Lake Michigan Circle Tour. Anybody out there done it?

[vrodrjs]

My wife and I are thinking about doing it this summer. My daughter is going to Canada for 12 days with a Student Ambassador program so we thought we could sneak in a long ride while she was gone. I was wondering if anybody here has done it and has routes or places, that might be a little off the beaten path, that you just have to see. I have looked at tons of things on the internet but was hoping I could get a little insider information to go with it. Thanks.

 

[NancysToy]

Take a peek at the book Motorcycling Across Michigan by William Murphy. It has circle tours for the four various Great Lakes that border Michigan. Good routes, good info, and a lot of other fine Michigan rides in the book.

 

[rcdurango]

Lower part

Judy and I have done the lower part of that. UP Michigan. and really enjoyed that part of the ride. Someday we want to do the whole
thing. We think it would be really cool to do it. But I think there's to many to type on here. Give us a IM or a ring on the phone sometime and we can point out some things to see on the lower part of that rt.

 

[NancysToy]

A lot of people avoid the Chicago end of the Lake and take the ferry across to complete their loops.

 

[rcdurango]

A lot of people avoid the Chicago end of the Lake and take the ferry across to complete their loops.

:agree: go right up the west coast of Mi. Wouldn't miss that part!:clap:

 

[oldblindjohn]

What's the gas situation east of Thunder Bay?:dontknow:

 

[JkRbbt]

Spent 25 yrs in the Chicago-Rockford area. Being from IL, I'm sure you realize that Chicago is a DESTINATION and not something you want to experience, just "passing thru"! (Traffic!) Unless you just want to say that you "circled the lake," I'd head up to northern MI and the U/P. You could head straight north to WI and cut over to the U/P. Great secondary roads and great scenery! Eastern U/P is gorgeous, especially the Houghton/Hancock area out to Copper Harbor. Depending on your route, consider the Luddinton-Manitowac ferry. Never lost anything at the south end of the Lake except toll change, patience and tooth fillings! Hope you have great wx because there is some great riding up nort', Wisconsin and MI! Take pics! We want to see!

 

[vrodrjs]

Take a peek at the book Motorcycling Across Michigan by William Murphy. It has circle tours for the four various Great Lakes that border Michigan. Good routes, good info, and a lot of other fine Michigan rides in the book.

Saw that in another post of yours and headed to the book store after work.

As far as Chi town, I was just there this weekend so the traffic and the tolls are fresh in my mind. The plan is to head to Michigan City, IN spend a day just hanging out there the ride the lake counter clockwise. Maybe spend a day in Chicago on the tail end of the trip. Run LSD through town and the traffic isn't horrible. My wife will be in charge of pictures and she, according to our daughter, is part PHOTOrican.

 

[rnet]

Had friends of mine loop Lake Superior on snowmobiles, but i don't think that will help you.

 

[NancysToy]

Saw that in another post of yours and headed to the book store after work.

As far as Chi town, I was just there this weekend so the traffic and the tolls are fresh in my mind. The plan is to head to Michigan City, IN spend a day just hanging out there the ride the lake counter clockwise. Maybe spend a day in Chicago on the tail end of the trip. Run LSD through town and the traffic isn't horrible. My wife will be in charge of pictures and she, according to our daughter, is part PHOTOrican.

Some of our favorite rides are along Lake Michigan's east shore. If you decide to stick close to the Lake, instead of taking the highways, allow plenty of time. It is worth the delays! Also be sure to allow for shopping and browsing in all the little resort towns along the way. Favorite stretches for us include Lakeshore Drive from Holland to Grand Haven and Scenic Drive from Muskegon to Whitehall. Old US-12 at the foot of the Lake is fun, too. Don't forget the "Tunnel of Trees" from Petoskey to Harbor Springs. There are some delightful lakeshore roads all the way to the Bridge, but exploring them will take days, where the expressways only take hours.

 

[Trickie Dick]

I thought about trying to do the Lake Michigan tour. I really enjoyed the 3 Lakes in 3 days ride we did a couple of years ago. I would also think that the Lake Superior circle would be a fun thing to do as well. I don't think you would have the traffic to deal with that you might around Lake Michigan.
http://www.lakesuperiorcircletour.info/map.asp

 

[NancysToy]

The Lake Huron circle is supposed to be nice, too. Most people take the ferry across Georgian Bay to shorthen that one.

 

[GeminiJane]

You don't say what time of year that will be but we did the trip a few years ago. When we left Southern Illinois it was in high 90's. We were at Thunder Bay at first of July and temps were in the high 30's/low 40's so be sure to pack for temperature extremes.

 

[vrodrjs]

You don't say what time of year that will be but we did the trip a few years ago. When we left Southern Illinois it was in high 90's. We were at Thunder Bay at first of July and temps were in the high 30's/low 40's so be sure to pack for temperature extremes.

We were thinking mid June. I'll start looking at the average temps in a few weeks for that time of year.

 

[MouthPiece]

Cindy and I have close friends in the Escanaba area and hope to make this ride.

Chris

 

[SpyderAnn01]

We were thinking mid June. I'll start looking at the average temps in a few weeks for that time of year.

Hey Bob mid June is usually when they have Midwest Thunder although I am hearing that it may be cancelled this year. If they do have it CPTJAM and I will be there (Milwaukee). Are you Vrodding on the Circl Tour or Spydering?

 

[vrodrjs]

Hey Bob mid June is usually when they have Midwest Thunder although I am hearing that it may be cancelled this year. If they do have it CPTJAM and I will be there (Milwaukee). Are you Vrodding on the Circl Tour or Spydering?

My wife is going with me so the Spyder is the vehicle of choice. She isn't much for riding on the back of the Vrod for some reason. Last time I went to MWT it did just that most of the time. It was still in Niles at the beautiful Niles Inn. Only place I ever thought about and did park my bike in my room with me. I will most likely come to KC this year.

 

[jascreek]

Lake Michigan ride

Wife and I did it last summer. Found a route off of "openroadjourney.com" but discovered map was not perfect. Headed North up the Wisconsin side stopped at Mackinaw the second day and went to Mackinac island. Came back South the Michigan side all of this along the lake, stopped at Indian dunes and headed home. 4 days and 1000 miles. Beautiful ride and not rushed.

 

[vrodrjs]

Wife and I did it last summer. Found a route off of "openroadjourney.com" but discovered map was not perfect. Headed North up the Wisconsin side stopped at Mackinaw the second day and went to Mackinac island. Came back South the Michigan side all of this along the lake, stopped at Indian dunes and headed home. 4 days and 1000 miles. Beautiful ride and not rushed.

That is about the pace I think we are going to shoot for.