Lake Superior Circle Tour

[Karatara]

Hi, we are planning to do the Lake Superior Circle Tour after Labor Day. We would like your feedback on campgrounds to stay in and also to avoid. Also any place that we simply can not miss stopping at. Are there any roads we should avoid? We have all the info from the Internet and the Lake Superior magazine, but first hand knowledge is priceless. Thank you

[Jamie Bradford]

Hi Wayne & Kara,

We did that 2 years ago - Beautiful Trip!

We started in Sault Ste Marie and went west. Koa in Wawa was ok. Koa in Thunder Bay was good. Lakehead Basin Marina in Duluth is a good place to stay. Ashland City , Wi has a great city park right on the water - big sites.

From Grand Portage south to Duluth there is a ton of stuff to see! You are right on Lake Superior the whole way.

For some more in depth info on places to stay refer to Big Rigs Best Bets.

Jamie

[Ronald Hiemann]

We did this trip last fall and took 3 weeks to complete the circle. We, too, started in Ste. Sault Marie and since we wanted to experience the fall colors at their best, we first did the U.S. side. There, you will find many campgrounds which will accomodate a Prevost and provide 50 amps. However, once you cross over into Canada, you have to search very carefully
for such campgrounds. They are few and in-between. Not only that, most Canadian campgrounds do have 30 amps only and some of the beautiful provincial parks offer just 15 amps. We entered one of these parks, right on the water of Lake Superior. We parked the bus right outside a new, beautiful visitor center. Inside, at the reservation desk, we pointed at the window and our bus, stressing the length of 45 feet. We were told no problem at all. Unfortunately, we took their word for it and headed towards our assigned site. The wooded site was beautiful and only steps away from the water. However, everything was so tight inside the park, that it was impossible to pull or back in to the site. Not only that, we found out that the power pedestals are being shared by 2 sites. Our cord was not long enough to reach the 30 amps plug. The people who shared our pedestal had to use several extension cords and ended-up with 15 amps. We decided we had to leave. To exit the campground took us over an hour because we had to manouver through and around trees, of which some got within an inch or less of the bus. We got close to getting a saw to take down a smaller tree because we could not get past it. Only after a couple of people used their combined strength to pull and bend the tree away from the bus, did we finally escape. The next nearest campground was about 20 miles away. They had 15 amps only and we ran the generator for the entire night. This episode taught us a valuable lesson. Now, regardless of the campground, we leave the bus and walk to our site to check it out. Getting back to the Lake Superior Great Circle Tour, highly recommended. We did it too late in the year in late September and it was cool to very cold. Next time, we will do this trip during the summer.
cheers,
Ronald

[Karatara]

Thanks a lot for the information. Since we are brand new to RVing, we really appreciate the helpful hints. We have done several week long snowmobile trips (when our backs were young and healthy) on the Michigan side and the Canadian side up to WaWa and then on to Hearst. So we are looking forward to seeing the greener and warmer side of Lake Superior.

[Ronald Hiemann]

Hi again, even though you sound like you know what cold means and feels like, for the purpose of doing this trip and to really enjoy the lake and its waters, leaving after Labor Day is late. By late September, it can be really cold. So cold, that I had to go and by myself a warm woolen cap and gloves! Not my kind of weather! Also, taking boat rides at that time of the year can be both, enjoyable under the sun and miserable when it is cold. We did the painted rocks boat trip on a half-way decent day. Temps in the 50's!!! Viewing the rocks was awesome but it was also great to get off of the boat to warm-up back in the bus. Well, I guess I am a wimp... I am so done with winter and snow. That is why I am typing this from St. Pete, Florida.