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Circling Lake Huron?

gharnden

New member
Any suggestions on circling Lake Huron, would greatly be appreciated. I went around Lake Superior last year and am hoping Lake Huron will be as enjoyable. What roads to take, where to stop, what not to miss, etc. would be helpful.
 
this may sound a little goofy coming from someone who has not been there, but when i was researching rides to the rally in trenton back in 2002, i looked into the ferry between tobermory (on the bruce peninsula) and manitoulin island.

the chi-cheemaun ferry looked very interesting.

near tobermory is the bruce peninsula national park... that *looked* like a great place to camp. if you go there, please let me know what you think.

i have ridden the east cost of michigan and didn't think it was all that great. it was wall-to-wall lake front properties.

ian
 
Lake Superior

How did the Lake Superior tour go? Have you posted information or a ride report on that trip? Where did you go? Any other details? I want to do that trip maybe this summer.
 
On the south side of the lake in Canada there is Pinery Provincial Park, which is an absolutely beautiful place to stay. I have ridden from there to Tobermory (where you would catch the "Chi"; an EXCELLENT way across the Lake, BTW). The ride between there was rather boring... running through a lot of small touristy towns with a good amount of traffic, in places. On the North side, I've ridden from North Bay to Manitoulin Island. That part of the highway is also not nearly as good as riding along the north side of Superior. That being said, Manitoulin Island is an interesting place, and I wish I had stayed there longer than overnight. If you're looking for an affordable no-frills campground (ie, no running water) I'd suggestion "Gordon's Park"; which is also only a short ride to Tekummah where you can again pick up the "Chi". If you DO take a boat ride across the Lake, make sure to GET A RESERVATION. I know two guys that waited a number of hours before they could get across because they didn't have a reservation.

I've heard the areas around the Georgian Bay are rather scenic, though I haven't been through that section myself.
 
Lake Superior Trip

We basically started at Ironwood on the west side of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. From there, we headed up to Copper Harbor. The Houghton area on the river is a great place to stay. If you stay in a motel here, stay downtown on the river. (Do not confuse Houghton with Houghton Lake as they are different towns). We headed across to Marquette and on over to Sault Ste. Marie. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is fantastic. Very remote.
Continuing on into Ontario on Hwy 17, it very nice all the way to Nipigon. Towns like Marathon and Terrace Bay are nice small towns. You see the water on and off the entire way in Canada. Once you get close to Thunder Bay, it gets very industrial. As you get close to entering the US, north of Duluth, it gets very nice again. The drive down the US coast on Hwy 61 is excellent. Towns like Two Harbors are great small towns on the coast and it continues to be good as you drive into Duluth, seeing all the very large homes on the north side of Duluth. Once you reach Duluth, it is basically over. Great trip, fairly remote, good roads. I would recommend it to anyone.
 
Lake Superior Trip

I did the same trip around Lake Superior in 2005 except I went the opposite direction (counter-clockwise). Absolutely beautiful scenery really all the way around but I especially liked the North and East sides the best. With the price of gas as high as it has been there are very few RV's on the roads and it is very easy to get a nice cheap cabin or motel to stay at each night. There are many great parks to stop at all the way around the lake, some really beautiful ones in Minnesota. You can pull over go hiking for a while or put your trunks on and go swimming. Needed to do that when I went as it was 95 degrees while I was in the U.P. of MI. It is a fun and beautiful ride!
Tom
Don't miss taking excursions to Copper Harbor and the pennisula that looks out towards the Apostle Islands( I forget the name of the town in WI)
 
If you are coming across at Tobermorry there are a few nice roads down to Wiarton. From Wiarton to Owen Sound there is a very nice coastal road on Georgian Bay that is a very good ride. Just around Owen Sound there are a number of water falls and the counties of Grey and Bruce have some good publications including the Grey-Bruce Motorcycle Map and they're web sites are http://www.visitgrey.ca/ and http://www.explorethebruce.com/

My only caution to you is to avoid our holiday weekends (May 19, July 1, August 4) as it can be hell on the roads. If you can go mid-week it's much better. While I've not use this personally, the Bluewater Ferry is a much nicer border crossing experience than either Sarnia/Port Huron or Windsor/Detroit.

Cheers!
 
the chi-cheemaun ferry looked very interesting.

Been on the Chi-Cheemaun a couple of times. However I always carry straps for my tie downs as they only provide ropes. I never did master knot tying in Scouts. When on the ferry a couple of years ago, four riders were called down to the loading deck. Someone's ropes had come loose and a domino game began. Did I mention that I always carry straps?
 
Been on the Chi-Cheemaun a couple of times. However I always carry straps for my tie downs as they only provide ropes. I never did master knot tying in Scouts. When on the ferry a couple of years ago, four riders were called down to the loading deck. Someone's ropes had come loose and a domino game began. Did I mention that I always carry straps?

+1

I took my own straps, as well. I wasn't in scouts, so nobody taught me knot tying. :)

My crossing was smooth enough that I really don't think the bike would have fallen even if it wasn't tied down, but nice nylon straps make me feel better than old ropes. YMMV.

jamesbay35.jpg
 
Circling Lake Huron

You will enjoy the stretch of highyway #6 from Espanola to Little Current. This section of road is in prime condition. Great scenery! Little Current to South Baymouth is a nice ride. The good thing about the ferry is all the bikes get loaded on first and are first to unload. From Tobermory highway #6 is straight and boring. Also In Tobermory there are harbour tours, forget about going on the glass bottom boat tours if Georgain Bay is rough. Loads of boutique's and art shops in town .When you get to Wiarton, county road #1 is a top notch ride; it follows the shore line between Wiarton and Owen Sound. All the locals use this road and if you can fit it into the trip it is worth while. In Owen Sound just follow HWY #21 south. Hope you enjoy your trip, and welcome to Ontario.
 
In the Collingwood / Owen Sound area, there are 7 waterfalls that you might wish to visit. (Don't do this during a drought summer as I did.) . As well, in this area are a number of lighthouses that you might wish to scout. Grey Bruce County tourism will have information on these locations.
 
There's a great (albeit short) stretch of road between Southampton and Port Elgin on the Ontario side that runs right along the shore of Lake Huron. The waves rolling in on one side and beautiful summer homes on the other. There's even one house that was built to look like a ship!

The last time I did this stretch, I decided to drop by the Bruce nuclear power plant in Inverhuron, just south of there, with the hopes of getting a tour of the facility. It was a chilly day and I had my Gerbings on. As I got off the bike and walked towards the main building, I remembered that I forgot to turn my temp-controller off. I try to remember to do this so that I dont draw extra power from the battery next time I go to start the bike. I guess the guard walking towards me saw a different picture. Guy dressed head to toe in black, wearing a helmet, a wire dangling from his jacket and he's reaching for some kind of switch on his belt. It all ended ok, but I needed a change of underwear after I saw him going for his gun. Never did get a tour of the plant, either. :scratch

Jim
 
Here is a picture of us last summer just east of Kilarney.


small+whalesback+2.JPG


Lots more fun to be on Lake Huron than riding around it. :laugh
 
Circling Lake Huron

Unlike the Superior route, Lake Huron isn't really close to a highway north of Little Current since you take 6 north to 17 West to Sault Ste Marie then south into Michigan. I spent a little time on Manitoulin when I lived in Sudbury, going down on weekends. There are plenty of roads to explore with little or no traffic, plenty of deer though. At the far west end there is a lighthouse with a great fish'nchips restaurant as well as some spots on the flat rocks for camping (amazing sunsets BTW). The roads are mainly concessions, straight, then 90% turns, but they're fun. Tons of small beaches and lakes/bays. A well-kept secret.
Anything east of Manitoulin is northern Georgian Bay which is one of the most beautiful, unique places on earth. Thousands of small islands and breathtaking scenery, hard to ride to, since a lot of the land is native reserves and provincial parkland. Highway 400 then 69 north are another route around the lake but they're slab then a really busy two lane with a lot of semis. Nice scenery though. A worthwhile side trip on this route would be into Killarney (another great fish'n chip spot in town). The Provincial park is beautiful, The white (Quartzite) LaCloche Mountains run through it. Great camping but it books up quickly in the spring throughout summer.
 
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