Lake Superior Circle Tour

As 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.

In 1985, Michigan First Lady Paula Blanchard, who was an advisor to the Michigan Department of Commerce at the time, pitched the idea to establish a tour route around Lake Superior at a tourism conference that fall. Soon after, the Michigan Department of Transportation drafted a design for the signs and, working with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO), helped devise a route around the largest of the Great Lakes. LSCT signs were posted during the summer of 1986.

Interestingly enough, more of the LSCT exists in Michigan than in any other state or province—approximately 515 miles! Ontario comes close with approximately 474 miles, with Wisconsin (142 mi) and Minnesota (154 mi) 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.
• At the northern end of M-64 at US-45 in Ontonagon, the LSCT continues ahead via M-38 southeasterly to Greenland.
• At the junction with M-26 outside Greenland, the route turns northeasterly to follow that highway into Houghton.
  • While formerly signed along US-41 from Houghton across the Houghton-Hancock Lift Bridge, through Hancock, past Calumet and Laurium, then all the way through Keweenaw Co to Copper Harbor, returning back from Copper Harbor via M-26 through Eagle Harbor and Eagle River, then doubling-back down US-41 back to Hancock and Houghton, in around 2009, During a highway sign replacement project along US-41 in the Keweenaw Peninsula, MDOT removed all mainline LSCT route markers from US-41 from Houghton northerly. The circle tour signs north of Houghton were replaced with a random smattering of Lake Superior Circle Tour LOOP and Lake Superior Circle Tour SPUR signs, with MDOT seemingly not understanding what the official route for the circle tour is in the area. The new signage is so lacking that motorists should not plan on following the signs in order to follow the LSCT route in the region. At this point, US-41 from Houghton to Copper Harbor is now considered to be a Lake Superior Circle Tour Loop/Spur route.
• From 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 was formerly signed along M-77 northerly to a terminus in Grand Marais, on the Lake Superior shoreline, but when the road signs along M-77 were replaced in 2012–13, the LSCT Spur Route signs were left off and the spur is no longer signed.
• 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° turn to head southerly at Paradise, the LSCT does the same and continues back to M-28 at Eckerman Corners.
• 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.

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 highway 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. However, while this route may have once been well-signed, as of the 2020s, only a pair of Lake Superior Circle Tour Loop signs are present on Co Rd 505 at the Ironwood north city limit and one additional sign posted on Wisconsin STH-122 about halfway between US-2 and the Montreal River. It is not currently signed from US-2 either at the Lake St intersection in Ironwood nor at the STH-122 junction in Wisconsin. It could be said, therefore, this loop route is no longer officially designated as such.

The route consists (or consisted) of:

• The LSCT Loop Route 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 Co Rd 505, which it will remain all the way back to Ironwood.
• The loop route contines on Co Rd 505 through several turns, entering Ironwood from the north.
• This routing ends at the LSCT mainline along US-2 at the cnr of Cloverland Dr & Lake St northeast of downtown Ironwood.

 

Lake Superior Circle Tour - Loop/Spur Route (Keweenaw Peninsula)

When initially designated and signed in the 1980s, the Lake Superior Circle Tour crosses over the Houghton-Hancock Lift Bridge between Houghton and Hancock and continues up the Keweenaw Peninsula via US-41 past Calumet and Laurium and through Keweenaw Co to Copper Harbor where it then doubled back along M-26 through Eagle Harbor and Eagle River back to US-41 at Phoenix, where the route continued along US-41 back to Hancock and Houghton, where it continued southerly and easterly toward Marquette. However, during a highway sign replacement project, MDOT removed all Lake Superior Circle Tour signs north of Houghton. The circle tour signs north of Houghton were replaced with a random smattering of Lake Superior Circle Tour LOOP and Lake Superior Circle Tour SPUR signs, with MDOT seemingly not understanding what the official route for the circle tour is in the area. The new signage is so lacking that motorists should not plan on following the signs in order to follow the LSCT route in the region. Lacking a clearer definition of the route, the portion of US-41 from M-26 at Houghton northerly to Copper Harbor seeminly now exists as a "Loop" and/or "Spur" off the mainline route. The route:

• The LSCT Loop/Spur begins, assumedly, at the jct of US-41 & M-26 in downtown Houghton at the southern end of tge approach to the Houghton-Hancock Lift Bridge.
• It proceeds northerly across the bridge, then winds through Hancock following US-41.
• The route continues northerly following US-41 as it passes between Calumet and Laurium, then into Keweenaw Co via Ahmeek, Mohawk, Phoenix, Central and Delaware.
• The northernmost signage for the LSCT Loop/Spur is in Copper Harbor, signifying the route likely ends at the jct of US-41 & M-26 (cnr of 6th St & Gratiot St) downtown.
• To return to the mainline route of the LSCT, simply reverse the route via US-41 back to Houghton (although several other equally, if not more, scenic alternate routes deserve consideration on the way back to Houghton, some of which were formerly signed as part of the Circle Tour route until 2009).

 

Former Lake Superior Circle Tour - Loop Route (Calumet)

Originally, in the Calumet/Laurium area, from the jct of US-41 & M-26, a Lake Superior Loop Route departed the mainline LSCT to run through downtown Caulmet to M-203 on the north side of the village before turning back east to US-41/M-26 northeast of town. As with all Loop and Spur Routes, this route was designated with white-on-brown circle tour signs, using the same LSCT "logo." However, since approximately 2010, very few of the LSCT Loop signs remain and it would seem this route is no longer officially designated and maintained as such. The route:

• The LSCT Loop Route began at jct US-41 (cnr Calumet Ave & Sixth St Extension–Lake Linden Ave) between Laurium and Calumet and proceeded northwesterly via the Sixth St Extension.
• The loop route continued north through Calumet via Sixth St to M-203/Pine St.
• At M-203, the loop turned east to follow M-203/Pine St back to where it rejoined the mainline LSCT along US-41/M-26 northeast of Calumet (at cnr Calumet Ave & Pine St)

 

Former 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, a spur route was signed leading away from the LSCT at Seney to provide travellers with a signed route to the Lake at this point. Unfortunately, when MDOT replaced all of the signs along M-77 north from Seney in 2012–13, the Scenic Spur signs were not replaced and, thus, this route is now unsigned. The formerly-signed route:

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

Back to: Great Lakes Circle Tour page.
 

Additional Information

• Great Lakes Circle Tour – from the author of MichiganHighways.org.
• Great Lakes Circle Tour – project archive from the Great Lakes Commission. It was the GLC who originally helped establish the Great Lakes Circle Tours, however as of the early 2020s, the Commission has seemed to have abandoned the concept and no longer supports the Circle Tours in an active manner.
• Lake Superior Circle Tour (archived) – 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! (Alas, you have to pay a small shipping & handling charge unless you order other products from the site.)
• Lake Superior Circle Tour – "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 site mainly deals with destinations in Northern Ontario.)