That Time I...
Skied Under the Mackinac Bridge




The Mackinac Bridge, which connects the two peninsulas of Michigan, is huge. It's one thing to drive on it, but to truly understand its scale you have to go beneath it. In the winter of 2019, that's what I did. I convinced adventure regular Kurt to join me for an epic XC sunset ski under the bridge while the ice was thick, and it's long been one of my most memorable ski trips ever.
We set off from Bridge View Park on the U.P. side with plenty of daylight left. The goal was to make it to the first tower section, roguhly 1.75 miles offshore. That's not too bad! However, the scenery was a little distracting. As the full span of the suspension bridge grew closer, it grew even more impressive. We were just specs compared to this thing! Cars and trucks on the bridge were tiny and noticeably slowed down when they came closer to us, clearly curious what two guys were doing all the way down there on the ice. Skiing, duh! What else would we be doing almost two miles offshore?
I will say that hanging out under the Mackinac Bridge in the winter is a surreal and somewhat scary experience. To elaborate:
You're almost two miles offshore on ice that's somewhere between 8-12" thick... usually. It could be thicker in spots, or thinner depending on what the wind and currents are doing. The fear of possibly falling through always is in the back of your mind.
You've got this enormous metal structure floating above your head. Humans didn't evolve to contemplate such engineering marvels, so it's a little disconcerting to imagine. What if it suddenly falls and squishes me?
Thirdly, the vehicles that drive on the metal grates (I'm one of those lunatics) sound like a swarm of stinging insects as they buzz by. Here I am, miles out on thin ice with a giant metal structure levitating above my head and now you're going to send a pack of hornets at me??
I'm not usually afraid of most situations but this was a lot to handle. It was really interesting to experience such a challenging sensory overload.
We couldn't cross all the way to the lower peninsula because ice breakers still keep a channel open under the bridge, except in really extreme winters. Having gotten our fill, we turned around and caught the sunset from the ice as we trekked our way back to the car. It was an amazing trip that will not be forgotten!