Tourist season is back and people are headed to the ‘U.P’

ST. IGNACE, Mich (WJMN) – It is officially that time of year again. Tourists are making their way back up to the Upper Peninsula and the Mackinac Bridge traffic was in full force. Cars lined the bridge today as people began making the journey to the U.P to celebrate the long weekend.

“Restrictions are lifting now and people can come up and do lots of things outside without masks and they can get back into their old habits of enjoying tourism,” Kim Nowack the Executive Secretary of the Mackinac Bridge said. “So, we think the floodgates are opening and people will want to come up to the U.P.”

Nowack gave her best piece of advice on what times to avoid when traveling across the bridge for the summer.

“If you can arrange your trip so that you avoid on Friday from hours between 2 pm to 6 pm you’ll be able to sail through easier and then going home on a normal weekend, Sundays from 10 am to 4 pm is heavy,” Nowack said. “This Memorial weekend will be on Monday and Tuesday, during those hours southbound so if you can avoid those, your life will be easier.”

Nowack even gave her advice on the fastest ways to get through the bridge’s tolls as well.

“Cash is the quickest method if you don’t have a MacPass account so cash is quick and then credit cards are pretty easy also but cash is the quickest,” Nowack said. “We also accept forms of phone payments like Apple Pay and Google Wallet as well.”

For more information about the Mackinac Bridge click here.