An institution of the “Up North” experience, making the trip to Mackinac Island seems like a must. Settled between the upper and lower peninsulas, where the air smells sweet with caramel popcorn and fudge, the island is reminiscent of a dream. I recently traveled back to one of Michigan’s most recognizable destinations to see if Mackinac Island was as wondrous as I remembered.

Coming from southern Michigan, even making the drive to Mackinac, provided there’s not infuriating amounts of weekend traffic and construction on I-75 or 131, is really beautiful. The ups and downs of the road increase and lend themselves to breathtaking views of the much greener landscape.

The approach to Mackinaw City – seeing the bridge and all the billboards for Shepler’s and Arnold’s ferry services – is fairly epic. The Mackinac Bridge, absolutely and undoubtedly a modern marvel, ascends into the skyline. It’s difficult not to be impressed. My friends and I, in the true spirit of the adventure, decided to cross the bridge ($3.00 one way for one car when we crossed) and go to Mackinac via St. Ignace, the first and last (only joking) civilization in the upper peninsula.

Taking the Star Line ferry ($25.00 per round trip ticket without a bike) from St. Ignace seemed much less busy than I presume it would’ve been at 10:00 a.m. on a Saturday in Mackinaw City. The ferry ride is fairly short – 15 minutes or so – and you’re treated to some spectacular views of the Bridge and the Island, especially the legendary Grand Hotel.

Downtown Mackinac Island is nearly overwhelming. It is crowded, full of cyclists and pedestrians used to the comfortable organization of stoplights and automobiles. There is a very festive air surrounding downtown however. Every fudge shop – May’s, Murdick’s, Kilwin’s, Ryba’s – all claim to be first. We sampled from almost every shop, and they all win first prize for deliciousness. Some places have ice cream, some have chocolates, some have saltwater taffy, some have an obscene amount of fudge varieties. I believe it was Joann’s that had flavors that included Butterfinger and Kahlua.

Mackinac Island is the embodiment of “tourist-topia.” It overwhelms me to even attempt to describe what there is to see and buy. Let’s make it simple: there’s everything. That makes it easier. The shopping is fun if you don’t mind navigating crowds, and there are some legitimately interesting and cooky shops to poke around in. If you don’t find a souvenir here, you’re never finding one.

There are approximately 150,000 places from which you can rent a bicycle on Mackinac Island. And it is imperative that you rent a bicycle or tandem. The easy, eight-mile ride around the island has been a staple of the Mackinac experience since forever. Most vendors require a deposit. If you use your credit card, this is no problem as they just take the information and then tear it up when you return your rentals. If you’re using cash, we passed a few places that offered no deposit rentals. Most shops charged about $5 per hour for a single speed bicycle.

We got excellent service where we eventually stopped to rent a bike. Everyone was friendly, sociable and helpful. We chose our particular shop because they rented Schwinn’s. We paid $6 per hour to rent 7-speed bikes. The bikes rode beautifully and the attached baskets were really helpful. In the end, we paid $20 for more than three hours of biking fun.

In contrast to our bike experience, lunch was a bit of a disaster. The service was terrible and it was only 11 a.m. On the other hand, the food was decent and less overpriced than, say, Cedar Point. I paid about $8, plus tip, for a large club sandwich, potato chips and a pickle. You could easily alleviate this expense by packing your own lunch. I won’t mention the name of the restaurant for the entire world to see, because I understand that there are perfectly legitimate and unlucky reasons for getting terrible service. If you’re desperate to avoid such a place, e-mail me.

As advertised, the bike trip around the island is fantastic, and really makes the entire experience. For somewhere around $8 you can bring your own bike to the island – you can do the math on the potential savings. My friends and I rode for barely a mile before feeling compelled to stop and scope out the picturesque albeit rocky beaches. The water was crystal clear. Overall, the ride was composed of gentle inclines and declines flanked by water or greenery on either side and filled with many Kodak-inspired reasons to stop along the way. There was a fair bit of traffic, but it was navigable.

Among the sites to stop for along the way, Arch Rock, near the second mile marker should not be missed. The stairs are not for the faint of heart, but the view is spectacular and the rock formation is impressive. Halfway around the island are bathrooms and a snack stop called Cannonball which boasts “famous” deep fried pickles – we just had root beer.

Another highlight of our trip was simply lounging on the pristine lawn in front of Fort Mackinac (which is not free so we opted out). As if the soft lawn and postcard view aren’t perfect enough on a bright sunny day, the abundant lilac bushes were still in bloom as well.

There were many island experiences on the island we missed including the Butterfly House, carriage rides, wandering up to the Grand Hotel, going for a hike, or immersing ourselves in the storied history of the island best appreciated by visiting the fort.

All in all, Mackinac Island seems like a place taken from a book: so well-trimmed and pristine that it’s borderline cheesy. However, my friends and I really appreciated the vacation-esque qualities of the beach – the views, the water and warm rocks and greenscapes. You’ll spend $50 plus, not including gas, to have a non-frugal, yet modest, Mackinac Island adventure. By far, the best part about the island is that such a sense of adventure, festiveness and awe are not at all lost on adults who remember the same fun feeling from when they were kids.