MACKINAW CITY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – If your upcoming Labor Day plans next weekend involve crossing the Mackinac Bridge, you may want to check the clock before hitting the road. The Mackinac Bridge will close to vehicle traffic from 6:30 a.m. until noon Monday, Sept. 7, for the annual Mackinac Bridge Walk.

The Labor Day tradition gives participants a rare opportunity to cross the five-mile Mighty Mac on foot, with tens of thousands expected to make the trek between Michigan’s two peninsulas in the annual tradition that dates back to 1958.

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The walk is free and no registration is required. Participants can start from either end of the bridge, but a little planning is necessary. The walk begins at 7 a.m. Walkers may begin any time after the 7 a.m. start, but no one is allowed onto the bridge after 11:30 a.m. so everyone can be off the span before it reopens to traffic at noon.

Walkers can turn around at any point and return to the side where they started, or continue across the entire bridge. Anyone who has not reached the midpoint by 10 a.m. is turned back; after that hour the turnaround points also begin moving toward each end. Walkers who want to finish on the side they started from must already be on that side before 10 a.m. Those who complete a full one-way crossing must arrange their own ride back after the bridge reopens at noon.

And one more thing worth planning for before stepping onto the Mighty Mac: there are no restrooms on the bridge.