Lake Superior Circle Tour

While not the first "official" routing of the Great Lake Circle Tours, the approximately 1,300-mile long Lake Superior Circle Tour can trace its history back to a loosely-organized "circle coute" around the Big Lake in the 1960s. Promoted by local tourist organizations by way of brochures, pamphlets and other promotional materials, the earlier incarnations of a loop route around the largest freshwater lake in the world were not signposted and travellers had to rely on the tourist brochures to find their way.

After the first official circle tour—the Lake Michigan Circle Tour—was designated and signed in 1987-88, the LSCT became the second official tour, complete with designated route and signs very soon after. Interestingly enough, more of the LSCT exists in Michigan than in any other state or province—approximately 520 miles! (Ontario comes close with approximately 485 miles, with Wisconsin and Minnesota far behind.)

Lake Superior Circle Tour Route

In Michigan, the mainline of the LSCT follows signed state trunkline routes in its entirety, although in some places the nearest state highway to the Lake Superior may be more than 25 miles away. This route listing lists the official route as well as the various locally-designated and marked "Lake Superior Circle Tour Loops and Spurs," which are generally posted with brown signs. These loop and spur routes are detailed following the mainline route below:

• The LSCT enters Michigan from Wisconsin at Ironwood. Follow the Lake Superior Circle Tour route into Wisconsin at the Wisconsin Highways website.
• Even as the mainline circle tour enters Michigan, a locally-designated LSCT Loop Route is signed closer to Lake Superior bridging between the two states.
• From Ironwood, the circle tour continues easterly on US-2 into Wakefield.
• At Wakefield, the LSCT turns east-northeasterly to follow M-28 to Bergland.
• From Bergland, the route heads northerly on M-64 to Silver City, continuing easterly on M-64 to Ontonagon.
• In Ontonagon, the tour turns southeasterly following US-45 through downtown.
• Where US-45 turns south toward Rockland, the LSCT continues southeasterly via M-38 to Greenland.
• At the junction with M-26, the route turns northeasterly to follow that highway into Houghton.
• At Houghton, the LSCT continues northeasterly on US-41 past Calument and Laurium, into Keweenaw Co and to Copper Harbor.
• The route turns westerly at Copper Harbor to follow M-26 along the lakeshore through Eagle Harbor and Eagle River back to US-41 at Phoenix.
• The circle tour backtracks southwesterly via US-41, again past Calumet and Laurium to Hancock and Houghton.
• While the LMCT remains on US-41 between Hancock and Calumet, an LSCT Loop Route is signed concurrently with M-203, which loops west from US-41 at Hancock, passes F J McLain State Park, returning to US-41/M-26 at Calumet.
• Now in Houghton, the route continues southerly to follow US-41 through Baraga and L'Anse, then pairs up with US-41/M-28 to continue easterly to Ishpeming, Negaunee and Marquette.
• The circle tour continues through Marquette on US-41/M-28 and on to Harvey.
• At Harvey, the LSCT turns to continue its easterly course via M-28 through Munising and Seney toward Newberry.
• At Seney, where the mainline circle tour route continues east toward Newberry, an LSCT Spur Route is signed along M-77 northerly to a terminus in Grand Marais, on the Lake Superior shoreline.
• In the Newberry area, the route turns northerly to follow M-123 through downtown Newberry, then arcs northeasterly through the Tahquamenon Falls State Park and into Paradise.
• Where M-123 makes a 90-degree turn to head southerly at Paradise, the LSCT does the same and continues back to M-28 near Echerman.
• The route re-joins M-28 at the eastern M-123 junction and continues easterly to I-75 at Exit 386.
• The circle tour then turns northerly to follow I-75 for its last 10 miles in Michigan toward Sault Ste Marie.
• The LSCT enters Ontario via the International Bridge at Sault Ste Marie.
• Continue on the Lake Superior Circle Tour into Ontario at the Ontario Highways website.

Note: The "Circle Tour Road Route" description from the GLIN website is not only vague, but incorrect! While a good shortcut route, the LSCT does not use M-28 between Bergland and the junction of US-141 & US-41 near Covington south of L'Anse. Other errors in the routing shave hundreds of miles from the acutal, posted route of the Lake Superior Circle Tour. The route included on this website has been personally researched by the website author in the field.

Lake Superior Circle Tour Loop and Spur Routes

Lake Superior Circle Tour - Loop Route (Little Girls Point)

When it enters Michigan, the LSCT at Ironwood is approximately 10 miles from the Big Lake, as the crow flies. To provide for a easy-to-navigate route to the Lake Superior shore at Little Girls Point as well as the westernmost point in Michigan, a locally-desinated Loop Route heads north from the mainline in the Ironwood area. Although it follows a state trunkline route in Wisconsin, the route on the Michigan side is county roads, which precludes it from being signed as an official portion of the LSCT. The route:

The LSCT Loop Route actually begins in Wisconsin, at the jct of US-2 & WI STH-122 at Saxon and continues northerly on STH-122.
• At the Montreal River bridge, the loop route enters Michigan and the road is now designated as Gogebic CR-505, which it will remain all the way back to Ironwood.
• The loop route contines on CR-505 through some turns, entering Ironwood from the north.
• This routing ends at the LSCT mainline along US-2 northeast of downtown Ironwood.

Lake Superior Circle Tour - Loop Route (Hancock-Calumet)

In the central Keweenaw Peninsula area, the mainline LSCT remains on US-41 which runs directly up the middle of the peninsula, although M-203 provides a scenic loop to the west of US-41, hitting the Lake Superior shore at F J McLain State Park. As with all Loop and Spur Routes, this route is designated with white-on-brown circle tour signs, using the same LSCT "logo." The route:

• The LSCT Loop Route begins at US-41 just west of downtown Hancock.
• The loop route follows M-203 in its entirety, past F J McLain State Park and on toward Calumet.
• the route ends when it meets back up with US-41/M-26 at Calumet and Laurium.

Lake Superior Circle Tour - Scenic Spur (Grand Marais)

Between Munising and Paradise, no state trunkline (or other major highway) runs along the Lake Superior shore, leaving the community of Grand Marais, situated right on the Big Lake, 25 miles north of the mainline LSCT. Therefore, this spur route leads away from the LSCT at Seney to provide travellers with a signed route to the Lake at this point. The route:

• The LSCT Spur Route begins at the eastern jct of M-28 & M-77 in Seney.
• The spur route continues northerly via M-77 for 25 miles into Grand Marais.
• This spur ends concurrently with M-77 in downtown Grand Marais.

Back to: Great Lakes Circle Tour page.

Additional Information

• Lake Superior Circle Tour - from the Great Lakes Information Network (GLIN), which "is a partnership that provides one place online for people to find information relating to the binational Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region of North America." Please note that the "Circle Tour Road Route" description from the GLIN site is not only vague, but incorrect in several places! (See note above following the detailed routing for more information.)
• Lake Superior Circle Tour Online - from the publishers of the excellent Lake Superior Magazine, headquartered in Duluth. The site is currently under development, but visitors are encouraged to visit the magazine's site for Lake Superior touring information. Lake Superior Magazine also publishes an annual Lake Superior Circle Tour Travel Guide and even offers anyone who requests one a free map of Lake Superior!.
• Lake Superior Circle Tour - Travel Tourism Guide and Planner - a new promotion website. From the site: "North of Superior Tourism Association is proud to present the Circle Tour as a cooperative marketing initiative to bring together like minded destinations that are accessible to travelers of the Lake Superior Circle Route. This project will be completed in the spring of 2003.. (This site mainly deals with destinations in Northern Ontario.)