Mackinac Island, MI
Arch Rock
- Getting in
- Arch Rock is explicitly named as Mackinac Island State Park Commission land in the film-and-photography guidelines: "These guidelines are designed for those requesting to film on MSHP sites as well as all land and buildings owned by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission including but not limited to: ... Mackinac Island State Park (including, but not limited to) – Arch Rock". YOUR DATE MAY BE HARDER THAN IT LOOKS: the island has no car access — "Motor vehicles were banned on Mackinac Island in 1898." — so everything hinges on the ferry schedule, and MSHP's staffed season is limited: "MSHP's sites are open from early-May through mid-October. Scouting and/or filming on site before or after this time is discouraged due to limited staff and non-winterized buildings. Off-season requests will be reviewed individually and must be made at least a week in advance." (all https://www.mackinacparks.com/about/media/film-and-photography-guidelines-2/)
How private it is
We haven’t rated privacy here yet.
Where to eat, drink and stay nearby
The moment is the fixed point; these are the hours either side of it. Real places in Mackinac Island, drawn from our destination catalog — not ranked, not sponsored, and not described by anything other than the catalog’s own words.
Dinner after
The Jockey Club
American · $$$$
Lake-view fine dining at Grand Hotel
Doud's Market deli + lawn picnic
Picnic · $$
Pack lunch for the bluffs
Woods Restaurant
Fine dining / wild game · $$$$
A Tudor hunting lodge on Cudahy Circle, inland from the harbor, cooking Midwest heritage ingredients and wild game. Published entrees run $42 to $78; dinner nightly mid-May through late October.
A quiet drink
Cupola Bar
rooftop-bar · $$$
The bar at the top of Grand Hotel, 180 degrees of the Straits of Mackinac and the bridge from the fifth and sixth floors. Published hours run noon to 1am daily, May 1 through October 25.
Baroque
cocktail-bar · $$$$
A small bar beside Grand Hotel's Parlor built around brown spirits — whiskies and cognacs — with an elevated wine list and small plates. Published hours run 11am to midnight daily, May 2 through October 25.
Where to stay
Grand Hotel
resort
Iconic 1887 porch + jacket-required dining
Inn-at-Stonecliffe 5BR
house
Private cliff-side estate
The morning after
Bike the 8-mile loop
biking
Lakeshore loop with Arch Rock + cliffs
Horse-drawn carriage tour
tour
No cars allowed — horses are the transit
Shows the city and roughly when to keep free. Never the place, and never the word.
Source: www.mackinacparks.com · confirmed 2026-08-06. Places change — check before you build a trip you cannot move.