Castle Rock

When researching last year's Mackinac Island trip, I looked up several tourist attractions off the island so that we would have enough stuff to do on our third and final day in Michigan. Castle Rock is a tourist spot that looks really cool in pictures, but it is a little cheesy in person.

Still, it was near our hotel in St. Ignace, and for $1, we had a good time!

Castle Rock is a lookout point that is almost 200 feet high. You have to climb 170 steps in order to get to the top. Looking out, you get a view of Lake Huron, Mackinac Island, and the surrounding areas. We had really good weather for it, and on a good day, the view is 20 miles.

PLUS, you get to take your picture in front of Paul Bunyon and Babe the Blue Ox. Pretty snazzy, huh? There is also a gift shop, of course! Don't forget to stop back in the gift shop on your way out so you can get your "I Climbed Castle Rock" sticker!

Pets on leashes are welcome, and as long as everyone in your family is able to walk up all those steps, this is an easy family friendly activity.

Driving up I-75, it was a little difficult to find the parking lot for Castle Rock. That was mainly due to the fact that our GPS lady was going CRAZY and trying to tell us to turn back on the highway going the opposite way. (I REALLY dislike GPS lady, sometimes. She was in rare form on this vacation.) DO NOT follow your GPS lady's directions. You will see Castle Rock and the parking lot as you approach it. You'll probably annoy anyone driving behind you with your erratic driving and slowing down, but they'll get over it, and eventually you'll be 200 feet in the air looking down at the highway and enjoying being so far away from it.