I am thinking about taking a trip round the lake this fall. I will be starting near Duluth and going clockwise. How much time should block off for the drive. It will be a long weekend with a day or two if needed. Any suggestion of where to stop/stay?

Thanks in advance
Brad

 

Tahquamenon Falls is pretty country. Definitely drive H58 from Grand Marais west through Painted Rocks.

 

Beautiful between Nipagon, Schreiber and Marathon and then WaWa to Sault Ste. Marie, but remember to fill up in WaWa (Gas is hard to come by) till the Sault.

 

Hi, I'm new to the forum and just saw this post.

I've looped Superior twice, both times counter-clockwise. First time we took 4 days, the second time was 3 days over Memorial Day weekend in 2013.

I live in the Detroit area. The 3-day trip went like this:

Friday afternoon/evening after work - Detroit to Sault Ste Marie, MI
Saturday - Sault Ste Marie, MI to Thunder Bay, ON (700km/435 miles)
Sunday - Thunder Bay to Marquette, MI (700km/435 miles)
Monday - Marquette to Detroit (455 miles)

I don't count the Detroit to Sault Ste Marie leg as part of the trip because it was just hauling *** up I-75 to the actual starting place for the trip.

Over the two trips I've stayed at the Best Western in Thunder Bay, the Harbour Inn in Marathon, the Super 8 (Canada side) and the Days Inn (American side) in Sault Ste Marie, and Carlson Country Inn in Marquette. No problems at any of those.

If you're going clockwise you're probably looking at Marathon for your first stop. There really isn't much between Thunder Bay and Marathon in terms of motels or gas. I think there is gas in Nipigon, between Thunder Bay and Marathon. There is gas in Wawa. If you want to break it up a bit you could stay in Thunder Bay the first night, then Sault Ste Marie (either side) the next. Then someplace in the UP the third.

In Marathon, the Harbour Inn would be where I would stay. Tip: reserve early if you can. There isn't much on the north coast in terms of motels and the rooms get booked up by regulars on their routes like salespeople, truckers, etc.

Also, it will be COLD. I did one loop the end of August and the other on Memorial Day, both trips were COLD. The 2nd trip it was in the mid 20s in Thunder Bay when we rolled out in the morning. As I said: COLD. And gas up every single time you stop if you can, especially on the north coast. Gas stations can be few and far between and you never know if you'll find someplace open when you need it. You may already know this, but if you haven't been to Canada in awhile, take plenty of cash...Canada uses the chip and pin credit cards that the US doesn't...sometime it can be hard to find a gas pump or ATM that will take an American credit or debit card especially in the smaller towns. If you don't mind going inside (assuming there is someone there) they can usually run your American plastic for you.

Hope this helps. It is a beautiful ride up there, enjoy it and stop to check out all the scenery if/when you can!

And watch out for moose!!!