Michigan

Michigan's National Park Service sites had 2,733,936 visits in 2025. More than nine in ten went to two lakeshores: Sleeping Bear Dunes on Lake Michigan and Pictured Rocks on Lake Superior. Isle Royale, the state's one national park, is an island in Lake Superior that had 29,091.

Mackinac Island, where motor vehicles are kept out, and Detroit's Motown Museum and The Henry Ford fill out most trips. We read the figures below on 27 October 2026 on the National Park Service's pages, Mackinac State Historic Parks', the Mackinac Bridge Authority's, the ferry operators' and museums' own sites, federal regulations and NOAA's normals.

Why can't a visitor from abroad buy a Michigan park's annual pass?

A Michigan park's own annual pass is sold only to US citizens and residents. The $45 passes at Sleeping Bear Dunes and Pictured Rocks and the $60 Isle Royale Season Pass all say so. None of the three parks is on the 2026 list of eleven that add $100 per non-resident. A visitor from abroad pays the same 7-day or daily fee as anyone else.

Two adults from abroad in one car pay $50 for Sleeping Bear and Pictured Rocks together. The $250 non-resident America the Beautiful pass does not pay off on those two alone. It only starts to earn its price on Isle Royale, where it waives the $7 daily fee for the holder and up to three adults.

The Park Service's other two Michigan sites, River Raisin National Battlefield Park and Keweenaw National Historical Park, had 133,643 and 35,489 visits. The parks' fee-free days, 27 October among them, have applied to US residents only since 2026. Our guide to national park fees for international visitors explains the surcharge and the passes.

When does Isle Royale close for the winter?

Isle Royale National Park closes on 1 November, four days after we checked it on 27 October 2026, and stays shut until 15 April. The closure, which the park puts down to extreme winter weather, extends 4.5 miles out into Lake Superior.

Isle Royale's opening date is not the date you can reach it. The park is open from 16 April, but its public ferries and seaplane run only from the middle of May until September, by the park's own directions.

The Queen IV's 2026 season ended on 30 September and the Voyageur II's regular season on 24 September. In October only a private boat or seaplane reaches the island. Of the 29,091 visits in 2025, 69 came in April and 9 in October, while June to August took 82%.

Lake Superior's weather can delay or cancel the ferries. On the island, cell service is unreliable, any signal may come from a Canadian tower, and there is no public Wi-Fi. The entrance fee is $7 per person per day, by card only, counting both the day you arrive and the day you leave. Children 15 and under pay nothing, and Rock Harbor Lodge and its stores still take cash.

Which boats and seaplanes cross to Isle Royale from Michigan?

Michigan has three crossings to Isle Royale: the Park Service's ship Ranger III from Houghton, the Isle Royale Queen IV from Copper Harbor, and a seaplane from Hubbell. All three carry people only, so the car stays on the mainland.

Ranger III generally sails out on Tuesdays and Fridays and back on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The park runs no one-day round trips on it, so the ship means at least one night on the island. Its schedule page already shows the 2027 season, late May to early September.

The Queen IV runs day trips that leave about three hours ashore, and its 2026 season ran from 11 May to 30 September. Its sources disagree on the crossing. The park gives 3½ hours in one place and "a little over three hours" in another, and the operator says about 3 hours 45 minutes. Copper Harbor is 52 miles north of Houghton, with no bus.

Two adults on a Queen IV day trip pay $350 in fares and $14 in entrance fees, $364 in all. The shortest Ranger III trip, out on a Tuesday and back on Wednesday, costs two adults $320 in fares and $28 in fees, because both days count.

The seaplane typically flies from mid-May to mid-September, and the park warns that its delays can occasionally stretch over several days. The park says United flies daily to Houghton County Memorial Airport, 8 miles north of Houghton; the airport itself says 4 miles.

How hard is the Dune Climb at Sleeping Bear?

The Dune Climb at Sleeping Bear Dunes starts as a 284-foot wall of sand. The walk on to Lake Michigan is the park's most strenuous hike. From the top of the second hill it is still 1½ miles up and down across five big dunes to the lake. The park says most people need about three hours and should carry two litres of water each, and pets are not allowed.

Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive is a 7.4-mile one-way loop with 12 stops, and about two hours if you stop at each. It is open to cars generally from late May until late October, and on foot only in winter. On 26 October 2026 the park listed the drive still open, with autumn colour past peak in some areas. The limit is 20 mph and trailers are not allowed.

The two Manitou Islands, offshore, are closed to visitors until dock works there are finished. Hunting is permitted inside the Lakeshore under state law from 14 September 2026 to 1 January 2027. The car fee is $25 for seven days, and the park takes no cash anywhere.

Which Pictured Rocks roads stay open in winter?

Sand Point Road is the only road plowed inside Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, which gets more than 15 feet of snow each winter. From 1 December to 31 March the other park roads become snowmobile trails, closed to every other vehicle. H-58, the main road, is plowed only from Munising east to Adams Trail.

Pictured Rocks Cruises leaves the city dock at the north end of Elm Avenue in Munising for about 40 miles along the cliffs and back. The trip takes 2 to 2½ hours and runs from mid-May to mid-October, according to the Park Service's page for its concessioner. We could not read the operator's own site, so we give no fares.

On 27 October 2026 the park's alert said the Munising Falls Trail was closed until further notice. About 75 feet of paved trail had washed out on 28 April. The alert gives no year. GPS is unreliable here, so the park asks drivers to route to "Munising Falls Visitor Center" or 1505 Sand Point Road rather than the park's name. Its fee machines take cards only, and the park suggests downloading a pass before you arrive.

Why can't you drive on Mackinac Island?

Mackinac Island keeps motor vehicles out of its State Park, which covers more than 80% of the island. Mackinac State Historic Parks says their absence is what keeps the historic character of this National Historic Landmark. State law also forbids e-bikes in the State Park and the City without authorization, with narrow exceptions for people with disabilities.

Visitors get around on 70.5 miles of signed roads and trails, on foot, by bike, by rented horse or buggy, or by horse-drawn taxi. The State Park was established in 1895, after twenty years as Mackinac National Park, the country's second national park. We could not read the City's own ordinance, so we give no date for its rule.

Shepler's ended its 2026 season on 31 October, when it charged $39 per adult round trip plus a $2 booking fee per ticket from Mackinaw City and St. Ignace. Its crossings take 16 to 26 minutes; the longer ones pass under the bridge. Since 1 November only Arnold Transit's winter service has run, from St. Ignace only, and its fares were not readable on its site.

Fort Mackinac is closed for the 2026 season and reopens on 30 April 2027, when an adult ticket costs $18. The island's airport is open all year and is its only link with the mainland in the coldest months.

What does the Mackinac Bridge toll cost?

The Mackinac Bridge toll is $4.00 for a car, van, SUV, pick-up or motorcycle. Drivers pay at booths that take cash, cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Cards carry a 2.3% fee, so cash is the cheaper way across.

The Mackinac Bridge is 26,372 feet long, about 5 miles, with a main span of 3,800 feet and towers 552 feet above the water. It carries I-75 from Mackinaw City to St. Ignace and opened to traffic on 1 November 1957. The Bridge Authority calls it the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere.

Pedestrians and cyclists cannot cross on their own. The Authority's transport service, which runs around the clock, drives them over for $5, or $15 with a bicycle.

What do the Motown Museum and The Henry Ford charge?

The Motown Museum, in the Hitsville U.S.A. building at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, costs $20 for an adult. Admission is by guided tour only, lasting about an hour, and tours may sell out. The museum opens Wednesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Henry Ford, in Dearborn, charges $34 to $39 for the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, depending on the date. A $10 parking fee is added to each online order. The museum opens daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Greenfield Village was closed for the season when we checked, and the Ford Rouge Factory Tour costs $24.

Windsor, in Canada, faces Detroit across the Detroit River. Visa Waiver travellers must hold an approved ESTA before they re-enter the United States by land, under federal rule 8 CFR 217.5. Canada's border agency tells international travellers to carry a passport and says they may need a visa or an eTA, depending on how they travel. We could not confirm Canada's rule for arrivals by car. Our ESTA guide explains the application.

How far is Detroit from Sleeping Bear and the Isle Royale boats?

Detroit is about 269 road miles from Sleeping Bear Dunes and about 548 from the Ranger III dock at Houghton, a full day's drive. Pictured Rocks and Isle Royale lie beyond the Mackinac Bridge, in the Upper Peninsula.

The distances are our own routing, which ran within about 10% of the Park Service's figures where both exist; border queues are not included. The park puts Houghton 250 miles west of the Mackinac Bridge and 400 miles from Chicago. Detroit Metropolitan Airport is about 22 miles from downtown Detroit, half an hour by our routing. We could not read the airport's own site, so this page lists none of its routes.

How much snow falls between Detroit and Marquette?

Snow at NOAA's station at the Marquette weather office averages 196.8 inches a year, more than four times the 45.0 inches at Detroit Metro. Grand Rapids sits between them at 77.6 inches. The Marquette station stands inland at 1,411 feet, so it reads colder and snowier than the town on the lakeshore.

Lake-effect snow forms when cold air, often from Canada, crosses open water. The National Weather Service calls it common across the Great Lakes in late autumn and winter. The snow falls in narrow bands that can drop 2 to 3 inches an hour. A mile or two away, the sun may be shining.

The table gives NOAA's 1991 to 2020 average highs and lows. NOAA publishes no snow normal for Traverse City, the nearest station to Sleeping Bear. At the Marquette office snow falls in every month from September to May, 42.1 inches of it in January. Sleeping Bear is busiest in July and Pictured Rocks in August, and all three parks are near-empty from November to April.

Which Michigan counties are on Central Time?

Gogebic, Iron, Dickinson and Menominee, four Upper Peninsula counties on the Wisconsin border, are on Central Time under federal rule 49 CFR 71.5. The rest of Michigan is on Eastern Time, including Houghton, Copper Harbor, Marquette, Munising and Mackinac. The Park Service prints the Ranger III departure as 9:00 a.m. Eastern, 8:00 a.m. Central, and Michigan's clocks went back an hour on 1 November 2026.

Michigan's sales-tax and hotel-tax rates are missing from this page because every page of the state's website, michigan.gov, refused our connections on 27 October 2026. The legislature's site did not answer either. We print rates only from the source that sets them, so they are left out, and so is the price of the Recreation Passport for Michigan's state parks. Our guide to sales tax in the USA explains why prices are shown before tax.