Advice for Lake Superior and Lake Huron area Ontario

[footslogger]

In mid-September we will be entering Ontario at Grand Portage MN on the north shore of Lake Superior, heading towards Thunder Bay. We will have about 6 days before re-entering the US at Niagara Falls NY. I think we are pretty comfortable with the border crossings, but would like advise on stops and points of interest along the way. We have no particular route in mind, but I don't expect we will venture too far north, likely staying fairly close to the lake shore. We have never been to this area and don't know what to expect. Is it generally a remote and rural area? Is roadside overnight parking allowed and safe?

Any advice is appreciated!

[atreis]

Pukaskwa NP has a great campground (NE corner of the lake), beaches and hikes. Lake Superior PP (eastern end) has great hikes, one (Orphan Lake Trail) goes out to a really nice rocky beach, and also good backcountry kayaking and camping. We also like Pancake Bay PP, but only if getting a waterfront site. Sleeping Giant PP isn't quite a nice camping, but is still worth stopping at. If you have kids, the Amethyst Mine near there is a fun stop. We didn't stay in Thunder Bay proper - just drove in for the day when we were there. There's an old Voyageur re-enactment fort NW of town (can't remember the name now) that's also a fun stop. (There's also a private farm selling homemade Gouda cheese run by a Dutch couple - couldn't tell you where that is though. Good cheese.)

If going in the summer season, make reservations for the PPs early so that you can get a waterfront site. Pukaskwa doesn't take reservations, but we've never had trouble getting a site. (I like the sites closest to the beach there.)

Description of the drive along the Eastern shore of Lake Superior: It's like the California coast, but without all the people. Truly spectacularly beautiful drive.

[bsinmich]

I have been from Vancouver to Nova Scotia so I am not unfamiliar with Ontario. My point is the new road doesn't give much to see of the Lake compared to MN, WI, and MI. All my relatives live in Ontario. My biggest disappointment though was when the Subway in Mattawa didn't have jalapenos for my sandwich.

[rwbradley]

RangerJay wrote:

bsinmich wrote:
I did the trip in June from Thunder bay to Pembroke, Ontario via Hwy 17. The road around Superior is excellent for driving but worthless for sightseeing. The new road is a couple miles away from the Lake and out of sight for most of the trip. It is 2 lanes with very narrow shoulders and a cable fence for most of the distance. Pulling to the side for a picture is almost impossible as the semis are whizzing past at 120+kph. I did have a black bear run across the road in front of me and almost got rear ended by a semi when I slowed to avoid it. Later I saw 2 moose feeding at the roadside and knew it was time to stop for the night. To see anything you have to get off of 17 and go to the small towns. Many of those roads are not in good shape leaving the highway, and many of the towns have suffered by the highway being moved away from them. Sault Ste. Marie has a lot. The Agawa Canyon train is great, Soo Locks boat tour. all the other things on both sides of the border. Antlers restaurant on the Mich side is an experience. Sudbury has a lot to see and do also.

Wow - I guess each to their own - can't say I recognize much of this route in the above description .....

Google "Hwy 17 Lake Superior Views" - then toggle on "images" - you'll get an idea of what you will see.

In the view of most folks Hwy 17 from Thunder Bay to Sault Ste. Marie is one of the more scenic drives you will find anywhere. It is an amazing chunk of Canada's Canadian Shield that was made famous by The Group of Seven painters in the early part of the last century. And trucks? - most will be taking Hwy 11 - the more northerly and flatter route - for those you do encounter there are passing lanes on most (not all) grades. SSM and Sudbury as tourism destinations? - well - maybe - each do have their own solid attractions - good add-on's to be sure - but IMHO not significant enough to be the main destinations on this route.

I suppose the difference in opinions may be that some most enjoy places where other's aren't - and some most enjoy places where others are .....


Jay

I have to say I am surprised as well. It is one of the most spectacular drives I have ever taken. However he may have expected it to be more like the Blueridge Parkway, with scenic pull offs every mile and a ranger station where you can get information and souvenirs, and towns like Asheville where you can pull off for the night at a half dozen different campgrounds, find a Super Walmart, SamsClub, three Starbucks and all kinds of quaint shops and restaurants on the main strip.
This is the real north. Part of the charm of this drive is that it is so isolated.

[RangerJay]

bsinmich wrote:
I did the trip in June from Thunder bay to Pembroke, Ontario via Hwy 17. The road around Superior is excellent for driving but worthless for sightseeing. The new road is a couple miles away from the Lake and out of sight for most of the trip. It is 2 lanes with very narrow shoulders and a cable fence for most of the distance. Pulling to the side for a picture is almost impossible as the semis are whizzing past at 120+kph. I did have a black bear run across the road in front of me and almost got rear ended by a semi when I slowed to avoid it. Later I saw 2 moose feeding at the roadside and knew it was time to stop for the night. To see anything you have to get off of 17 and go to the small towns. Many of those roads are not in good shape leaving the highway, and many of the towns have suffered by the highway being moved away from them. Sault Ste. Marie has a lot. The Agawa Canyon train is great, Soo Locks boat tour. all the other things on both sides of the border. Antlers restaurant on the Mich side is an experience. Sudbury has a lot to see and do also.

Wow - I guess each to their own - can't say I recognize much of this route in the above description .....

Google "Hwy 17 Lake Superior Views" - then toggle on "images" - you'll get an idea of what you will see.

In the view of most folks Hwy 17 from Thunder Bay to Sault Ste. Marie is one of the more scenic drives you will find anywhere. It is an amazing chunk of Canada's Canadian Shield that was made famous by The Group of Seven painters in the early part of the last century. And trucks? - most will be taking Hwy 11 - the more northerly and flatter route - for those you do encounter there are passing lanes on most (not all) grades. SSM and Sudbury as tourism destinations? - well - maybe - each do have their own solid attractions - good add-on's to be sure - but IMHO not significant enough to be the main destinations on this route.

I suppose the difference in opinions may be that some most enjoy places where other's aren't - and some most enjoy places where others are .....


Jay

[almcc]

bsinmich wrote:
I did the trip in June from Thunder bay to Pembroke, Ontario via Hwy 17. The road around Superior is excellent for driving but worthless for sightseeing. The new road is a couple miles away from the Lake and out of sight for most of the trip. It is 2 lanes with very narrow shoulders and a cable fence for most of the distance. Pulling to the side for a picture is almost impossible as the semis are whizzing past at 120+kph. I did have a black bear run across the road in front of me and almost got rear ended by a semi when I slowed to avoid it. Later I saw 2 moose feeding at the roadside and knew it was time to stop for the night. To see anything you have to get off of 17 and go to the small towns. Many of those roads are not in good shape leaving the highway, and many of the towns have suffered by the highway being moved away from them. Sault Ste. Marie has a lot. The Agawa Canyon train is great, Soo Locks boat tour. all the other things on both sides of the border. Antlers restaurant on the Mich side is an experience. Sudbury has a lot to see and do also.

Methinks you are exaggerating a bit!

I'm sure that you know that all semi transports (both those in Ontario and the ones that come in from other provinces/states) are required to be speed governed to 105 km./hr. This is done by programming the truck's computer and police have gadgets to plug into the computer,if the speed isn't governed then there is a price to pay in addition to the speeding fine.

Here's a link: Link

You must have been on a different highway 17 in June than I was, there were no vehicles (including trucks) on that stretch for minutes at a time!

[bsinmich]

I did the trip in June from Thunder bay to Pembroke, Ontario via Hwy 17. The road around Superior is excellent for driving but worthless for sightseeing. The new road is a couple miles away from the Lake and out of sight for most of the trip. It is 2 lanes with very narrow shoulders and a cable fence for most of the distance. Pulling to the side for a picture is almost impossible as the semis are whizzing past at 120+kph. I did have a black bear run across the road in front of me and almost got rear ended by a semi when I slowed to avoid it. Later I saw 2 moose feeding at the roadside and knew it was time to stop for the night. To see anything you have to get off of 17 and go to the small towns. Many of those roads are not in good shape leaving the highway, and many of the towns have suffered by the highway being moved away from them. Sault Ste. Marie has a lot. The Agawa Canyon train is great, Soo Locks boat tour. all the other things on both sides of the border. Antlers restaurant on the Mich side is an experience. Sudbury has a lot to see and do also.

[almcc]

footslogger wrote:

almcc wrote:
The KOA in Wawa isn't a KOA any more, if it's the one just north of Wawa that's being referred to. Yes, it's a forgettable RV park but we stop there as it's a long day for us to and from the Sudbury area. They have 30 and 50 amp service and water, there is a dump site near the office. The long distance with no gas south of Wawa almost to the Sault shouldn't be a problem for the OP but I saw a stranded motor home (out of gas)on that stretch before.

You get the cheapest diesel in the north in Dryden. The Husky there is easy to get in and out of.

Good to know about the cheap diesel in Dryden. I need to do the math with gallons vs liters and USD vs CAD to figure out my real cost of fuel. Diesel here in Ely MN is currently $2.49/gal and seems to be dropping. I have a 135 gallon tank, so if I am lucky I will need to buy little or no fuel in Canada.

When we were up there in July, the diesel was $1.05 C$/liter. If I have my math right that translates to $4.04 C$ per US gallon, at a 75 cent C$ that makes it $3.03 US. The prices may have dropped since then but up here the refiners are gouging us, still keeping the prices high.

That $1.05 was still the cheapest in northern Ontario though.

Depending on how economical that Cummins is you will probably have to put some Canadian diesel into the tank, we used your 135 gallon tankful of diesel on a one way trip to Dryden from southern Ontario and we aren't close to Niagara Falls, it's another 100 miles or so from us. You should wait to get into southern Ontario to get fuel if you can, I saw diesel at $0.99/liter this morning and it wasn't at a "cheap" station.

[footslogger]

almcc wrote:
The KOA in Wawa isn't a KOA any more, if it's the one just north of Wawa that's being referred to. Yes, it's a forgettable RV park but we stop there as it's a long day for us to and from the Sudbury area. They have 30 and 50 amp service and water, there is a dump site near the office. The long distance with no gas south of Wawa almost to the Sault shouldn't be a problem for the OP but I saw a stranded motor home (out of gas)on that stretch before.

You get the cheapest diesel in the north in Dryden. The Husky there is easy to get in and out of.

Good to know about the cheap diesel in Dryden. I need to do the math with gallons vs liters and USD vs CAD to figure out my real cost of fuel. Diesel here in Ely MN is currently $2.49/gal and seems to be dropping. I have a 135 gallon tank, so if I am lucky I will need to buy little or no fuel in Canada.

[almcc]

The KOA in Wawa isn't a KOA any more, if it's the one just north of Wawa that's being referred to. Yes, it's a forgettable RV park but we stop there as it's a long day for us to and from the Sudbury area. They have 30 and 50 amp service and water, there is a dump site near the office. The long distance with no gas south of Wawa almost to the Sault shouldn't be a problem for the OP but I saw a stranded motor home (out of gas)on that stretch before.

You get the cheapest diesel in the north in Dryden. The Husky there is easy to get in and out of.

[RangerJay]

You don't leave yourself a lot of time to see a really scenic chunk of Ontario - on the other hand you are going through at a great time of year but check the Ontario Parks website for operating dates.

The route you are taking is one that we take pretty much every year from Thunder Bay area to visit family in the Niagara area.

I've listed our favourite parks.

I'd also ditto the suggestion to take the ferry from Manitoulin to Tobermory - it is a bit pricey - but if this is your one and only trip to Ontario then you are choosing between a straight-forward non-eventful drive from Sault Ste. Marie to Niagara via Sudbury against the opportunity to enjoy Lake Huron up close and personal and spend time viewing the incredible human and natural history of the Bruce Peninsula - no comparison in my view.

The one significant exception to going around Lake Huron via Sudbury is Killarney Provincial Park. It is a stunningly beautiful park that is well worth a visit if you do go via Sudbury - but - having said that - my caution for you has to do with the size of your rig in your avatar - Killarney is not big rig friendly - check and reserve ahead of time to make sure you can get a campsite that will accommodate you.

Favourite Parks:

North Shore of Lake Superior: check www.ontarioparks.com for more information and operating dates for all Provincial Parks

- Terry Fox Memorial and Lookout (just outside of Thunder Bay on Hwy 17) - a must see.

- Neys Provincial Park

- Pukaskwa National Park:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/on/pukaskwa/index.aspx

- Lake Superior Provincial Park

Lake Huron:

- Chicheemaun Ferry:
http://www.ontarioferries.com/ontarioferries/english/index.asp

- Fathom Five National Marine Park:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/amnc-nmca/on/fathomfive/index.aspx

- Tobermory:
http://tobermory.com/

- Bruce Peninsula National Park
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/on/bruce/index.aspx

Enjoy your trip.


Jay

[dewey02]

I don't have any suggestions for the Candian route, but the BWCA Wilderness in mid-September is beautiful. Cool nights, pleasant days, and far fewer people and NO BUGS! Have a great time. We just were in last week and it was very crowded. Several people (but not us) could not find campsites.

[63-Coupe]

There are really no roadside areas to overnight camp but there are provincial parks all along the route. They only have 30 amp electrical but most have dumping stations, water available at taps, and comfort stations with showers and flush toilets. http://www.ontarioparks.com/

There is a fairly long stretch of about 100 miles on Hwy. 17 from Wawa to just south of Pancake Bay Provincial Park where there are no gas stations. Nothing to panic about, just be forewarned.

[rr2254545]

footslogger wrote:

rr2254545 wrote:
We did the trip a few years ago

We stayed at
KOA Thunder Bay
Sunset Shores Batchewana Bay
Wawa RV Wawa
And wish would have stayed at the Koa in Sault Ste. Marie

Plan to stay in Sault Ste. Marie a couple of days - highlight of our trip was the Agawa Canyon Tour Train leaves 8 am returns 6 Pm - we got free breakfast on the train and they have food available in the canyon. With the favorable conversion rates the $112 fare is only about $ 86 US
We also liked the The Canadian Bushplane museum in town

Make sure you add Canada to your cell phone plan as the roaming fees will kill you if you do not - either that or turn them off for a week ( I could not do that)

This trip is 934 miles in Canada - a week is not enough try to see if you can add more days

OP here. I wish we did have more time. We are taking out of the Boundary Waters near Ely and leaving there on 9/14 and are scheduled to attend a rally in Watkins Glen starting 9/21. Perhaps we can use this trip as a scouting trip for a future trip and identify places where we want to spend more time at alater date.

Close call we check out of Clute in Watkins Glen on 9/21

[footslogger]

rr2254545 wrote:
We did the trip a few years ago

We stayed at
KOA Thunder Bay
Sunset Shores Batchewana Bay
Wawa RV Wawa
And wish would have stayed at the Koa in Sault Ste. Marie

Plan to stay in Sault Ste. Marie a couple of days - highlight of our trip was the Agawa Canyon Tour Train leaves 8 am returns 6 Pm - we got free breakfast on the train and they have food available in the canyon. With the favorable conversion rates the $112 fare is only about $ 86 US
We also liked the The Canadian Bushplane museum in town

Make sure you add Canada to your cell phone plan as the roaming fees will kill you if you do not - either that or turn them off for a week ( I could not do that)

This trip is 934 miles in Canada - a week is not enough try to see if you can add more days

OP here. I wish we did have more time. We are taking out of the Boundary Waters near Ely and leaving there on 9/14 and are scheduled to attend a rally in Watkins Glen starting 9/21. Perhaps we can use this trip as a scouting trip for a future trip and identify places where we want to spend more time at alater date.