Mackinac Island’s East Bluff is home to some of the island’s most elegant summer cottages, where prominent families have retreated for over a century.

On this self-guided audio tour, you’ll hear how the area earned its reputation as “the quiet bluff” as you stroll past a collection of private Victorian and Edwardian homes.

Starting outside the Michigan Governor’s summer residence, this leisurely walk covers just over a mile through scenic roads. You’ll pass charming cottages. Each home tells a different storey about island life. Among them is the summer retreat for the groundbreaking Hamilton sisters – one taught America about Greek mythology, and the other became Harvard’s first female faculty member.

As you make your way to Cedar Hill cottage, where the tour ends, you’ll enjoy views of Fort Mackinac. You’ll learn why the fort’s commanding position had one critical vulnerability and how British forces exploited it during their nighttime invasion in 1812.