The paved road (M-185) around the island for biking and hiking is 8.2 miles long. With side paths and steps up to views, we ended with a 10-mile walk. We used a blog at flowerchick .com to track our progress. Here is our journey starting at Mile Marker 0.

Mile Marker 1 was on the inland side of the road, mostly covered by cedar. We had passed the hotels, B&Bs, and most other foot traffic. Lots of bicycles were rented and on the road with us.

Mile Marker 2 was also on the inland side of the road. We took the short Lake Shore Nature Trail loop into a cedar area where little grows under the trees because they block most of the sunlight from reaching the forest floor. It’s dark and peaceful under these trees.

Mile Marker 3 was on the inland side and hard to get close to for the photo.

Mile Marker 4 was near the northernmost point of the island and stood on the water side of the road. The sun came out for a bit, so the hat came out and the sweatshirts came off. This was the point of the only sharp hill to challenge those on bikes.

Before Mile Marker 5 was the British Landing. This was where the British took over the island during the War of 1812. There was a rest area and a restaurant called the Cannonball because in 1907, while building the restaurant, they found cannonballs in the ground from the unsuccessful American attempt to retake the island in 1814. We enjoyed some French fries and famous fried pickles before continuing our walk.

Mile Marker 5 was on the water side of the road, but there were now trees between us and the water. The road also showed evidence of horse carriages in the area. We briefly left the state park and then returned so there can be some private land for houses to be built overlooking Lake Huron to the west. There was another short side path winding near a natural spring-fed creek and mixed forest just before Mile Marker 6.

Mile Marker 6 was on the water side of the road. We had another interesting limestone feature called the Devil’s Kitchen, where legend has it evil spirits may grab unwary visitors and eat them. I was perfectly safe this day:). Another set of steps 207-ish, took us up to an overlook that had some beautiful homes along a street that I remember from an evening stroll after our fancy dinner at the Grand Hotel eight years ago.

Mile Marker 7 was close to The Grand Hotel which has a commanding view of the harbor and downtown hotels and shops. We stayed there as an anniversary present for my parents eight years ago. The 1980 movie Somewhere in Time was filmed here.

There is no Mile Marker 8, so we walked back to the beginning to officially end the perimeter walk.