Photo by the Mackinaw Area Visitors Bureau
Whether it is spelled Mackinaw as in Mackinaw City or Mackinac as in Mackinac Island, they are pronounced the same way: Mack-i-naw. Why? It is because of the area’s rich history with the Native Americans, French, and British.
The area was named Michilimackinac by the Native Americans and when the French built a fort here in 1715, they recorded the name with a “c” on the end as a French word with an “aw” sound would be pronounced. Many guests to the area mispronounce Mackinac by saying “Mack-i-nack.” The “c” on the end of this word is instead pronounced as “aw.”
The word became shortened to Mackinac. The fort was moved on the winter ice to the island across the straits which became known as Mackinac Island.
Edgar Conkling was the founder of the city in 1857 and he changed the name to Mackinaw to reflect how the word actually sounds. Thus, in this part of Michigan, there is Mackinac Island, the Mackinac Bridge, the Straits of Mackinac, Mackinaw City, and the Icebreaker Mackinaw and they are all pronounced the same way: Mack-i-naw. There is no Nack in Mackinaw or “aw”! Pronounce it Mack-i-knack and you’ll give yourself away as a tourist who doesn’t know how to pronounce the place that you’re visiting…..
The Headlands, just west of Mackinaw City, is one of six International Dark Sky Parks in the U.S. and one of nine in the world.
Beaver Island is located 32 miles offshore of Charlevoix, Michigan and is the largest island in Lake Michigan.
This 28-mile scenic highway running between Atwood and Boyne Falls known as the Breezeway draws visitors because it is gorgeous.
Northern Michigan has many varied settings for kayaking- whether it by river, one of the inland lakes, or Lake Michigan,
The arts, history and many types of entertainment in Northern Michigan mean visitors can enjoy fabulous music, theatre, and culture.
The history of the fur trade in Northern Michigan is captured at Colonial Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City.