My wife and I did a motorcycle tour last June on the north shore road. No problem with hotels, gas or food.

Echo the point noted above about wildlife, you don't want to hit a moose or a bear.

Depending on the time of year bring some good bug spray the black flies on the north shore can be something else. Just west of Marathon is Neys park. It was originally a WWII prisoner of war camp. 2 guys escaped and 3 days later were begging to be let back in because of the flies.

East of Marathon you will pass the Hemlo gold mines (two are now mined out). I was chief engineer at one of the mines from start of shaft sinking through to the first years of production.

Lots to see on whole route.

Temperature might be variable depending on time of year. Might vary from hot to down right chilly if you get a breeze off the lake. At the mine it was 90 degrees and at Marathon a half hour away it was 60 degrees and drizzle.

 

What is the ride like to Mount McKay near Thunder Bay ? I've read some road reports that suggest it may not be a good idea 2-up on a touring bike. I know its gravel.

And want to understand ............ when you get to the parking lot at the 'top' ............. is that where you see the awesome views ? Or does that come after hiking another x miles ?


Trying to decide whether or not to include this stop on my loop.

Thanks.

 

We did the trip last July 2019. Like many have said the weather can be unpredictable. We left on a Wednesday and it was hot and humid in Wisconsin. Got up the west shoreline north of Duluth and is frigid cold. Stayed the first night at the Grand Portage Casino. Bring the rain gear and the warm weather gear. The lake never really warms so a wind off the lake and warm weather surrounding the lake can cause some nasty fog. We had that for a good portion of the North shore over to Wawa.

Once you cross the border, near Thunder Bay, Kakabeka Falls is a great stop. Thunder Bay Harley was also decent. We had to book it pretty hard to get from Thunder Bay to our motel in Marathon, plus it was foggy/rainy so we didn't stop much. On this stretch I really wanted to stop at Ouimet Canyon, but didn't have time.

Marathon to the Soo was a nice ride. We left Marathon in a dense fog. Got to White River and it was hot and humid. Got to Wawa and it was cold with a dense fog. Cool stops on this stretch were Old Woman Bay and Agawa Rock. As we got to Old Woman Bay, the fog cleared and was a great day. There are a bunch of stops and scenic outlooks along the east shore. Too many to list. We stopped at The Voyageur's Lodge and Cookhouse and that was actually pretty good.


In the Soo, the Locks are definitely a sight to see. The Michigan side has some pretty nice view platforms. From there, take Lake shore road over to M123, up to Whitefish point. A nice stop, and then check out Tequamenon Falls. We ran out of time and missed out on that one.

Some other stops I wanted to see on the trip, but will have to be saved for another:

Log Slide, west of Grand Marais, MI
Pictured Rocks
Copper Harbor in the Keeweenaw is supposed to be pretty cool.
Porcipine mountains is cool in the UP,
Check out the South Boundary Road between Silver City and the Presque Isle State Campground. At the Presque Isle State Campground, Manabezho Falls is pretty cool.


As far as traveling in Canada, I used a credit card for most stops. Others used only cash. I didn't have any issues but others had issues in the past, hens the cash usage. Gas is plentiful, but maybe bring some fuel treatment in a bottle just in case. We had one bike run pretty rough with some of the fuel he got. (It was a Yamaha 2000 cc). We stopped every 60-100 miles to make sure we didn't have issues. Be nice crossing the borders and you won't have issues. Also, make a note of your license plate number (tape on the handle bars), as you may be asked when crossing the border. I think I was asked getting back in the states.

We did the trip in 5 days. I think if I did it again, i would shoot for 6 days. There are a lot of stops to catch and see. We ended up traveling with 13 bikes and 16 people, so we ended up booking all of our rooms in advance. Hard to find a spot for that many people while on the road.