Mackinaw City, in Northern Michigan, has the trappings of a typical resort town for summer tourists: hotel strip, sand beaches, tee-shirt and candy stores, mini-putts and a big marina where gawkers are welcome. But there’s something more, and it makes this little town on I-75 one to remember.

The location of Mackinaw City can be pinpointed on almost any map of the world because it sits at the spot where two Great Lakes, Michigan and Huron, meet. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the area formed a vital part of the fur trade route. Replicas of two forts of that era, one on the shore of the Straits of Mackinac, the other on Mackinac Island, offer visitors the opportunity to learn about local history. But it’s a more modern structure that makes a visit so memorable.

The state of Michigan consists of two peninsulas. The Lower Peninsula, in the south, runs between Lake Huron to the east and Lake Michigan to the west. It ends up north, at Mackinaw City, where the Straits join these two lakes, and form the south shore of the Upper Peninsula, with Lake Superior on the north. Until 1957 the Straits of Mackinac cut the state in two. In that year, what was then the longest two tower suspension bridge in the world, the Mackinac Bridge, was completed.

In the late 1990s the bridge lost its title. Today it’s just the longest in the western hemisphere, with more road between anchorages than San Francisco’s Golden Gate, and a total length of 5 miles, including approaches. The massive supporting piers of steel and concrete reach 100 feet through the water, then another 100 feet into the mud and clay to rest on bedrock. Whether viewed from a nearby beach, far back on the highway, or while making the crossing, the powerful green cables and elegant strands, supported by two golden suspension towers make a magnificent sight. And it’s all framed by nature: blue sky, white clouds that sometimes hide the tops of the towers, bright green forest, and the deep grey-blue waters of Lakes Michigan and Huron. At night, the only challenges to the moon and stars are the coloured lights on the cable towers, their reflection in the water, and the yellow pinpoints of vehicles inching their way across.

The small population of year-round residents takes pride in the bridge. Books and poems have been written about it, and the Ironworkers Local maintains the Mackinac Bridge Museum, where a movie projects the history of the bridge through speakers to the sidewalk all day long. The Bridge Walk, an annual event, takes place on Labour Day, the only time when pedestrian traffic is permitted. One lane is closed to traffic and hundreds take the opportunity to cross the Straits on foot.

The name “Mackinac” adds mystique to the surroundings: Fort Michilimackinac, Mackinac Island, the Straits of Mackinac, the Mackinac Bridge and Mackinaw City. They derive from the Ojibway word “Michilimackinac” which means “great turtle”, and all are pronounced to end with “aw”. When the city was named it was given the phonetic spelling in an attempt to familiarize outsiders with the correct pronunciation.

If you’re heading north through Michigan on I-75, don’t stop until you’ve reached Mackinaw City. You won’t forget it.