• Date Circle Tour Completed
• Favorite Spot and/or Experience
• Member

July 2005
My husband and I took two weeks last July 2005 to circle Lake Superior counterclockwise. Since we are from the Twin Cities area in Minnesota, we both grew up with experiences on the North Shore. Hence our delight and surprise when experiencing the southern shoreline (Michigan & Wisconsin)! A completely different lake from the Minnesota North Shore! While we found the Apostle Islands, particularly Devil’s Island, extraordinary, they (in our opinion) cannot compare to the splendor of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We visited a large percentage of lighthouses, numerous side trips to see falls of all kinds, endured the BLACK FLIES and took over 26 rolls of film! Canada from the Wawa area to Nipigon was our favorite … raw, glorious and unspoiled. Our Canadian neighbors a delight! Staying at the Rossport Inn was a pleasant, soothing surprise (including the night rains) that we will return to again and again. All in all, one of the finest vacations we have yet to experience. Kudos to you and your staff for the materials and support you gave us to foster our awareness of a gem that belongs to us all!
Greg & Joan Sticha, St. Paul, Minnesota

2005
We just completed our first circle tour last year. Began going along Lake Superior to Thunder Bay. My favorite was the amethyst mine! Around the lake to the Soo Locks. Crossing over on Upper Michigan 28 back to Duluth. We will be doing again in a month or so but the opposite way. Was a great trip!
Bob & Nancy Kassl, Fall Creek, Wisconsin

June 4, 2006
We started on the 26th of May and completed the tour the 4th of June, 2006. The best place was Pebble Beach in Marathon. We really enjoyed the tour and there were a lot of helpful hints in the magazine.
Claudia & Andreas Rauch, Munich, Germany

June 25, 2006
We drove a total of 1961 miles, doing side trips along Duluth’s Skyline Parkway, historic Ft. William in Thunder Bay, the amethyst mine just past Thunder Bay, Pebble Beach in Marathon, the Soo Locks, to sauna and visit friends near Republic, Michigan, up to Copper Harbor in the Upper Peninsula and then to Bayfield, Wisconsin, before completing our circle. Back in Duluth we did the Park Point Art Fair and then the Depot Museum before returning home. It only sprinkled on us one day, so the trip was gorgeous! Greg’s favorite spot was Pebble Beach in Marathon. He especially enjoyed driving his new motorcycle. Mary’s favorite thing was the sun shining through the trees arching overhead on M-41 up to Copper Harbor and sitting at the 3rd Street Memorial Park just looking out over the harbor. So peaceful and quiet. Greg and I had actually done this route in 1972, but it rained the entire way between Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie, and there were no rooms when we got there! We slept in the car in a parking lot. That wasn’t as much fun as the sunny skies this time around!
Greg & Mary Davis, Maple Grove, Minnesota

• Date Circle Tour Completed
• Favorite Spot and/or Experience
• Member

June 28, 2006
Elizabeth Traxler, LeCenter, Minnesota

June 24, 2006
On June 24, 2006, 5 couples completed the Circle Tour of Lake Superior. We had a wonderful time. We used your publication for information about the sites, etc. Thank you for providing it.
Ron & Julie Rydh, Brainerd, Minnesota
Ron & Kathy Olson, Nisswa, Minnesota
Greg & DeNel Richert, Pequot Lakes, Minnesota
Wayne & Marilyn Anderson, Pine River, Minnesota
Jim & Meg Wheeler, West Branch, Iowa

June 30, 2006
We drove the circle tour beginning in Superior, Wisconsin, on June 21, 2006, and ended it in Duluth, Minnesota, on June 30. Mary - The Keweenaw National Historical Park in Calumet, Michigan, was a highlight for me. I grew up in a union family on the Minnesota Iron Range during the time when the “union wars” were centered in Copper Country of the Upper Peninsula and see that this story is being saved for history is very heartening. Rob - The Pictured Rocks trip out of Munising was my highlight. It was something the likes of which I have never seen before. The boat ride on the lake was great fun, too. Both - The greatest surprise for us was the Kinniwabi International Café in Wawa, Ontario, featuring “Asian, Jamaican, European and Canadian cuisine.” We had some of the best curry, peroghies, jerk chicken and rouladen that we’ve ever tasted. It was FABULOUS! We may have gone to Wawa for the scenery, but we stayed for the food! Thanks for the Travel Guide] and map and tell EVERYONE to be sure to visit the Northern Great Lakes Visitors Center near Ashland, Wisconsin. It was a terrific place for us to get “oriented” to the region and The Lake.
Mary Sicilia & Robin Haglund, Vancouver, Washington

1991
In 1991, my wife and I took my mother on the Circle Tour as a diversion from the death of her husband, my dad, the prior December. Three favorite places were Rossport, Ontario, where we saw black bear cubs in a park; the beauty of the water and shoreline at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore; Bayfield Wisconsin, for its enchanting beauty and nautical setting.
Roger & Theresa Shipp, Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Edna Shipp, Waverly, Iowa

June 25, 2006
We traveled by motorcycle with another couple. We left Maple Grove on June 18 and got back to Maple Grove on June 25. Jerry’s favorite place was the north shore views of Lake Superior between Thunder Bay and Marathon. Mary Anne’s favorite place was Hwy. 41 out to the end of Copper Harbor. The trees were grown out over the highway.
Jerry & Mary Anne Hobbs, Maple Grove, Minnesota

• Date Circle Tour Completed
• Favorite Spot and/or Experience
• Member

May 29, 2006
On May 23, 2006, my wife and I undertook a trip around Lake Superior, starting at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and ending on May 29th in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. This was a most amazing trip and so scenic. We had traveled the west side of Lake Superior in 1985 on our return from Vancouver, BC. So much has changed. We enjoyed this trip so much that we intend on doing it again this coming September. We were much impressed with the cities of Marquette, Superior and Duluth. We passed over Christmas and intend making a stopover in September. On our many trips to the United States, this was out most enjoyable.
George Ethier, Parry Sound, Ontario

June 22, 2006
I just completed the Lake Superior Circle Tour last week on a motorcycle. We left Duluth Saturday morning, June 17 and returned Thursday evening, June 22nd. We rode counterclockwise for a total of 1,393 miles. It’s hard to pinpoint a favorite spot or experience, because the entire trip was an excellent adventure, and has left me with a lifetime of memories. The roads near Copper Harbor were so much fun! It was like riding a roller coaster! All in all, I would have to say that Canada has the best looking scenery and the best maintained roads. Everything was awesome (except for the weather - it rained half the time - but that made it more of an adventure).
Terry Hanson, Minneapolis, Minnesota

June 30, 2006
We completed the Circle Tour on June 30, 2006, after starting on June 23, 2006. Favorite spot on the tour was Ouimet Canyon. Beautiful to see and a short walk. We also saw a sow bear and 3 cubs on the drive in.
Claudia & Ken Hanson, Muskegon, Michigan