Riding Lake Superior

Chris

Which direction did you take to circle Lake Superior; how long did it take; where did you stay? Any tips for other folks contemplating doing a similar ride?

Tim

We went clockwise around and stayed at Gooseberry Falls the first night, as well as visiting Split Rock Lighthouse. The second night we stayed at Nipigon. The third night at Sault Ste Marie Michigan and watched a couple frieghters go thru the locks. The fourth night we rode up to Copper Harbor. The fifth day we rode around the "loop" in Bayfield on 13 before coming home.

I've done the Circle Tour before on IBA rides in one day. But this time was MUCH more enjoyable. So my advice is that it is one of the most beautiful rides on earth with scenery that is not rivaled by anything. There is so much you can see, so take your time and if you have a week there's lots of things you can do and see. 5 days was a nice leisurely pace, gave us plenty of time to eat at nice restaurants we found, and plenty of time to see the sights and make a few extra "side trips" like Copper Harbor and the loop thru Bayfield.

It can also be cold at certain points of the ride. Lake Superior's surface temp is only 36 this year and if you are riding on the lee side of the lake be prepared for riding in temps in the high 40's to low 50's. Along with riding on the lee side is fog at night, so figure on being where you're going to be by about 6:30 in the afternoon. The weather is also quite variable so be prepared to get wet on at least part of the ride, and Lake Superior storms are not pleasant so the best is to duck in someplace and wait it out instead of being miserable.

The bottom line is that Lake Superior is the largest body of fresh water on earth and it is very cold. So the weather in the area greatly depends on which way the wind is coming from and whether or not it is blowing across 165 miles of open water. And even so, nights in the high 40's and low 50's are not uncommon on the North Shore in summer. You have to plan accordingly.

Chris:
I lived in Marquette for 6 years, so your loop around the Lake sounds like a great trip. I hope I can do it some day too. That is some of the most pristine country on earth.

The Canadian North Shore is undeveloped for the most part, wild and beautiful. And their roads are in good repair. There's 3 or 4 provincial parks there we would've loved to visit, but we saved those for the next time.

We only got wet near Ishpeming for 60 miles, and unfortunately it was a Nor'Wester right off the lake. There is only one word to describe that - COLD. It's all part of the experience.

Did you take the time to visit Wemmet canyon ? don't know if the spelling is correct, just off 17 Superior hyw ,a nice rest stop.A short walk but worth it.

Ouimet Canyon is one of the provincial parks along the way that is NE of TBay. But no, unfortunately we could not visit them all in only 5 days. We had set as two of our specific destinations Sault Ste. Marie to see the locks, and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore near Munising on the way to Copper Harbor.

Basically you could take a whole summer off and make the Circle Tour and still would not be able to see everything. The geology of the entire area is quite interesting, as the oldest exposed pre-cambrian rocks on earth exist along the North Shore, dating back something like 3.6 billion years. 550 million years ago, what is now North America ran along the equator, and the area had a tropical climate with part of it under water. In some places you can see the shells of the tiny marine life embedded in the rocks and limestone.

I haven't scooted but I did drive over the top of Superior from Waterloo ON right through to Manitoba on our Great Western RV Adventure a few years back. Great roads, stunning scenery and yup, it would be an amazing scooter trip. So many fabulous places to ride and see ... so few decades left! lol