St. Ignace is located along Lake Huron in the Upper Peninsula on the northern side of the Straits of Mackinac. St. Ignace serves as a gateway to the state’s Upper Peninsula for travellers coming from the Lower Peninsula, as the city is at the north end of the Mackinac Bridge, opposite of Mackinaw City. St. Ignace’s history dates back to 1671 when French Jesuit priests founded the St. Ignace Mission, which makes it one of the oldest European settlements in the state after Sault Ste. Marie. The area was previously inhabited by the Wyandot, as well as the Ojibwe and Ottawa tribes of Native Americans. St. Ignace soon became the center of fur trading with the French. It was incorporated as a village in 1882 and a city in 1883. The Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians is headquartered at St. Ignace, and the city continues to have a high population of Native Americans. (Wikipedia)

Saint Ignace was our last stop in Upper Michigan Peninsula before we crossed Mackinac Bridge and traveled to Traverse City. We had an easy and enjoyable overnight stay in this little beautiful city on Lake Huron. The hotel we stayed was right on the Lake and we were lucky to see and photograph the beautiful sunrise from our hotel balcony. We drove around a bit in nearby Hiawatha National Forest and ended up having the packed lunch at the beach.