Lake Superior Circle Tour
An auto-tour of Lake Superior can combine all of everyone's favorite outdoor activities, including camping, hiking, fishing, rock climbing, backpacking, canoeing and kayaking, boating and sailing, and gaming. Because the Lake Superior auto-tour crosses two international boundaries, drivers and passengers must carry passports and the appropriate identification. There are a couple of interesting starting points for the tour such as the Duluth/Superior area or Sault Ste. Marie. The starting point for this tour is Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Driving around Lake Superior can make a great three-day weekender trip or longer for the travelers who want to do some in-depth exploring. Adventurers might want put their canoes or kayaks on the tops of their cars and vans or bicycles on the back-and don't forget their fishing poles and hiking boots!
Sault Ste. Marie is the oldest continuously settled community in Michigan having been settled by the French voyageurs on the rapids of the St. Mary's River. Before starting the driving tour, visitors to Sault Ste. Marie must stop at the locks, which were constructed to lower and raise the international freighters that carry iron ore and grain between the higher Lake Superior to the lower Straits of Mackinac on the St. Mary's River. Visitors can watch the boats being raised and lowered by the rushing waters as they go through the locks from an observation station, travel through the locks on a boat, or view the boats while dining in a nearby restaurant. When all the freighters have gone through the locks, it is time for the tour to start by driving across the International Bridge to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Here the driver can park the car to take a train ride on the Algoma Central Railroad through the beautiful Agawa Canyon. Visitors to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario can also see two lighthouses, Gros Cap Reef and Pointe Aux Prim Range Lights.
Back in the car, the auto-tour continues north and west toward Wawa along the Trans-Canada Highway. Rather than driving all the way to Wawa, vacationers should stop at the provincial park along Lake Superior and camp for the evening. Drivers and passengers alike can stroll along the beach, hike, and go rock hunting or watch the spectacular Lake Superior sunsets. If the tourists can carry a canoe or kayak on the roof of the car or van, this is a prefect place to paddle along the shoreline. In the morning, the tour can begin again toward Wawa where there are fishing for fly-fishing trips are available for those who want to stop and fish for a few days. After Wawa, the Trans-Canada Highway rolls on to Thunder Bay along the northern shoreline of Lake Superior. This leg of the driving tour to Marathon should be at a leisurely pace with plenty of stops for viewing the scenic, craggy shoreline, rocky outcroppings, and forests. There are lots of opportunities to hike and backpack in this region. Gemstones can be found in this region. The Canadian Pacific railroad tracks are visible along the highway. Canadian Pacific trains carry travelers from Ontario to Vancouver. Other points of interest along the trip through northern Ontario are:
After leaving Thunder Bay Route 61 to Minnesota is a designated scenic driver near the Lake Superior shoreline. The boundary of Minnesota and Ontario at Grand Portage has a ferry to Isle Royal National Park. Grand Portage also is a location of the Grand Portage State Park, Grand Portage Indian Reservation, and Grand Portage National Monument. The vast natural area near the Minnesota/Ontario border is the Boundary Waters Canoe Area with Ely as the heart of the Boundary Waters. Throughout the region, there are outfitters for the paddlers who did not bring their canoes and kayaks. Here is a point to leave the car for a few hours or days, paddle, fish, and camp. Shutter bugs also love the area because the forests, lakes, hiking trails, and streams of the Boundary Waters provide a perfect background for pictures. Paddlers, who visit the Boundary Waters, quickly learn the meaning of portage because they have to carry their canoes and kayaks from lake-to-lake. After paddling, hiking, and fishing in the Boundary Waters, it is time to return to scenic Route 61 and drive along the Lake Superior shoreline past the Split Rock Lighthouse State Park to Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin where there are restaurants, lodging, and shopping. Here are some additional places along the way in Minnesota:
The drive east from Superior, Wisconsin is along the southern shore of Lake Superior. Route 13 between Superior and Ashland follows the shoreline past the Red Cliff Indian Reservation and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. This is a wonderful area for whitefish, a popular Great Lakes delicacy. Drivers and their passengers along Route 13 can see the following lighthouses: Ashland Breakwater, Chequamegon Point and La Pointe, Devils Island, Raspberry Island, and Sand Island. In Ashland, drivers should change to US 2 and drive through the Bad River Chippewa Reservation to historic Hurley with its rough and tumble lumbering, mining, and Prohibition Era past.
Ironwood, Michigan is across the border from Hurley on US 2. To return to the Lake Superior shoreline, the auto-tourists need to follow the directions to Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in the Central Time Zone. Hikers and backpackers can find challenging trails while paddlers can enjoy the views from Lake Superior. There is a hotel in Silver City on the eastern edge of Wilderness Mountains State Park and housekeeping cabins for the visitors who do not want to camp. Driving east from Silver City to Ontonagon, tourist can take pictures of the Ontonagon lighthouses before traveling to the Keweenaw Peninsula and Copper Harbor with the historic cities of Houghton and Hancock. Along the Keweenaw Peninsula shoreline there are nine lighthouses or harbor lights to explore. Travelers, who want to visit Isle Royale, can leave their cars in Copper Harbor and take a ferry to the National Park. Outdoor adventurers might get waylaid in this area because they can fish, enjoy all water sports, hunt, paddle, hike, and camp. South of Houghton and Hancock, US 41 leads to Baraga and L'Anse on the L'Anse Bay. The next stop on the driving tour is Marquette, home of Northern Michigan University. Marquette can be the base for exploring the Huron Mountains or learning about the mining history of that region. East of Marquette along the scenic shoreline drive of Lake Superior, drivers and passengers alike will enjoy the views and stopping at Christmas and Munising. From Munising, visitors should go to the Grand Island National Recreation Area and wind through the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The Pictured Rocks is a special space for paddlers to view spectacular scenery and the rugged rock facades facing Lake Superior. After visiting the Pictured Rocks, travelers will wind through the Superior National Forest to Tahquamenon Falls State Park at Newberry and Whitefish Point Lighthouse at Paradise. Travelers interested in learning about the history of Great Lakes shipping like to visit the Whitefish Point Lighthouse.
As the driving tour winds down, the driver and passengers need to rest and what a better place than the Bay Mills Casino and Resort near Brimley for gaming, golfing, and bird watching before returning to Sault Ste. Marie.
Sailing or Boating around Lake Superior
Starting at Duluth or Superior and heading toward the Apostle Islands is a perfect way to start a water-bound vacation. Fishing around the Apostle Islands is terrific, and the Islands provide shelter from the Lake Superior winds. Ashland is a good place to stop for provisions before heading toward the Keweenau Peninsula and past the Grand Island Recreation Area, Munising, and the Pictured Rocks where the photographers will have a field day. Cruising east past Whitefish Point and on to Sault Ste. Marie signals that it is time to head west along the northern shore of Lake Superior with stops at Batchawana Bay, Marathon, Nipigon, and Thunder Bay.
Isle Royale National Park is easy to access from Thunder Bay, Ontario or Grand Portage, Minnesota. The final leg of the cruise is the Minnesota shoreline between Grand Portage and Duluth/Superior. There are state parks and lighthouses to view along the way.
Any location along this circle tour makes a great day sailing or boating trip for travelers who haul their boats.
|
Circle Tours
|
