicycle, on foot or horseback, or by carriage ride.