Mackinaw City — There are certainly nicer beaches on Michigan’s Great Lakes, but there’s no swimming spot more iconic than right underneath the Mackinac Bridge.
That’s right—you can swim under the Mackinac Bridge. I’m not talking about swimming alongside the bridge, which runs from Mackinaw City to St. Ignace, because that’s a whole separate thing. The big swim only takes place once a year and is restricted to long-distance swimming beasts.
I’m talking about a leisurely swim with your family right underneath the bridge, where the water is still calm and shallow. Anyone can do that.
There’s a beach right underneath the bridge in Mackinaw City, and while it’s a bit rocky, it’s an incredible experience. You’re not only swimming right below the symbol of our state, you’re also swimming back and forth between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan at the same place. You can stand in the water with one leg in each Great Lake if you want.
And here’s the good news: The window is open right now for you to make this iconic swim.
First, the location.
Head to Mackinaw City and once you get past all the fudge shops and souvenir stands, you’ll find Alexander Henry Park right at the foot of the bridge. You can park right there or in any of the other free public lots nearby. My family prefers Alexander Henry Park because it has bathrooms where you can change into your swimsuit.
From there, It’s an easy walk to the beach. It’s a bit rocky, especially under the bridge, so you’ll want to wear rubber-soled swimming shoes, but it’s as wide-open as can be.
Now for the “window is open right now” part.
You’re only going to want to do this when the water is warm enough, and, as we all know, the water in the Great Lakes can be bone-chillingly cold, especially in Northern Michigan. And since you’ll be doing this swim at the tippy-top of the Lower Peninsula, that water is frigid if not frozen most of the time.
There’s a window, though, when the water underneath the Mackinac Bridge is absolutely perfect, and that window is open right now. From mid-July until early September, the water is about 67 to 73 degrees—perfect for swimming. On the day my family and I went there in mid-August, the water was 72 degrees and beautiful.
You’ll want to check the water temperature online before you go, but you probably have a few days left this summer to experience this iconic adventure. If not, put it on your bucket list for next summer. The window is only open six or seven weeks a year, and you don’t want to miss it.
You’ll want to watch for the other conditions, of course, including the wind, the waves and the undertow. Safety first, Michiganders! If you stay close to shore on a calm day, you should be fine.
Lake Huron meets Lake Michigan at the Straits of Mackinac, and according to the State of Michigan’s official site, the exact location where they meet is under the Mackinac Bridge. You and the kids can have a lot of fun splashing from one Great Lake to another.
There are some who hold the opinion that Lake Huron and Lake Michigan are actually one big lake, because the flow of water under the straits keeps their water levels the same. Blah blah blah. We aren’t going to let those killjoys spoil the moment. We all know there are five Great Lakes, not four.
And you can swim in two of them at the same beach.
My family and I first did the swim back in 2019, and we were among the vast majority that didn’t know you could do this. We were just visiting Mackinaw City and started walking along Alexander Henry Park and realized you could just go underneath the bridge and swim if you wanted to. So we changed into our suits and hopped in, and it was glorious.
I put together a little GoPro video and put it on my Facebook page back then, and when the comments came in, I realized that maybe 99% of people in Michigan had no clue you could swim underneath the Mackinac Bridge.
You can, and you should.
Buddy Moorehouse teaches documentary filmmaking at Hillsdale College.
