Around Lake Superior 2013

Thanks Vitalidle for this, it is very helpful!. Can I confirm with you that I have this route correct? The only paved road I see from Grand Marais to Munising is hwy 58 that then turns into the Adams Trail. I made a map here- is this the right route?

http://goo.gl/maps/qbqGl

Here is where it says adams trail:

Sorry for any confusion I created. The short answer is yes the track you have highlighted in blue is correct. If you look at the map you posted at the 90 degree turn we call that kingston corners....I was always told if you went straight that was the adams trail. I never knew Hwy 58 to be called adams trail so thats a new one on me lol. I learned somthing new today.

Excellent! No apologies needed. We are just so thankful to have the local help!

I'm in. Be safe!

You had me at the Pinery... One of my favorite mid-late summer destinations. Was just up in your neck of the wood in St. Thomas a few days ago. Doing a round the Great Lakes circuit in 3 weeks so your Superior sojourn is of particular interest. Have a great time guys!

I'm in.

Tavex, great to have you on board. Shoot me a message when you start your Great Lakes circuit, I would like to follow along. We are thinking of doing Lake Michigan or a figure 8 of Erie and Ontario next year.

Getting anxious to get on the road, we leave in less than 24 hours! I thought it would be a good time to put a big thank you out to everyone who has helped us with the preparation along the way (especially Denis and Doug for their help with the pulley install).

Also thank you to everyone who sent us suggestions on routes and places to see along the way.

I also want to acknowledge the following two websites that provided lots of good info about the circle tour around the lake. I am sure others who are planning this trip will find them useful (or at least inspiring) as well:

http://www.upcruising.com

http://ridelakesuperior.com/

Will do. In the meantime you guys have the time of your lives. Looking forward to you RR.

Just got back from North Shore of Superior last week . Bring a good camera . I- phones just don't capture the beauty properly . Also bring bug spray and maybe a bug net for your head .The bugs were getting really bad while I was there .

I did H58 last week and the Keweenaw this week. Both are great! I hope to make it around Lake Superior this summer some time. I rode around Lake Michigan last summer. I will be keeping up on your posts for this trip. Good luck and have fun.

Thanks for the heads up! Your advice isn't lost on me. Hope you had a good one!

Had a great trip . The riding and scenery was phenomenal . I was on a G650GS and my friends were on a Kawi Drifter and 1700 Vulcan which easily handled the roads . Pavement was in great shape for that far north . Probably saw more cruisers than adventure bikes . Hope you have a great trip .

Looks like you'll be having fun! I should get my passport so I can do something similar. A couple of suggestions for the Superior/Duluth area: Amnicon Falls state park is my favorite place to camp in the immediate area; just off of highway 2 about 8 miles out of Superior WI. Not sure how full it is this time of year though. Also, the best place for a view of the lake and the city of Duluth is Enger Tower (site). If you want directions, I can give them for either place, either direction. Enjoy the trip! I think the weather will be great, especially since I just bought a pair of rain pants and want to try them out .

Sorry to everyone, that the reports are slow coming. We had early computer trouble (that is now corrected) but now are dealing with very slow internet speeds. Here is a quick pic of us at the Cycle-Moore Campground in Interlochen, Michigan.



We just crossed the Mackinaw Bridge into the Upper Pennisula. Hope to post a full report tonight.

First, let me apologize for the slow first post. We had difficulty finding internet on our first night.

Finally the day has come! I awoke early this morning, anxious to get on the road. We had a set time to meet at 10am in Imlay City, Michigan, so I didn’t leave till 8am. Thankfully, the overnight rain storm passed so I only had to use the lower half of my rain suit to start.



We found out last minute that Tom’s buddy Joe was able to join us for the first night. Here is Tom and Joe getting ready to go



The bulk of the day was planned to be on the super-slab. Not much in the way of interesting things to see between London and Sarnia so I took highway 402.



I made it to Sarnia and crossed into the the US over the Blue Water Bridge





One thing that I always notice as the main difference between US highways and Canadian ones is that the US ones have so many more billboards



We both arrived at the Tim Hortons in Imlay City right at 10am.





More superslab- I-69 to I-75 then to M-10. Traffic was heavy as it is the 4th of July and ‘going north’ is the state’s pastime.



We finally made our way into the north country- you can see the landscape change.



We arrived in the late afternoon around 4pm at Cycle-More, a motorcycle campground in Interlochen.





This is a haven for motorcyclists. The owner greats you personally and invites you to look around his small museum. It is really more of a collection of old bikes piled into a small room. Impressive to see all these rare bikes









Especially this tike that they are currently working on. The engine is still in the back





Nice campground dedicated to bikers. Just find your own campsite, $7 per person. Cheap wood, clean hot showers, and free ice cream!



We then headed for a supper, bbq chicken for me. Maddy's US 31, just outside of the campground to the East. Excellent find!



Then just a night of Tom and Joe reminiscing around the campfire (they go way back). Total mileage for Tom was 281, I was more like 320

We awoke this morning, perfect weather about 60 degrees and sunny. Breakfast turned into a comparison of everyones camp stoves. Tom’s won. I do like my little coleman though because it runs off of unleaded gasoline. So I just siphon some gas out of the bike and cook away



Even after playing with the stoves for making coffee we went out to a diner for breakfast
Joe split from us in Acme and we made the turn around Grand Traverse Bay for the Tunnel of Trees. We then had to sit in holiday weekend traffic in 90+ degree weather- ugg.



This is a must ride road if you are anywhere in the upper half of the lower peninsula of Michigan. About 20 miles of tight twisties and a near perfect road. It was fun joining a group of 5 other guys through the road.







We then took the Wilderness Park Road on the extreme north tip of Michigan. Very popular beach area, the ride was nice, the roads were not (although you can't tell in this picture). Don’t be in a hurry if you plan to take this route



We then hit the Mighty Mackinaw Bridge. Quite fun on a bike.



The laptop was running low on batteries (all the attempts for failed WiFi), so I had to rig up a charging system using the plug for my battery tender, a cigarette conversion cord, a power invertor and finally into the laptop. Charged everyting nicely while riding along.



We arrived in Grand Marais, Michigan about 6pm. We finally made it to Lake Superior!



Setup camp and headed into town to look around and get some dinner.





Came across the Shark, the last remaining hand made fish tug on Lake Superior



And the Pickle Barrel Museum- odd





Today, we ride H-58 from Grand Marais to Munising and westward

This is really turning into a great RR and is covering lots of things that we missed in 2011. Thanks for doing a great job.

Stay safe,


Gary "Oldone"

Grampa’s Lake Superior Ride
Grampa’s National Monument Ride

Thanks Oldone for the encouragement.

I am finding it fun to record the trip but more difficult to get the report loaded than I would have thought.

Is Day 3 started out in Grand Marias to ride the newly paved H58 road through the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore to Munising. We were told by many ADVrider’s that we had to do this road. Well, were they ever right. Ride this road! What a dream! 25-30 miles of twisties on perfect pavement.













Just before arriving in Munising we stopped in to see on the many waterfalls along the way. Miner’s Waterfall was our choice. Note- it includes a short 1 miles ride down a good quality dirt road and a .6 mile hike.



Then just a little further down a paved road is Miner’s Castle, a rock formation on the Lake Superior shoreline. Many people take boat tours out to see the rocks along the shoreline. The boats leave out of Munising.



Lunch in Munising and more route planning



We headed down M-28 To Marquette and Ishpeming. Saw this place along the way.



It really was a tourist trap, with a huge gift shop full of all the usual crap. However, what he does have is a fun collection of odd ball stuff- mostly using some type of engine. And it all really seems to have worked at one time. Free btw.











And man was it hot today. Nearly a hundred degrees all day. You had to do anything you could to keep cool.



We decided not to make the run up the Keewenaw, just too hot. We took M-38 across the bottom of the Keewenaw instead. Nice road. We rolled into Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park around 6pm. We found a campsite at the Union Bay state campground. Nice facilities right on the lake with the nicest showers so far and is just down the road from the Lake in the Clouds.



We headed back into Ontanogan for supper. Ate at Roxey’s Lounge. Simple bar but the burgers were amazing! Must eat there if you are in Ontanagon.



Chatted with some locals and learned that they were expecting rain.
It started raining when we arrived back at camp. Hurried into the tents for the night- hoping it is over by morning. Tomorrow we do the South Boundary Road in the park and on to Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Great report! Subscribed! Have fun guys!