Take the Mighty Walk

The Mighty Mac. The world's largest suspension bridge in North America, third largest in the world, once a year opens to pedestrian traffic.

Every Labor Day, thousands gather for the Mackinac Bridge Walk, crossing the bridge and traversing the Straits of Mackinac that separate Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas.

While Labor Day is the only day during the year that pedestrians can walk across the four-lane Mackinac Bridge, automobile traffic is limited to one lane in each direction.

The Mackinac Bridge Walk tradition started in 1959. Each year, the walk draws between 50,000 and 65,000 people who walk the length of the Mackinac Bridge.

The walkers are traditionally led across by the Governor of Michigan, currently the Honorable Jennifer M. Granholm. The walk goes to St. Ignace in the Upper Peninsula continues and almost four miles across the Mighty Mac. Walkers receive “Certificates of Completion” upon arriving in Mackinac City.

In 2003 Governor Jennifer Granholm jogged across the five-mile span giving birth to a new tradition, The Governor’s Labor Day Bridge Run, a non-competitive run of about five miles. The run is limited to 300 participants, selected from a lottery drawing.