You may  have seen the message on the digital highway signs on the expressway...if you plan on heading north on Labor Day weekend, be advised the the Mackinac Bridge will be closed to vehicle traffic from 6:30 am until 12:00 Noon on Labor Day, Monday, September 6th, 2021.

It will be closed to allow walkers on the "Mighty Mac" that morning. With the exception of last year, the bridge walk has been an annual event since 1958. This year will marked the 63rd event. In recent years between 25,000 and 30,000 people have walked the bridge on Labor Day -- the only day out of the year you are allowed to walk on the Mackinac Bridge.

I have walked the Mackinac Bridge several times on Labors Days of the past. The last time I walked across the bridge was with my mother back in 2017. It was something she had on her "bucket list" to do -- so we made it happen.

Scott Winters and his Mom, Gloria
Scott Winters and his mother Gloria (Photo: Townsquare Media)
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They have changed things just a bit since my last walk. In 2018, they made it so that you can now start the walk from either side -- Mackinaw City or St. Ignace (in the past everyone started in St. Ignace).

Here is a video that explains your options to walk the bridge...

The three main options that are described in the video include:

  • Starting from either end of the bridge and walking toward the center, turning around at the midpoint and returning to the city they started from. The turnaround points will move toward the ends of the bridge beginning at 10 am, but walkers can walk at least a portion of the bridge if they start by 11:30 am. Walkers must be on the side of the bridge they wish to return to before 10 am.
  • Walking the entire length of the bridge starting from either end. Those who choose this option must reach the midpoint before 10 am or they will be turned back. Anyone who walks the entire bridge must arrange their own transportation back to the side they started once the bridge reopens to public traffic at noon.
  • Crossing the bridge, starting from either end, and then turning around and walking back to the side they started from. In this option, walkers will need to cross the midpoint on their return trip by 10 am or they will be turned back and need to find their own transportation back across the bridge after it reopens at noon.

If you have never walked the Mackinac Bridge, it definitely is something you should do! It is quite the experience to be standing under the big uprights and looking straight up at them.

 

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