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

July 2006
We took the circle tour around Lake Superior in July. We went to Copper Harbor and into Wisconsin and then Minnesota where we saw the best scenery on the whole trip. Enjoyed the rocks, tunnels and the lake. We went to Canada to Thunder Bay, to Sault, Canada, in the Soo Locks at Michigan, then home to Corunna. We traveled 1,800 miles.
Betty Dixon, Corunna, Michigan

August 2006
Two friends, Steve Slonecker and Doug Beard, and I competed the Circle Tour last week by motorcycle. We left our hometown, Columbus, Nebraska, at 6 a.m. on August 5, 2006, and stayed in Duluth that night. Day 1 - Took a leisurely ride along the north shore of Minnesota, stopping in Grand Marais to buy smoked trout and whitefish and cheese for a picnic lunch along the shore about 5-10 miles north of Grand Marais, having escaped town just before a parade started. Stopped at Grand Portage National Monument, very interesting. Hot weather en route to Thunder Bay where we had a couple of beers at the marina and made it to Nipigon for the night. Excellent pickerel dinner at the Nipigon Cafe. Day 2 - Rain for the first 10 miles out of Nipigon, but scenery was beautiful, especially at the mouth of Little Pic River. Cloudy and cold from Marathon to Wawa, with not much to look at. Picnic lunch at Sinclair Bay, then to Sault Ste. Marie for the night. After arrival in the Soo, found out that Monday was a Civic Holiday with most bars and restaurants closed. That was disappointing. Day 3 - Local road to Paradise, Michigan, was one of the best ever, very scenic and leisurely, like going through a tunnel through the trees. Went to Whitefish Point, but didn't visit the Museum because of the admission fee. Tried unpaved road from Deer Park to Grand Marais, Michigan, but gave up due to road conditions. Stayed in Marquette this night. Day 4 - Leisurely ride to Copper Harbor, with stops in Houghton and Gay, with a stop at the Gay Bar, where we got T-shirts for the kids. Day 5 - Another leisurely ride to Bayfield, Wisconsin. Local road south of Porcupine Mountains was one of the best ever. Day 6 - Left lakeside ride west of Port Wing, headed for home, spent the night in Mankato, Minnesota. Highway 60 just after entering Minnesota at Wabasha … a very pleasant surprise. Thanks for the information I received from you in planning our trip.
Bill Kurtenbach, Columbus, Nebraska

July 15, 2006
My wife and I completed the Lake Superior Circle Tour on July 15, 2006, on our Honda Shadow motorcycles. We traveled 1,629 total miles five days. We traveled from Minnesota, counter-clockwise. This was our first time around the lake. Definitely a memorable trip. Our favorite stop was the beach at Batchawana Bay park in Ontario. Powdery soft sand, crystal clear water, and Oh! So refreshing on a 92-degree afternoon. Motorcycles, of course, do not have air conditioning.
James & Pamela Carlin, Sauk Rapids, Minnesota

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

July 13, 2006
I had a wonderful solo road trip around the lake. The high point was simply the drive, itself, particularly the Ontario portion between Nipigon and Sault Ste. Marie, and more particularly through the Lake Superior Provincial Park (where I stopped for a great hike on the Orphan Lake Trail, seeing a moose at the edge of Orphan Lake). I also timed my trip to be in Thunder Bay for the Thunder Bay Blues Festival, a relatively small festival, but some very good music at a very nice location, Marina Park on the bay.
J.L. McClure, Iowa City, Iowa

1995
We did the circle tour counter-clockwise, starting in Sault Ste. Marie. It is one of our most memorable trips! Our favorite experience of the trip was Fort William Hisotrical Park (near Thunder Bay). The people at the Fort stay in character for that time period and act completely baffled when you mention modern conveniences. One of our favorite places on the trip was the Porcupine Mountains. The lake shore in the Porkies has a very unique look and feel. And so beautiful!
The Grevengoed Family, Jenison, Michigan

July 22, 2006
We just completed the Lake Superior Circle Tour. We departed on July 16 in our RVs and returned back to the Twin Cities Saturday, July 22. Suffice it to say we hit the ground running. 1,300 miles in 7 days. We still made plenty of time for discovering great campgrounds in Superior, Munising, Sault Ste. Marie and Rossport. The highlight was the excellent beach at Batchawana Bay. The last night we regrouped in Grand Marais, Minnesota. It is amazing how undiscovered the north shore is … and lots of places for sale. We stayed nice and cool at night. We did take the awesome ferry ride to Madeline Island and spent most of an afternoon … what a neat place. Checked out the Grand Hotel, but couldn't go in due to our lack of dress code and the $12 fee but managed to walk the grounds and enjoy some Mackinaw Fudge Ice Cream. Spiritual sunsets, clean Canadian air and the ability to be mobile, yet find solitude and fellow North Shorbees enjoying the same, made for a truly memorable vacation.
Peter Fiske, Richfield, Minnesota
Paul Konrardy, Richfield, Minnesota
Karol Jensen, Richfield, Minnesota
Karen Anderson, Minneapolis, Minnesota

July 2006
My wife and I, along with her sister and her husband, just completed the Lake Superior loop. We traveled counter-clockwise and took two weeks to complete the trip. We departed Ithaca, Michigan, on July 12th and got home on the 25th. We spent most of our time in the north and west areas as we have camped quite a bit in the southern Lake Superior area. The weather was hot and no rain until the last night of our trip. Our camping spots were Agawa Bay area, Terrace Bay area, Thunder Bay area, Grand Marais area, Silver Bay area, Duluth-Superior area, Marquette area and on to St. Ignace. The loop was fantastic!! We traveled together in one pickup and fifth wheel to save gas money. We have camped together for many years in separate rigs and this would be a test, but I am glad to report we all did well. The favorite parts of our trip were (in no particular order of importance) Agawa Bay Provincial Park - beautiful camping, waterfalls, nature center; the natural beauty of Ontario - all of it; Fort William Historical Park in Thunder Bay; Duluth area (take the boat tour for viewing from the water!). I thought all of the people we talked to were friendly. We are already talking about doing the loop clockwise to compare the views!
Jim & Cecille Bowen, Ithaca, Michigan
Rod & Yvonne Sherman, Cass City, Michigan