Advice on Route from Michigan's Upper Penn into Wisconsin

GordonThree wrote:
Route wise, US-2 can't be beat. Do you specifically want to visit Wisconsin? You'll cut through a little bit of it and then into Minnesota, driving through beautiful Duluth on the shore of Lake Superior.

Will have to disagree on US-2 about as boring as you can get in WI.

From the UP on 2 head north on 13 near Ashland. Will take you through Bayfield and around the the coastline of Lake Superior. With many great views and little towns.

Some of my favorite campgrounds along that route.

#1: Herbster campground. It is run by the town of Herbster and is directly on Lake Superior. A hidden Gem in northern WI.

#2: Little Sand Bay Campground. Another on the shore of Lake Superior but close to the Apostle Islands.

#3: Buffalo Bay Campground and Marina. Nice campground in town of Red Cliff.

If traveling US-2 in Montana, consider a night at Trafton Park in Malta. Camping is $3, honor system. Park anywhere you like, there are no set campsites. Nice big cottonwood trees throughout the park. There are rest rooms and I recall at least one water spigot. A small river borders the park on the north, and fishing is allowed. When I was there about 5 years ago, they were having a local calf-roping contest at the corral right next to the CG and I watched and took pictures. Other than that it was peaceful, and only 2 other campers besides myself. Plenty of room! Turn north at the rest stop and it's just a block north. It's very informal and doesn't look like a CG, it looks like a town park, but don't be fooled...sure enough, you can camp there. If you like to camp where you feel as if you escaped civilization, you will like this place.

Last year we stayed at Aune-Osborn RV park in Sault Ste Marie (Soo Locks). Loved it there, loved the area, right on the water, will for sure go back. But it's pretty full, got the res during the winter.

In eastern UP, there are 2 choices - US2 that hugs the Lake Michigan coast (and is scenic) and a state route across the middle, that is relatively straight, with forest and some rolling hills but not much else. There are a couple of side trips that you can take to the Lake Superior coast, as well as Taquamenon (sp?) Falls.

You could continue along the Lake Michigan shore to Green Bay, take a side trip up the scenic Door County, and/or head west across the state on a divided state route to I94. I94 takes you past/through the Twin Cities and on to ND and Montana.

Altnatively you could continue on 2 to Duluth. Possible side trips are the peninsula to Houghton and Copper Harbor. There's a state park and historic fort at the tip. And the Apostle Islands, with a scenic drive along the coast. In between are the Porcupine Mtns, one of the more rugged parts of the UP. And from Duluth, the drive NE along the North Shore is quite scenic, all the way to the border.

US2 west from Duluth is straight and flat (well a bit of a climb out of Duluth). It's a good alternative to I94 across ND and Mt. There used to be warnings about oil patch traffic and tight lodging in western ND, but with the drop in oil prices that activity has fallen off.

I'd suggest going one way along US2, and the other way across Canada, though there isn't a lot of difference in scenery in the prairie provinces/states. The southern Canadian cites are bigger than the northern American towns.

Woodland Park at Grand Marais, MI is pleasant, right on Lake Superior with a nice view of the lake, and has large sites.

The boat tour from Munising along the Pictured Rocks Nat'l Lakeshore is worthwhile, if you have a sunny day for it. If not, try the Apostle Islands, which from photos looks to be quite similar.

I would highly recommend a drive north of Duluth along the lakeshore to Grand Marais MN. There's a big RV park close to shore there, with large sites. Not positive about the state parks along that drive, but the Woodall's online directory says there are large enough campsites at Temperance River, Cascade, and Judge C R Magney State Parks. Make reservations early for any of these. The number of nice waterfalls and high overlooks along this stretch is noteworthy, and there's a nice lighthouse also. In Grand Marais, stroll to Artist's Point (take your camera) and also have a great pizza at Sven and Ole's.

I would use Highway 2. It is a great ride. Have done it numerous times east and west bound between the UP and Washington both in the current rig and when I pulled a 40' fifth. As it is, I have never made a cg reservation only because I don't plan on what days will be my travel days and what ones won't, and when a travel day what time I will start in the am and when I will quit. I also have never not found a good place to camp and I don't do Walmarts etc. I guess if I were to make reservations, it might be at Glacier and I'd probably go for a private cg. Plenty of them around and have used a number of them on both the east and west sides of Glacier. Many state park cgs keep some 'walk in' sites available and if you have a quitting time of 2 pm or so, you should get in. Also along the way many towns and counties have a town or county park with, usually FHU, a few camping sites - normally big sites. Use your smart phone campsite apps to find them. Gas and diesel fuel are plentiful along the way and most stations are kind of rural in nature with ample space to maneuver a big rig.

Route wise, US-2 can't be beat. Do you specifically want to visit Wisconsin? You'll cut through a little bit of it and then into Minnesota, driving through beautiful Duluth on the shore of Lake Superior.

With a big rig, look into the parks outside Glacier, the in park rv campground is great but dated, built when RVs were much smaller.

I'm not much help with camping along the way, Both times I made the drive I stayed in Walmarts till Glacier.

We are leaving on August 17 for a trip through Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan (to include the Upper Peninsula). I started to make reservations in state parks about three months ago only to find out that the vast majority of those parks were already full. I had always thought that was only a problem in California. Have a great trip.