Heading around Lake Superior in a couple weeks. Wondering if Premium gas is hard to find?

 

we did this loop 2 years ago going clockwise from Duluth to Sault St Marie. Between WAWA and Salut St Marie there was only one place. Along the top of the lake there were plenty of places but I found no premium. If it helps though, it does not contain ethanol and it was expensive! My bike ran just fine on it. Generally speaking the speed limit is low so getting good mileage is easy to do.

 

We just did this trip two weeks ago!! 91 octane is the best you will find. My 16 Limited did just fine with that. Enjoy the trip!!

 

If you don't mind me asking, how many days did you take and where were your stops. I used Ride Planner to plan the route and am planning to spend 7 days.

 

We started in SW Michigan on a Saturday morning and drove across the Mackinac Bridge and went west on Route 2 and stayed in Manistique, MI. On Sunday we went up to Copper Harbor in the Keweenaw Penninsula. Monday took us over to to Duluth, MN. From there we went up the North Shore of MN. Do not miss Split Rock Lighthouse or Gooseberry Falls. Both worth the stop. We stayed in Grand Portage, MN at the casino near the Canadian border. In Thunder Bay make sure you go west about 15 miles to Kenebaka Water Falls. Very impressive and right on the road. Another do not miss is Quimet Canyon about one hour past Thunder Bay. Wednesday we stayed in White River, Ontario could have made it Wawa which has more opitons for hotels but we were tired at that point. On 17 driving south from Wawa is beautiful . Agawa pictographs are neat to see as well as a few waterfalls that are not advertised but you can see from the road. Once we got to Sault Ste. Marie we went east in Canada which you wont do. If you stay in Michigan in the UP go west from the Soo and find Curly Lewis hwy. and follow that up to Paradise and go west to Taquemenon Falls. Work your way to Grand Marias and find the road H-58 and go west toward Munising and the Pictured Rocks Nataional Lakeshore. Take the boat tour on Lake Superior to see them up close. Worth the $40. Miners Castle is a rock formation you will see form the boat but you can also ride to it on your bike and see it from land and sea. Google all these and decide for yourself. From Munising you can go up in the Keweenaw to Copper Harbor the furthest north you can go in Michigan. That are is known for its copper mines from years ago. Porcupine Mountain state park is also very beautiful and Lake of the Clouds is a must see. I feel 7 days is enough time as long as the weather holds. Lots to see!!

 

Thanks MXZ600. We will be leaving from the Rice Lake Wis. area and riding to Grand Marais the first day. Then onto Nipigon, Wawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Marquette, Washburn and then back to the Rice Lake area. Will definitely check out your recommendations. Several years ago we rode up the North Shore and did see Split Rock Lighthouse and Gooseberry Falls.

 

Have a great trip....another suggestion is Betty's Pies in Two Harbors, MN. Good food and great pies!!!

 

Done the Canadian side many times and the US side 3 times and never had an issue finding premium gas so long as you use a 'brand name' retailer at a town (a one-pump shack at a tourist outfitter is probably different). 'Super Premium 94 is generally fairly limited anywhere in Ontario. I often use mid-grade and the bike seems to run fine.

Everybody seems to get a little spooky about the stretch between Wawa and Sault Ste. Marie. It's only about 230 km (about 140 mi) and there are gas stations south of roughly halfway. Between Wawa and Thunder Bay there are towns (very roughly) every 100km.

 

Finding premium gas won't be the problem SmithK, it will be slowing down enough to be able to enjoy the POI, If you are planning 6 days you will only average slightly more than 200 miles a day which is about what we did last July but my wife insisted on seeing every lighthouse and waterfall along the way, she loves the history of the local areas as well, www. ride lake superior .com has a great web-site with all kinds of things to see and places to stay, just pick out the things that interest you and enjoy. we booked our motel room same day depending on how we felt and the weather conditions so just slow down and enjoy
Ride Safe

 

Making a list of things we want to see and since this is our first trip on the new bike, not sure about being able to find motels in some areas around the lake. I made sure we can cancel a room if the weather becomes a problem. Also don't want to pass up things to see and be in to much of a hurry to get to the next stop. Think it will be a learning experience. I can see us having to do the trip again just to see things we missed. I am sure you can do several trips and see something different each time.