A nice route for someone from Michigan could be a circle route by crossing at the Sault, travelling north to Wawa on 17, then take 101 from Wawa over to Chapleau and 129 from Chapleau to Thessalon where you're back to highway 17, 50 miles east of the Sault.
You get the colour most of the way to Wawa along with some decent views of Lake Superior, then from Wawa to Chapleau 101 levels out for an easy drive and there's a good opportunity to see moose, from Chapleau to Thessalon the Mississauga River area provides some nice scenery.