Wondrous West Bluff Cottages: A Mackinac Island Self Guided Tour
- 0.8–1 hour
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
Mackinac Island's West Bluff is one of the Midwest's finest collections of Victorian architecture, built by industrialists escaping the heat and grime of post-Civil War cities. On this self-guided walking tour, you'll trace the stories behind eleven of these grand cottages, from the lumber barons and meat-packers who built them to the governors and immigrants who shaped their legacy. The tour starts at the Walter C. Newberry Cottage, the first home past the Grand Hotel. You'll walk along the bluff, passing Queen Anne turrets, wraparound verandas, and shingle-style facades, while hearing how wealthy families competed for leases on this National Park land starting at just $25 a year. Along the way, you'll discover how business partnerships, family dynasties, and architectural rivalries played out side by side on this single stretch of shoreline.
Inclusions
What's included
- Directions to the starting point so that when you're in the right place, the tour will start
- Lifetime access to this tour in English before your booking date and after it
- Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
- App for Android and iOS
- Flexibility to explore at your own pace with a self-guided GPS tour
What's not
- Smartphone and headphones
- Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour
- Food and drink
- Transportation
Itinerary
You'll pass by the Grand Hotel, built in 1887 by the railroad and steamship companies that first brought tourists to the island, before continuing on to the cottages of the West Bluff. Entry to the hotel and its grounds requires a separate admission fee for non-guests and is not included in this tour.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
1.0
- 50
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- 11
Ratings come from 1 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- This tour starts at the Grand Hotel, Grand Avenue. Before arrival, please install the mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- VoiceMap Audio Tours
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- The total tour time includes walking the route and passing by the attractions
How it compares in Mackinaw City
- Its from-price is 39% below the median of the 10 experiences we list in Mackinaw City.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- By number of reviews it ranks 9 of 10.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Mackinaw City
Mackinaw City is a small resort town at the northern tip of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, beside the Mackinac Bridge and the ferries to Mackinac Island.
Mackinaw City stands at the northern tip of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, where Lake Huron and Lake Michigan meet in the Straits of Mackinac. The Mackinac Bridge, a suspension bridge about eight kilometres long opened in 1957, leaps from here to St Ignace in the Upper Peninsula. Colonial Michilimackinac, a reconstructed French fur-trading fort of the 1700s, stands on the shore beside the bridge, with archaeologists often at work.
Special offers in Mackinaw City
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
