No Other Highway in Michigan Does What This Strange Little Highway Does

You may think you already know the subject of this article about a strange Michigan highway and think we'll reference M-185 around Mackinac Island, the only state highway in America where cars are banned.

That road around Mackinac is a good choice of highway obscurity but there's another road in Michigan that has a peculiarity and that's the much less-known, M-93.

What Makes Michigan's M-93 Highway Odd?

M-93 has been a part of Michigan highway maps since 1919 and for over 100 years has served the community of Grayling. What makes M-93 odd is that, unlike any other highway in Michigan's roadway system, M-93 neither begins nor ends at another highway.

In fact, M-93 doesn't even end at a crossroad where traffic would come to a stop and need to turn. Northbound, the roadway continues north but the highway designation ends. On the sound end, the highway ends at a roundabout to a military facility.

It's rare but not wholly uncommon for a highway to have a stubby end that doesn't meet another highway but to have both terminuses of a highway not meet another highway is a rarity indeed.

M-93 branches out from the city of Grayling like a two-tentacled octopus with a connection to Interstate 75.

The North End of M-93

M-93 ends a few miles north of Grayling at Hartwick Pines State Park. The highway ends a little ways past the main entrance to the state park at Bobcat Trail, a small road that once marked the main entrance to the park.

The Sound End of M-93

South of Grayling, M-93 leads to the Camp Grayling military installation. The highway designation ends at a roundabout just before the gatehouse - and, as a bonus, an extremely rare (perhaps unique?) sign on an M-DOT maintained route for 'Check Point Ahead.'

Camp Grayling, formerly the 'State Military Camp' is used by the Michigan National Guard and holds the distinction of being the largest National Guard facility in the nation.

M-93 passes through some rural Pure Michigan pretty quickly after leaving Grayling. Check out these other backroads to explore across the state.