US island with car ban
(MENAFN) Though Michigan is widely recognized as the birthplace of the U.S. auto industry—with Detroit famously known as the “Motor City”—just off its northern coast lies a small island that has taken the opposite route. Mackinac Island, nestled in Lake Huron, has become a haven of quiet charm by almost entirely banning motorized vehicles for over a century.
Measuring just 3.8 square kilometers, the island is home to about 600 full-time residents and is the only place in the United States where a designated highway does not permit automobile traffic. In fact, even golf carts are not allowed. If you happen to hear any sudden noise, it’s likely coming from local wildlife—like geese or owls—not from a car horn.
What led to this unusual car ban? According to island tradition, a vehicle backfired in 1898, spooking nearby horses. In response, village officials prohibited motor vehicles. Two years later, the restriction was extended across the entire island. Since then, residents have fully embraced a quieter, slower pace of life, largely centered around horse-drawn transportation.
“Horse is king here,” says Urvana Tracey Morse, owner of a craft shop on the island’s main street.
Today, approximately 600 horses support daily life year-round on the island, whether hauling visitors, pulling delivery wagons, or performing essential services. This lifestyle holds steady through the island’s snowy winters and peaks in the summer months, when around 1.2 million tourists arrive via a short ferry ride from Mackinaw City or St. Ignace on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Once visitors land at the southern tip of the island, also named Mackinac Island, they can stroll through the historic village, browse shops for locally made fudge, or wander the island’s 70 miles of scenic trails—all to the rhythmic sound of horses’ hooves.
“Horses are used in everything from garbage removal to FedEx deliveries,” Morse says. “That's how our lifestyle has been; that's how our pace is.”
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