Can someone suggest a route around Lake Michigan please, starting and ending in Chicago.
I'd like to keep it as scenic as possible.

Thanks in advance,

Bubba

 

Hi Bubba. I'm no tour guide but I can tell you what I'd do after having lapped Lake Michigan before. This is only one opinion and I'm sure there will be others.

I'm about 2.5 hrs south of Chicago but I hit US 41 and ran it through Chicago and all the way up to about Waukegan. You have a choice there to either hit 94 or 31. I took 94 to Milwaukee and then 43 from there to Green Bay. I spent the night at GB as I am a Packer fan and wanted to see the Hall of Fame. I didn't see much in Wisconsin that was much different than Indiana, so the main goal of that route was to hit GB.

41 out of GB to the U.P. where you have two options. I took highway 2 which has some decent views of the lake. 2 will run you into Sault Ste. Marie which is a nice little town where you can watch the boats navigate the locks.

Take Michigan 31 after crossing the big bridge and that will run you to Traverse City. M 22 can be hit near Traverse City and that is a beautiful road. After finishing the ride around the small peninsula on M 22, pick up 31 and run it down the eastern coast of Lake Michigan. There are a bunch of little towns that you will hit. Take your time as the area is very pretty.

Near Saugatuck I picked up the Blue Star Highway and road it south to Lake Michigan Beach where it turns into M 63. Follow that to Benton Harbor before turning onto Lake Shore Dr. This road turns into the Red Arrow Highway and will take you down to New Buffalo where you pretty much finish off any rural riding. After that it's In 12 to the Indiana Toll Rd if you want to try and cheat death or hit IN 20 where you will hit some traffic lights and such.

I did this in 3 days. If I had more time, I would have explored the U.P. more and spent more time in the small towns along the eastern coast of the lake. It's the best scenery to my mind.

I forgot to add, look up Redemak's Jumbo Burger near New Buffalo. You'll want to hit that place.

 

Thanks for the direction, I love Redemacks and am always looking for an excuse to shoot up there. Will be planning a weekend to do the loop before it gets too cold.

 

You might want to check out Big Bear Dunes on your way south of Traverse City. Worth a stop for the view, if you have time.

If you want to get closer to the lake on your way up the WI side, I suggest a detour off of I43 at Manitowoc to Hwy 42. There is some nice riding along the lake, and you can cut east to Green Bay when you get to Hwy 57.

If you want, send me a pm when you plan to do this and I would ride along with on Hwy 42 (if the timing works out).