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Best Great Lakes Drives

Started by TheHighwayMan3561, May 27, 2022, 01:07:53 AM

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Max Rockatansky

Quote from: VetteDriver16 on June 25, 2022, 10:52:30 AM
US-2 hugs the south shore of Lake Superior and is a nice easy drive.  M-119 (Tunnel of Trees) in NW Michigan is delightful year round.  M-185 (no cars) on Mackinac Island is gorgeous.

Can you really drive M-185 though?  I suppose you could drive it in an emergency vehicle, snowmobile or horse drawn carriage. 


GaryV

Quote from: VetteDriver16 on June 25, 2022, 10:52:30 AM
US-2 hugs the south shore of Lake Superior //
It's the north shore of Lake Michigan. And it's inland 30-40% of the way from St Ignace to Escanaba (from which point it is no longer near the lake). But it is a good drive, especially with 65 mph speed limit and a number of passing lanes.

On the south shore of Superior, M-28 is along/near the shore from near Marquette to Munising.

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on June 25, 2022, 11:16:16 AM
Can you really drive M-185 though?  I suppose you could drive it in an emergency vehicle, snowmobile or horse drawn carriage.
Or a bike, like most visitors do.


skluth

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on June 25, 2022, 11:16:16 AM
Quote from: VetteDriver16 on June 25, 2022, 10:52:30 AM
US-2 hugs the south shore of Lake Superior and is a nice easy drive.  M-119 (Tunnel of Trees) in NW Michigan is delightful year round.  M-185 (no cars) on Mackinac Island is gorgeous.

Can you really drive M-185 though?  I suppose you could drive it in an emergency vehicle, snowmobile or horse drawn carriage.

You can drive a bicycle around the island, though drive is not usually used in that context. They've had bicycle rentals on the island since at least the early 60s when I visited for the first time.

skluth

Quote from: SEWIGuy on June 01, 2022, 09:00:23 AM
In Door County, WI, driving up the lake side on WI-57, then driving down the bay side on WI-42, is something we do regularly.

I was going to mention that though I'd suggest starting from Green Bay taking Nicolet Drive/ CTH A past UWGB to Point au Sable (with a side trip to Wequiock Falls) and CTH B along the Bay from Sturgeon Bay to Egg Harbor.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: skluth on June 25, 2022, 11:43:57 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on June 25, 2022, 11:16:16 AM
Quote from: VetteDriver16 on June 25, 2022, 10:52:30 AM
US-2 hugs the south shore of Lake Superior and is a nice easy drive.  M-119 (Tunnel of Trees) in NW Michigan is delightful year round.  M-185 (no cars) on Mackinac Island is gorgeous.

Can you really drive M-185 though?  I suppose you could drive it in an emergency vehicle, snowmobile or horse drawn carriage.

You can drive a bicycle around the island, though drive is not usually used in that context. They've had bicycle rentals on the island since at least the early 60s when I visited for the first time.

Typically phrase would be "riding a bicycle,"  even though it technically qualifies as operating a vehicle.  M-185 is one of the few highways I've clinched while running and cycling.

JREwing78

Quote from: Flint1979 on June 01, 2022, 09:09:15 AM
Quote from: SEWIGuy on June 01, 2022, 09:00:23 AM
In Door County, WI, driving up the lake side on WI-57, then driving down the bay side on WI-42, is something we do regularly.
Kind of reminds me of how I drove up to Copper Harbor. I took US-41 going up all the way to it's northern terminus and turned around in the cul-de-sac and then took M-26 back to Houghton.

Don't forget Brockway Mountain Drive! Phenomenal view of both the Lake and the Keweenaw from there.

Gay-Lac La Belle Rd along the eastern side of the Keweenaw is highly underrated and a gorgeous drive!

Flint1979

Quote from: JREwing78 on June 27, 2022, 06:28:36 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on June 01, 2022, 09:09:15 AM
Quote from: SEWIGuy on June 01, 2022, 09:00:23 AM
In Door County, WI, driving up the lake side on WI-57, then driving down the bay side on WI-42, is something we do regularly.
Kind of reminds me of how I drove up to Copper Harbor. I took US-41 going up all the way to it's northern terminus and turned around in the cul-de-sac and then took M-26 back to Houghton.

Don't forget Brockway Mountain Drive! Phenomenal view of both the Lake and the Keweenaw from there.

Gay-Lac La Belle Rd along the eastern side of the Keweenaw is highly underrated and a gorgeous drive!
I did hit Brockway Mountain Drive off M-26 but haven't been on Gay-Lac La Belle Rd yet. That seems like an area I'd like to explore some more.

CtrlAltDel

Quote from: webny99 on May 30, 2022, 01:18:58 PM
Quote from: froggie on May 29, 2022, 09:12:35 PM
Surprised nobody's mentioned M-35 south of Escanaba yet.

That would definitely be top-5 for me. I did it in the early morning in 2017 and it was spectacular. I would also include M 28 between Marquette and Munising (too bad there's no state route closer to Pictured Rocks), and all of MN 61.

I'm not sure there's any truly great scenic drives along the Great Lakes in NY despite the presence of the Seaway Trail. Western NY's Lake Ontario shoreline is remote even by Great Lakes standards, but in a very different way than the northern shores of Superior, Michigan, etc. It's not particularly scenic, though, as it's also very flat.

I didn't care for it too much. It could have been the time of year, but the trees were so thick there was no way to really see anything but the forest.
I-290   I-294   I-55   (I-74)   (I-72)   I-40   I-30   US-59   US-190   TX-30   TX-6

webny99

Quote from: CtrlAltDel on June 27, 2022, 10:29:05 PM
Quote from: webny99 on May 30, 2022, 01:18:58 PM
Quote from: froggie on May 29, 2022, 09:12:35 PM
Surprised nobody's mentioned M-35 south of Escanaba yet.

That would definitely be top-5 for me. I did it in the early morning in 2017 and it was spectacular. I would also include M 28 between Marquette and Munising (too bad there's no state route closer to Pictured Rocks), and all of MN 61.

I'm not sure there's any truly great scenic drives along the Great Lakes in NY despite the presence of the Seaway Trail. Western NY's Lake Ontario shoreline is remote even by Great Lakes standards, but in a very different way than the northern shores of Superior, Michigan, etc. It's not particularly scenic, though, as it's also very flat.

I didn't care for it too much. It could have been the time of year, but the trees were so thick there was no way to really see anything but the forest.

Yes, the scenery is somewhat limited in terms of lake views, but part of why I enjoyed it myself was the time of day (sunrise), and the nature of the road itself (good sightlines, gentle curvature, ample passing opportunities). There was also enough trucks and traffic that it felt busy, but not so much so that it was slow or overwhelming.



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